The Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand is going ahead with an exemption to the laws covering financial advisers that will clear the way for "personalised robo-advice". The "class exemption" will allow banks and other firms to offer personalised financial advice online, although they will need to first apply to the FMA for approval. The requirement to apply before taking advantage of the exemption follows feedback on the authority's initial consultation. Applicants will need to provide good character declarations for directors and senior managers, and prove they have the capacity and competency to run a robo-advice service that meets the standards required of an authorised financial adviser. The FMA said it was aiming for the approval process to start in early 2018. This is a delay from its initial plans to allow robo-advice from late this year. Following the consultation it has also decided not to set financial limits on online advice, and the eligible product list has been expanded to include mortgages and personal insurance products. Other products eligible for online advice include general insurance, savings products, Kiwisaver schemes, managed funds, listed equity securities and listed debt, and government bonds.Both Westpac and BNZ told the FMA in their submissions that they were expecting to launch robo-advice services once the exemption was in place, with BNZ indicating that it had trials underway already. Without an exemption they would have to wait until least mid to late 2019, which is when the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill is currently expected to be passed (although a new Government - the nature of which is still up in the air following the recent election - may alter the timetable). BNZ gave the most (unredacted) detail in its lengthy submission, saying it believed its current advice regime did not meet the needs of "nearly enough of our customers". "BNZ is keen to offer robo-advice as soon as we are able to do so," it said."BNZ currently has relevant proof of concepts underway to understand the business and customer value that can be delivered using artificial intelligence (AI) as well as the maturity of the technology and how we might adapt appropriate tools and platforms...""BNZ is also looking at natural language processing and assessing whether the customer experience is acceptable. We need to determine that the technology being trialled can respond with the right information for the customers as per their requirements."At the retail level, BNZ would only give advice on its own products or white-label products it distributes. A different proposition might apply to BNZ Private Bank customers.""It is noted that other jurisdictions are currently enabling the provision of robo-advice so there is a reputational risk that New Zealand could be seen as a bit of a 'backwater'."Submissions from ANZ and Kiwibank had the sections on their intentions blacked out in the documents released by the FMA. Further consultation, planned for November, will be undertaken on the details of the application process and drafting of the exemption notice.