Help & Support

A company must be registered on the New Zealand Companies Register to open and keep a bank account with us. 

It is the company’s responsibility for ensuring they keep their registration details up to date with the Companies Office as well as with us. 

When a company is deregistered

A company is deregistered when it is removed from the New Zealand Companies Office Register.  

The New Zealand Treasury on behalf of the Crown can receive money owing to or held in the name of a deregistered company. 

What happens to bank accounts if a company is deregistered 

Once we’re aware that a company has been removed from the Companies Register, we may freeze accounts in the company’s name. We’ll usually inform people who were related to the company, for example, the former directors.

Once the freeze takes effect, transactions to the account(s) are limited to deposits. After some time, if the company is not restored on the Companies Office Register, we may also close all accounts in the company’s name.

To close the accounts, we may do a few things, including taking steps to recover any amounts the company owes by relying on any guarantee or security provided for the lending.

We’ll send money which the removed company owned in its own right, to the NZ Treasury as “bona vacantia money” (ownerless money).  

You can find more information on how to claim back ownerless money on The Treasury New Zealand’s website. 

What happens to bank accounts if a company’s registration is restored

If the accounts:

• are open at the time we receive notice that the company has been restored, the company’s accounts will stay open
• have already been closed, the company will need to open new accounts.