By Nadine Higgins
Publication Date: 2026-05-09 21:00:00
“They try to personalize their recommendations or advice. They can talk to your money and ask it to take action on your behalf.”
Akahu is behind many apps New Zealanders use to track their spending, budgets and investments, connecting banking data to third-party platforms so they can track everything in real time.
First came social media for my job – now AI? But not so quickly.
Financial advice is a regulated activity in New Zealand – you can’t just hand it out at a barbecue.
Providers must be approved by the Financial Market Authority (FMA), advisors must be qualified and registered in the financial services register. (I can’t even call myself a financial advisor at the moment as I’m not currently employed by a licensed provider.)
An advisor must act with integrity, provide relevant advice and ensure that the client understands the advice.
Can AI really do all of this justice? Who is responsible if the AI does something wrong?
The FMA informed me of this by email…