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ISCOVER
By: Staff Reporter
ASIC has quelled any concerns brokers may have had about the future state of their referral partnerships.
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According to the industry regulator, referral partners will not need to be licensed or appointed as a credit representative under the new legislation, so long as certain conditions are satisfied.
According to a statement by Gadens Lawyers, a referrer will be able to provide contact details for the customer to a lender or broker provided the referrer has not been previously banned from engaging in credit activities.
“The referrer must also disclose to the consumer any benefits including commission that may be received, and the referrer must not charge a fee,” the statement read.
In addition, the referrer must not make the referral incidental to a business that is principally making contact with persons for the purposes of giving their names or details to other persons (ie not a call centre).
This means call centres conducting marketing activities may need to be licensed or appointed as a credit representative.
From 1 October 2010, the following additional conditions must also be satisfied.
“The referrer must give the information to the broker/lender within five business days after informing the consumer that the broker/lender is able to provide the service.”
Meanwhile, licensees will be required to keep a register of referrers including the date and the means by which the agreement with the referrer was entered and the date of commencement of the referrals. It will be sufficient if the licensee has access to the register – eg if an aggregator’s credit representative each maintain their own register.
The broker must also contact the consumer within 10 business days of receiving the referral.
