The Fonterra group is required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) which helps detect and deter money laundering and terrorism financing.
AML REQUIREMENTS
Identifying our Farmers and Farm Source Retail account holders
As part of these obligations, we must verify and maintain certain information about our Farmers and Retail Customers. This includes when:
- People want Fonterra to carry on certain financial activities, e.g. Fonterra making payments to a third-party (like a sharemilker or industry body) on your behalf, or Fonterra facilitating share purchases through a broker on your behalf
- People want to open a Farm Source store account or apply for a card, or to apply for deferred payment terms in-store
- Existing circumstances change, such as changes to partnerships, trusts, or ownership structures.
- We are carrying out a periodic review to ensure the information we hold remains accurate and up to date.
If our Farmer or Retail Customer is an entity rather than an individual, we also need to verify the individuals who own, control and act on behalf of that entity.
You can read more about how Fonterra manages personal information in Fonterra’s Group Privacy Statement.
VERIFICATION
Verifying our Farmer and Retail customer information
We've partnered with Sharesies to deliver a secure digital experience
Sharesies is our trusted partner for collecting, verifying and sharing the information we need to help us meet some of our Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations. This information may include identity verification for individuals and collection of documents relevant to entity structures such as trust deeds or partnership agreements. As a specialist in digital services, Sharesies will help us streamline and simplify the way information is collected, verified and maintained.
You will be asked to use the digital process to provide and verify information through Sharesies when becoming a new supplier to Fonterra, a new Retail Customer to Farm Source, or as part of our ongoing review process to help keep your information accurate and up to date.
The online process is straightforward and guides you through each step. It is best completed on a smartphone or tablet, as you may be asked to take and upload photos as part of the process.
Because Sharesies is a digital company, they communicate primarily by email and will provide a secure link to complete the AML process online. Where the process involves multiple people, such as partnerships, trusts or other ownership structures, the primary contact for your entity will be asked to forward the link to the relevant people.
If Sharesies contacts you to complete the process, please respond as soon as possible.
Collecting AML information, including verification, is a legal requirement. If the required information isn’t provided, it limits what we can do for you until the process has been completed.
A genuine Sharesies email will:
- Come from an approved Sharesies email address.
- Use co-branded Sharesies and Fonterra branding
- Direct Farmers and Retail Customers to this website for additional information and support.
If you're ever uncertain about a communication you've received, please contact our Service Centre 0800 65 65 68 (Farmers) or 0800 731 266 (Retail Customers) before taking any action.
Farmers and Retail Customers who are asked to provide AML information will need to do so through Sharesies’ online process. The simple, guided and supported process replaces paper-based forms and manual verification of information.
Throughout the process, Farmers and Retail Customers will have access to clear guidance, helpful resources and support options.
Protecting the personal information of Farmers and Retail Customers is very important to both Fonterra and Sharesies. Information is collected, stored and shared in accordance with applicable privacy laws, Fonterra’s Group Privacy Statement and Sharesies’ Privacy Policy (as applicable). This includes using information to meet legal and regulatory obligations, sharing the information with Fonterra and supporting the services being provided.
Robust security controls and safeguards help protect the personal information of Farmers and Retail Customers throughout the AML process.
Both Sharesies and Fonterra must comply with the New Zealand Privacy Act and information is kept for as long as necessary to meet legal, regulatory and business requirements.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Getting started
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws help detect and prevent money laundering and the financing of illegal activities.
As part of these requirements, Fonterra needs to collect, verify and maintain certain information about its Farmers and Retail Customers in order to provide certain services to them. This includes confirming your identity and, where applicable, details about your business, partnership, trust or ownership structure.
You may be asked to provide this information when you begin a relationship with us, or from time to time when we need to update our records to ensure the information we hold remains accurate and up to date.
The Fonterra group is required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) in order to provide certain services to Farmers and Retail Customers.
You may be asked to provide or confirm information when:
- You begin a new relationship with us.
- Your personal, business or account details change.
- There are material changes to your business relationship with us (e.g. you cease supplying milk to us but retain your Farm Source account).
- There are changes to a partnership, trust, company or ownership structure.
- A new authorised representative is added to an account.
- We are carrying out a periodic review to ensure the information we hold remains accurate and up to date.
Collecting AML information is a legal requirement. If the required information isn’t provided, it limits what we can do for you until the process has been completed.
We're moving to a more streamlined, digital approach that reduces paperwork, improves the Farmer and Retail Customer experience and helps us manage information more efficiently.
The Fonterra group (which includes Farm Source) provide a range of services that are subject to New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation, such as making payments to third parties (like sharemilkers and industry bodies) on behalf of Farmers and offering Farm Source accounts to Farmers and Retail Customers. As a result, we're legally required to collect, verify and maintain information as part of providing these services.
Yes, otherwise it limits what we can do for you. Collecting AML information is a regulatory requirement for us to be able to offer services to you that fall within the scope of AML/CFT legislation.
If required information is not provided it limits what we can do for you, including:
- Making payments to third parties on your behalf, such as deductions from your milk cheque (e.g. paying your sharemilker or contract milker, or industry membership payments).
- Operating a Farm Source account for you, the provision of deferred payment terms in-store and payments to our preferred service providers such as power companies.
- Managing share compliance obligations.
This page is the central source of information about the change. Here you'll find:
- FAQs
- Support options
- Updates about the proposed November launch
- Guidance on identifying genuine Sharesies communications
- Additional AML resources
About Sharesies
Sharesies is Fonterra's trusted partner for collecting, verifying and sharing the information we need to help us meet some of our AML obligations. They specialise in secure digital processes and will collect, verify and share information with us to help us meet our AML obligations. Learn more about Sharesies here.
Partnering with Sharesies will help simplify, streamline and digitise the AML process, creating a more consistent experience for Farmers and Retail Customers while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. Sharesies is already a trusted Fonterra partner, having operated the Farmer Trading Platform since 2024. Many Farmers are already familiar with Sharesies, making this a natural extension of our existing relationship.
No. Sharesies is an independent company and the Fonterra group's trusted partner for collecting, verifying and sharing the information we need to help us meet some of our AML obligations. Farm Source is part of the Fonterra group, and we've partnered with Sharesies to help deliver a secure digital experience.
Yes. Your relationship with Fonterra/Farm Source does not change. Fonterra remains responsible for meeting its own AML obligations, while Sharesies supports part of the process on our behalf. Sharesies is also a reporting entity under AML/CFT legislation with AML obligations of its own.
Emails from Sharesies
Yes. Some Farmers and Retail Customers may receive communications directly from Sharesies – in some cases, before the new digital process launches in November. These emails may ask people to confirm information already held by the Fonterra group or provide additional information in connection with our Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations. These communications form part of Fonterra's approved AML process.
Once the new digital process is live, you will receive emails from Sharesies whenever information needs to be verified, updated or reviewed as part of onboarding and ongoing AML requirements.
A genuine Sharesies email will:
- Come from an approved Sharesies email address.
- Use co-branded Sharesies and Fonterra branding
- Direct Farmers and Retail Customers to this website for additional information and support.
If you're unsure about any communication you receive, please contact us before taking any action.
Yes. As a digital company, Sharesies may include secure links to their digital platform. Guidance on how to verify these links will be provided on this website.
The new digital process is expected to go live during November 2026. Some Farmers and Retail Customers may be contacted by Sharesies before then, to verify existing information or provide further information.
Completing your verification
Depending on your circumstances, you may be asked to:
- Confirm information already held by Fonterra
- Provide personal identification documents
- Confirm ownership or control information
- Provide information relating to partnerships, trusts, companies or other entities
The information required may differ depending on your circumstances.
AML requirements change over time, and we're required to periodically review and verify information to ensure it remains accurate and up to date. Even if you've previously provided information, we may need to reconfirm the information from time to time to meet our regulatory obligations.
Yes. As part of the digital process, Sharesies will use secure electronic identity verification services to confirm information against trusted data sources, such as Government databases. This helps make the verification process faster, more secure and more convenient.
If your name or other identifying details have changed, you may be asked to provide supporting documentation. For example, if your surname has changed due to marriage, a marriage certificate may be required alongside your identification documents.
We understand that everyone’s situation is different. If you don't have the standard identification documents requested, please let Sharesies know.
No. The digital process has been designed to be simple, guided, and easy to complete. Farmers and Retail Customers will be provided with clear instructions throughout the process, and it can be completed at a time that suits you. If additional information is required, you will be guided through what is needed and why.
To meet AML requirements, you will need to complete the identity verification process yourself.
Support is available throughout the process. If you have questions, need help completing a step, or are unsure what information is required, there is a ‘book-a-call’ support option provided.
Alternative support pathways may also be available for people who have limited digital access or require additional assistance.
Support options will be available for those who need additional assistance. Please contact Sharesies directly.
No. There is no charge for completing the AML process requested by Fonterra or Sharesies.
Trusts, partnerships and companies
Under AML legislation, Fonterra is required to identify and verify the people who own, control or benefit from certain entities, including trusts, partnerships and companies. Depending on your circumstances, we may ask for documents such as a trust deed or partnership agreement to help us meet these obligations.
AML legislation requires us to verify not only an entity, but also certain individuals who own, control or manage that entity. This may include directors, trustees, partners, shareholders or other key individuals, depending on the ownership structure.
Privacy and security
Yes. Protecting information is very important to both Fonterra and Sharesies. Robust privacy and security controls are in place. Sharesies is a specialist provider of digital services with existing privacy and security controls in place. Information will be collected in accordance with the Sharesies AML Services Terms and Conditions. This limits use and disclosure of your information strictly for AML purposes.
Sharesies will only collect and use your information in accordance with the Sharesies AML Services Terms and Conditions. Permitted use and disclosure will include providing the information to Fonterra for AML purposes. Fonterra has strict controls around how your information is collected, accessed, used, stored and shared. Access is limited to authorised people who need the information to perform their role. All information is managed in accordance with Fonterra’s Group Privacy Statement.
The information collected by Sharesies will be shared with Fonterra and may be shared with trusted third-party service providers to support identity verification, regulatory compliance or platform security. One of these providers is GBG (Cloud Check), which conducts biometric information checking services. Information is managed in accordance with Fonterra’s Group Privacy Statement, Sharesies’ Privacy Policy and GBG Cloud Check (as applicable) and is only shared when necessary to provide services or to help meet legal obligations.
Farmer and Retail Customer information is kept by Sharesies and Fonterra for as long as required for the purpose it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory and business requirements. This may include retaining some information for a reasonable period of time after a relationship ends, or longer where required by law.
Information collected as part of the AML process will be used for purposes such as meeting AML/CFT Act obligations, maintaining accurate records, providing services and meeting legal and regulatory requirements.
Please refer to Fonterra’s Group Privacy Statement and Sharesies’ Privacy Policy.
Have more questions?
Speak to your local Farm Source representative, or give us a call on 0800 65 65 68 and we'll be happy to help.