FASTER settlement is based on the principles of DVP Simultaneous irrevocable transfer of securities and cash FASTER is not a full CSD, because it does not record the holdings of all the shareholders. Only holdings belonging to participants are recorded in FASTER, holdings related to individual shareholders who are not participants are delegated to a number of registries.

Participants include Stockbrokers and financial institutions. Each participant has a Faster Transfer Account (FTA) where stock is held pending delivery to other participants or to owned accounts.

Registries are connected to FASTER via electronic links. Stock may be transferred for the benefit of a non-participant, by means of Client transfer. A transfer message is sent by a broker to FASTER, to transfer between the client and the broker's FTA. The transfer message is passed to the registry, who then updates the stock register. The shareholders are identified by a Common Shareholder Number (CSN). Outward transfers are protected by means of a FASTER identification number (FIN). This number is like a PIN number, nown only to the shareholder, and passed to the broker during a sale.

Delivery types

PPT - Participant to participant transfer

MPT - Mutually agreed Participant to participant transfer

CIT - Client Inward transfer

COT - Client Outward transfer

OIT - Owned inward transfer

OOT - Owned outward transfer

In 2008, The Reserve Bank of New Zealand characterised the FASTER system as "becoming obsolete" ^[1]