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Marketplace Rules

Rules for listings, buyer requests, supplier intake and public marketplace activity.

Effective date: 30 May 2026. Last revised: 31 October 2026. These are the current published terms for Carbon Trader® website and platform use.

Part 2 - Marketplace Rules

1. Purpose

These Marketplace Rules govern public listings, wanted requests, buyer enquiries, credit lots, project records, evidence, public-facing disclaimers and marketplace conduct.

2. Listing standards

A listing must be accurate, current, evidence-backed and not misleading. The listing must identify, where relevant:

  • credit type;
  • standard or scheme;
  • registry;
  • project ID;
  • vintage;
  • quantity;
  • location;
  • host country;
  • methodology;
  • transfer or retirement pathway;
  • price or POA status;
  • fees or pass-through costs;
  • claim suitability;
  • verification status;
  • settlement terms, including whether the listing is sold with escrow or directly;
  • known restrictions or risks.

3. Public listings

A public listing does not name the seller. Every public listing shows buyers, before they buy, whether it is escrow-protected or direct. A purchase from an escrow-protected listing is subject to payment within 7 days, verification of the buyer's and the seller's identity when the trade enters escrow (clause 9 of the Standard Terms) and the settlement terms in clause 15 of the Standard Terms. A purchase from a direct listing is subject to clause 15B of the Standard Terms and to the seller confirming the sale. A public listing is not a guarantee of availability or immediate execution.

3A. From 9 October 2026 a user may create a listing with an account alone; identity verification is not required to list. The seller must still make the seller declaration, and for units held in the seller's own NZETR account must provide proof of the units before the listing is published. That proof concerns the units and is separate from identity verification.

3B. From 9 October 2026 a listing of NZUs carries the listing fee of NZD $29.00 including GST, payable by the seller, as set out in clause 20.3B of the Standard Terms and the published Fee Schedule. No success fee or buyer fee is payable: the buyer pays only the price of the units. From 28 October 2026 a seller who sells with escrow pays an escrow fee of NZD $159.00 plus GST (NZD $182.85 including GST) on each completed sale, deducted from the sale proceeds, as set out in clause 20.3C of the Standard Terms. A listing sold in parts carries the escrow fee on each sale, a sale whose value is less than the escrow fee cannot be made through escrow, and no escrow fee is payable on a direct sale. Extending a listing, or relisting the same units, carries no further listing fee until those units sell.

3C. From 28 October 2026 the seller chooses, when creating a listing, whether it sells with escrow or directly, and may change that choice while no units in the listing have been bought. A listing may be sold directly only where the units are held in the seller's own NZETR account and the buyer receives them into the buyer's own NZETR account. In a direct sale Carbon Trader gives each party the other's contact details once the buyer has bought, the buyer pays the seller, the seller transfers the units on the NZETR and then marks the sale complete (or cancels it) in Carbon Trader. Carbon Trader holds neither the money nor the units in a direct sale, is not a party to it, does not check payment, transfer or identity, and gives no protection: each party deals with the other at its own risk. Listings created before 28 October 2026 settle through escrow with no escrow fee.

3D. A wanted request goes live to sellers only once the buyer has paid the full offer into escrow. A seller who sells into a wanted request pays the escrow fee from the proceeds of that sale. If a funded wanted request is cancelled or closes before a seller sells into it, the buyer's funds are refunded.

3E. From 31 October 2026 a user whose identity has been verified under clause 9 of the Standard Terms may make an offer to buy some or all of the units in a public listing at a price per unit below the listed price (at least half of it), or at any price on a POA listing. An offer is binding on the buyer for 3 days or until the listing closes, whichever is first, unless the buyer withdraws it before the seller accepts; a later offer by the same buyer on the same listing replaces the earlier one. The seller may accept or decline an offer, or let it expire, and Carbon Trader does not negotiate, advise on or accept offers on anyone's behalf. Acceptance creates a purchase at the offered price on the same terms as a purchase at the listed price under this section 3 and clauses 10, 15, 15A and 15B of the Standard Terms, including the escrow fee where the listing sells with escrow, so an offer worth less than that fee cannot be made. An offer lapses if the listing closes, is withdrawn, sells out or no longer holds enough units for it. Neither party is named to the other by an offer; a direct sale discloses the parties to each other on acceptance as it does on a purchase.

4. Private listings and mandates - withdrawn

From 7 October 2026 Carbon Trader does not take private mandates and does not run private buyer outreach. Every listing is a public listing under section 3, and the seller is never named on it.

5. POA listings

Price-on-application (POA) listings do not show a price and are not fixed-price offers. From 9 October 2026 a POA listing cannot be bought on the marketplace at a listed price until the seller publishes one; from 31 October 2026 a verified buyer may make the seller an offer on it under clause 3E, which the seller may accept or decline. Carbon Trader does not negotiate, quote or accept offers on a seller's behalf.

6. Prohibited listings

Carbon Trader may prohibit listings involving:

  • credits with unclear ownership;
  • credits subject to undisclosed restrictions;
  • credits that appear double-counted or double-sold;
  • misleading environmental claims;
  • unsupported pre-issuance claims;
  • sanctioned parties or jurisdictions;
  • high-risk or disputed projects;
  • legacy or low-integrity credits unsuitable for modern claims;
  • credits Carbon Trader is not comfortable administering.

7. Marketplace integrity

Users must not manipulate pricing, create false buyer demand, submit fake bids, coordinate misleading listings, misuse confidential information or attempt to distort market signals.

Sellers are not named on public listings. The parties to a direct sale receive each other's details from Carbon Trader once the buyer has bought, and completing a direct sale between themselves is not taking a trade off the platform. Users must not attempt to identify a counterparty other than through the platform, and must not use anything learned through Carbon Trader to take a trade off the platform in order to avoid fees. Clause 26A of the Standard Terms sets out what that means, the twelve-month period it runs for, what it does not cover, and the disclose-and-pay route we would much rather people use.

8. Admin powers

Carbon Trader may edit, pause, hide, reject, approve, verify, flag, mark sold, reserve, withdraw, remove or archive listings. Carbon Trader may also require further evidence before restoring a listing. Carbon Trader may cancel an unpaid purchase, and may cancel a funded wanted request, in which case the buyer's funds are refunded.