§ 1-2. Which chapters of the Financial Contracts Act apply to your agreement

This section is the Act's signpost. It states which chapters apply to which types of agreement. Chapter 2 covers the settlement of payments and monetary claims. Chapter 3 covers financial services and intermediation assignments in a broad sense. Chapter 4 applies to accounts and payments, chapter 5 applies to credit, and chapter 6 applies to personal guarantees (where one person stands surety for another person's loan). For chapters 4 to 6, the section points to the definitions in § 1-5 and § 1-7, and to separate exemption rules.

The customer's position determines how far the rules reach. If the customer is a consumer (a private individual acting outside their own business or profession, see § 1-4), chapters 3 to 6 apply in relation to all service providers. The same applies when the party providing the credit or guarantee is a municipality or county authority. If the customer is not a consumer, for example a company, the scope is narrower. The rules then apply only to services that require a licence or are subject to a duty to notify under the Financial Institutions Act, and to the intermediation of such services. Example: a private individual who takes out a loan is covered by chapter 5, while a company as a customer is covered only if the service is one of those that require a licence or are subject to a duty to notify. Nor do the rules apply to services that a service provider buys from another service provider, as long as the customer's rights and the service provider's obligations are not affected.

The definitions are in chapter 1. What a financial agreement (finansavtale), a financial service and financial intermediation are is set out in § 1-3. The first section, § 1-1, states that the Act applies to financial agreements. According to § 1-9, the Act cannot be set aside by agreement if this is to the detriment of a consumer.

The section also refers to special rules. For payment transactions (betalingstransaksjoner), § 4-47 governs the geographical scope: the rules apply when both payment service providers (betalingstjenesteytere) are located in the EEA and the payment is made in an EEA currency. For payments in other currencies, they apply to the part carried out in the EEA. § 4-52 sets out separate rules for customers under 18. A minor who has reached the age of 15 may personally enter into an agreement on payment services for funds that they control under the Guardianship Act (vergemålsloven), and may operate such an account themselves. For credit, the section refers to § 5-22 and § 5-23. The first exempts, among other things, credit arising from a court settlement, factoring and overdrafts (overtrekk) on an account. The second sets out special rules for lease financing (leiefinansiering). For personal guarantees, the section points to § 6-14, which concerns the brokering of personal guarantees.