§ 3-1. The service provider's general duties towards the customer

This section is the Act's general requirement for the service provider, for example a bank. The service provider must consider its own conflicts of interest, act honestly and professionally and do its job with professional diligence, so that customers and the market are served as well as possible.

The second paragraph concerns how the service provider communicates. It must use the form of communication and the language that have been agreed. The customer must receive enough information to understand, assess and compare offers. The information must be clear and not misleading, and prices are stated in Norwegian kroner unless the parties have agreed on another currency.

The third paragraph deals with the time before the agreement is entered into. The service provider must find out what the customer needs and wants, among other things by asking about their finances when relevant. How much is asked depends on how complicated the product is and what kind of customer it is. Offers and recommendations must match the customer's needs, and the service provider must give guidance when needed. A personal recommendation must be given in a written document; see § 3-2 fourth paragraph for what that means. The customer must not get worse terms than similar customers without a valid reason. Finally, the service provider must make sure that the customer has understood the most important information and the warnings about risk.

The fourth paragraph requires advisers to have enough knowledge of their duties. The fifth paragraph says that, as a starting point, the service provider cannot charge for fulfilling its duties to provide information and notifications. If agreed, reasonable fees may nevertheless be charged for extra or more frequent information, or for it being provided in a way other than the law requires. The fee must correspond to actual costs. The sixth paragraph exempts services covered by the Securities Trading Act, the Securities Funds Act or the Crowdfunding Act from the second to fifth paragraphs. The seventh paragraph allows the Government to issue supplementary rules in regulations.

This section is a basic requirement on which other rules build. § 3-2 says that electronic messages must be sent in a secure manner, and that "written" means that written characters are used. § 3-3 requires general terms to be easily accessible on websites and in sales premises. On evidence: § 3-5 places the burden of proof (bevisbyrde) on the party best able to secure evidence, while § 3-7 places it on the payment service provider (betalingstjenesteyter) when the customer denies having authorised a payment. § 3-9 requires that an agreement on a financial service is, as the main rule, entered into in a written document.