Years of effort have paid off - to have New Zealand's financial benchmark system for commercial transactions recognised in the European Union

The EU's now accepted it's equivalent to its own.

The Financial Markets Authority says this is a significant outcome for businesses using the NZ Bank Bill Rate.

General Counsel Liam Mason says it means more than 50 billion Euros worth of financial instruments referencing the benchmark - won't be disrupted next year.

He says otherwise organisations would have needed to find an EU-based benchmark for transactions - which isn't feasible.