Remittance, foreign exchange and virtual currency businesses serving Canada, foreign firms included, register with FINTRAC, and payment service providers also register with the Bank of Canada.
Selected engagements from more than 250 licences obtained since 2013, for payment, e-money, cryptoasset and consumer credit firms.
Volkswagen
Payment InstitutionObtained Nexpay’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
Electronic Money InstitutionObtained Dzing Finance’s FCA Authorised Electronic Money Institution licence.
Obtained Orbital’s FCA Authorised Payment Institution licence.
Our realistic timeline from submission, set against the regulator’s own published figures.
Safeguarding, operating and settlement accounts opened alongside the application, so you trade on authorisation.
Candidates introduced for a compliance officer and directors, each assessed against the regulator’s standard.
A reply within three business hours and a written proposal the same day: the licence, the requirements, the cost and the timing.
You will need a compliance officer, a chief executive and directors with clean criminal record checks, and a representative in Canada if the business is abroad.
One engagement and one timetable, from scoping to launch. Speak to an expert about the people, the banking and the technology for this licence.
The regulator’s requirements, capital, timing, fees and the questions firms ask, from the regulator’s own publications.
An MSB with a place of business in Canada that offers foreign exchange dealing; remitting or transmitting funds, including invoice payment and payment services for goods or services; issuing or redeeming money orders, traveller’s cheques or similar instruments; dealing in virtual currency by exchange or transfer; crowdfunding platform services; or armoured car, cheque cashing and private ABM acquiring services registers under section 11.1 of the Act. Advertising such services, holding a related licence or reporting the activity for tax purposes also brings a business in scope. A foreign MSB with no place of business in Canada registers where it directs services at persons in Canada, for example through Canadian marketing, a.ca domain or a Canadian directory listing, and serves clients in Canada. Agents and mandataries do not register separately, and provincial licensing, for example in Quebec, is additional to FINTRAC registration. A business performing payment functions also registers with the Bank of Canada, described below.
| Registration | Who | Local presence |
|---|---|---|
| Money services business (FINTRAC) | A business with a place of business in Canada providing an MSB service | Place of business in Canada |
| Foreign money services business (FINTRAC) | No place of business in Canada; directs services at and serves persons in Canada | Representative for service resident in Canada |
| Payment service provider (Bank of Canada) | Performs any of five payment functions in fiat currency as a service in its own right | Place of business in Canada, or serving and directing services at persons in Canada |
| Requirement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Capital requirement | None |
| Safeguarding (FINTRAC) | Not a requirement of the Act |
| Safeguarding (Bank of Canada, payment service providers) | End-user funds segregated, held in trust or covered by insurance or a guarantee from an unaffiliated qualifying institution at least equal to the safeguarded amount |
Where the trust method is used the Bank of Canada expects a written legal opinion confirming a valid express trust; CDIC deposit insurance alone does not meet the requirement.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory decision period | No statutory period | Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, section 11.1 |
| Regulator’s published figure | Most complete applications processed within 3 months; more complex applications take longer | FINTRAC, register your MSB or foreign MSB |
| Application preparation | 3 to 4 weeks | From instruction to submission, including banking in parallel |
| Our realistic timeline | 3 months after submission | The firm’s own figure, from the regulator’s published data and its own applications |
Figures published by the regulator are quoted as published and converted to months. The realistic timeline is the firm’s own, for a complete, well-prepared application.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FINTRAC registration fee | None | FINTRAC does not charge registration fees; no annual fee |
| Bank of Canada PSP application fee | C$2,500 | Flat, the same for all applicants, non-refundable |
| Bank of Canada annual assessment fee | Formula published | Not charged until the regulations are finalised |
| Professional fees | Fixed, in writing | Quoted after scoping |
A payment service provider performing any of five payment functions, providing or maintaining an account, holding funds, initiating an electronic funds transfer, authorising or transmitting transfer instructions, or clearing and settlement, as a service that is not incidental to another business, in fiat currency, with a place of business in Canada or serving and directing services at persons in Canada, registers with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act. Revenue level is irrelevant. Banks and authorised foreign banks, credit unions and other provincially regulated deposit-takers, insurers, trust and loan companies, the Bank of Canada, Payments Canada and SWIFT are excluded, as are agents and mandataries of a registered provider, ATM withdrawals, designated financial market infrastructure functions and intra-group transactions.
The application fee is a flat C$2,500, the same for all applicants and non-refundable; the annual assessment fee formula is published and is not charged until the regulations are finalised. Providers that began after 8 September 2025 must receive a registration decision before performing any retail payment activity. The Bank issues the registration notice as soon as feasible; the Department of Finance has 60 days, about two months, for a national security review where the Minister considers one necessary, with 180 days prescribed for extended reviews, and refusal notices follow 45-day or 30-day timelines. The risk management and safeguarding frameworks have been in force since 8 September 2025 and the annual report is due by 31 March. The Bank publishes the registry of providers, a list of applicants and refused or revoked registrations.
FINTRAC registration is federal and covers the whole of Canada; provincial MSB licences, for example in Quebec, are additional. Groups serving North America pair it with the FinCEN registration and the state money transmitter licences in the United States; the firm obtains each.
FINTRAC publishes how it handles applications.
Bank account information is part of the registration form, so the account comes first. Canadian banks review the compliance programme and, for payment service providers, the Bank of Canada safeguarding arrangement before opening accounts. The firm arranges accounts through institutions that serve the sector and prepares the pack they review. See banking and payment processing.
FINTRAC states that most complete applications are processed within three months of receiving a complete package; complex applications take longer. The firm plans for three months after submission.
No. FINTRAC charges no registration or annual fee. The Bank of Canada charges a flat C$2,500 application fee for payment service provider registration.
Yes, as a foreign MSB, where it directs services at persons in Canada and serves clients there without a place of business in Canada; it appoints a representative for service resident in Canada.
Yes, where the business performs a payment function such as holding funds or initiating or transmitting electronic funds transfers as a service in its own right; a provider that began after 8 September 2025 must be registered before performing any retail payment activity.
Two years, renewed before expiry; changes to the contact person or representative for service are reported within 30 days.
A regulatory advisory firm to payment, e-money and cryptoasset companies since 2013, with more than 250 licences obtained in more than 60 countries. The firm advises on authorisation, compliance, safeguarding, banking and transactions, and builds the white-label payment and card technology its clients launch on.
A written proposal on cost, timing and requirements, the same day: speak to an expert.
This guide is general information for firms considering authorisation and is reviewed against the regulator’s published requirements. It is not legal advice; requirements and fees change, and the regulator’s current publications take precedence.
The requirements, the cost and the timing for your business, in a written proposal the same day.