Canada money services business

A business that exchanges currencies, transfers funds, deals in virtual currency or provides certain other money services in or into Canada must register with FINTRAC (the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) before it starts¹¹¹³. The registration comes with a compliance programme²¹, a two-year renewal cycle³⁷ and 30-day reporting periods³⁶. This page explains who must register, what the law requires of the applicant and what is filed.

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

Canada's anti-money-laundering law applies to persons and entities that have a place of business in Canada and are engaged in the business of providing at least one of these services: foreign exchange dealing; remitting or transmitting funds by any means; transporting currency, money orders, traveller's cheques or similar negotiable instruments; issuing or redeeming money orders, traveller's cheques or similar instruments; dealing in virtual currencies; acquirer services for private automated banking machines; or any other prescribed service¹. Such a person or entity is a money services business (MSB)². A business without a place of business in Canada that directs these services at persons or entities in Canada and provides them to clients in Canada is a foreign money services business (FMSB)³.

FINTRAC explains that dealing in virtual currency covers both virtual currency exchange and virtual currency transfer services⁴. Invoice payment services and payment services for goods and services count as remitting or transmitting funds or dealing in virtual currency⁵. FINTRAC's list also includes crowdfunding platform services, armoured cars and cheque cashing⁶.

Not covered, according to FINTRAC: paying for goods with foreign cash; accepting payment only for goods or services you supplied yourself; providing only payment hardware; and acting strictly as an agent of a registered MSB⁷.

The legal act and the authority

Act: Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (S.C. 2000, c. 17, "PCMLTFA"), Part 1, sections 5, 9.6 and 11.1–11.4⁸.
Regulations: Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Registration Regulations (SOR/2007-121); Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (SOR/2002-184, "PCMLTFR"); Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (SOR/2007-292)⁸.
Authority: FINTRAC, the "Centre" under the Act⁹.
Register: FINTRAC keeps a registry of the registration information and makes the identifying part of it public; FINTRAC publishes it as the Money Services Business Registry¹⁰.

A provincial or territorial registration or licence does not replace the FINTRAC registration¹¹.

Pointer — Retail Payment Activities Act (S.C. 2021, c. 23, s. 177, "RPAA"): a separate act requires a payment service provider to be registered with the Bank of Canada before it performs retail payment activities, both for providers with a place of business in Canada and for foreign providers directing retail payment activities at Canada; the act does not apply to, among others, banks¹². Whether it applies alongside the FINTRAC registration depends on the services and is specified for the client's case.

Who must apply

Every MSB and FMSB must register with FINTRAC, except as otherwise prescribed by regulation¹³. Registration must be in place before the business begins to operate¹¹. Knowingly engaging in an activity for which registration is required without being registered is an offence¹⁴.

Exemptions and limits named by the Act:

An agent, mandatary or branch included on the registrant's list does not need to register when acting in that capacity¹⁵.
FINTRAC also states that a business carrying out MSB activities in the course of other services for which it is a reporting entity is not an MSB⁷.
Some persons and entities are not eligible at all; a corporation is ineligible if its chief executive officer, president, a director or a 20 % owner falls into one of the Act's ineligibility grounds¹⁶.

Requirements for the applicant

Capital / own funds: whether a capital or own-funds requirement applies is specified for the client's situation.
Management and owners: eligibility is tested for the chief executive officer, the president, each director and every person who owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 20 % or more¹⁶. Criminal record documents for these persons are filed with the application¹⁸.
Place of business: an MSB has a place of business in Canada; FINTRAC treats a business as having one if it is incorporated in Canada, has a physical location there, or has employees, agents or branches there¹¹⁹. An FMSB must name a person resident in Canada authorised to accept FINTRAC's notices (representative for service)²⁰.
Compliance programme: every reporting entity must establish and implement a compliance programme²¹. The regulations require: (1) appointing a person responsible for implementing it (the compliance officer); (2) written, up-to-date compliance policies and procedures, approved by a senior officer in the case of an entity; (3) a documented assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk covering clients, products, services, delivery channels and geography; (4) a written ongoing training programme where there are employees, agents or other persons authorised to act on its behalf; (5) a documented plan for the ongoing training, and delivering the training; and (6) a documented plan for a review of the programme's effectiveness²². The review is carried out and documented every two years²³.
Agents: an MSB must verify the eligibility of each agent and obtain its criminal record checks before engaging it²⁴.

Documents filed with the application

FINTRAC accepts only complete applications; incomplete ones are closed²⁵. The application contains:

Identifying information: name and operating name, status of the applicant and every MSB service applied for²⁶.
People: name, date of birth and country of birth and residence of the CEO, president, directors and 20 % owners²⁶.
Operations: accounts used for the MSB services, other MSBs used, the compliance officer's contact details, number of employees and the approximate annual value of the services²⁶.
Agents and branches: a list of agents, mandataries and branches with their details²⁷.
Criminal record documents for the persons named above, issued no more than six months before the application, with a certified English or French translation where needed¹⁸²⁸.
Corporate documents: a certificate of incorporation (or equivalent) showing name, address and directors, and a document setting out ownership, control and structure²⁹.
FMSB only: the name and address for service of the Canadian representative²⁰.

State fee and processing time

FINTRAC does not charge registration fees³⁰.

FINTRAC states that the majority of complete applications are processed within three months of receipt of a complete package and that more complex applications may take longer³². FINTRAC may request clarifications, which must be provided within 30 days³³. A denial must be in writing with reasons³⁴, and a review by FINTRAC's Director can be requested within 30 days³⁵. These are the law's and FINTRAC's periods, not a promise of a result or a date.

After registration:

changes to the registration information must be reported within 30 days³⁶;
the registration must be renewed every two years; for virtual currency dealers and FMSBs the Registration Regulations fix the latest date of the first renewal³⁷;
ceasing a registered activity must be notified within 30 days³⁸.

Failure to register or renew can lead to administrative monetary penalties or criminal charges³⁹. Breaches of the registration provisions are classified as "serious" violations, with a penalty range of $1 to $4,000,000 per violation⁴⁰. Knowingly operating without the required registration is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000,000 or imprisonment of up to five years on indictment¹⁴.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ (registry code 12233761, Tallinn) offers four rows on its Canada MSB page:

Canada MSB — incorporation and FINTRAC registration (msb-new): incorporation of a Canadian corporation and its FINTRAC MSB registration; the compliance programme and the compliance officer appointment are added as mandatory parts.
Canada MSB — acquisition of a FINTRAC-registered corporation (msb-acquisition): due diligence, share purchase and the FINTRAC change notifications.
FINTRAC compliance programme (msb-compliance-programme): written compliance policies and procedures, risk assessment and ongoing training programme.
FINTRAC registration renewal (msb-renewal): renewal form prepared from your current information and a check of the changes that had to be reported during the registration period; changes of business that need a new registration and provincial licences are not included.

We prepare the documents and manage the process with FINTRAC, including clarification requests. We do not give legal, audit or tax advice. The registration is FINTRAC's decision; we cannot promise its outcome or timing. Bank and payment accounts are not included.

Order on the service page: order form.

Sources

PCMLTFA s. 5(h) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
Registration Regulations s. 1 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2025-10-01
PCMLTFA s. 5(h.1); Registration Regulations s. 1 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
FINTRAC — Money services businesses, 'Dealing in virtual currency' — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01
FINTRAC — Money services businesses — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01
FINTRAC — Money services businesses — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01
FINTRAC — Money services businesses, exceptions and 'Who is not a money services business' — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01
Titles of the consolidated acts on the Justice Laws Website — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 2(1) 'Centre' — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 54.1(1),(3); FINTRAC registration page — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
FINTRAC — Register your MSB or FMSB — text in force from page date modified 2026-08-27
Retail Payment Activities Act ss. 4, 5, 9, 23 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.1 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 77.4 — text in force from s. 77.4 as amended 2026, c. 4, s. 111; consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.12(2) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.11(1); Registration Regulations s. 3(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26; Registration Regulations consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2025-10-01
PCMLTFA s. 11.12(1)(b),(c); Registration Regulations s. 6.03(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
FINTRAC — Money services businesses, 'You have a place of business in Canada' — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01
PCMLTFA s. 11.12(1)(c.1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 9.6(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFR s. 156(1)(a)-(f); PCMLTFA s. 9.6(2) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFR s. 156(3) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
FINTRAC — Money services businesses, obligations when engaging agents (PCMLTFA ss. 9.9–9.93) — text in force from page date modified 2025-10-01; requirements in force 1 October 2025
FINTRAC — Register your MSB or FMSB — text in force from page date modified 2026-08-27
Registration Regulations s. 5 and Schedule 1 Parts A and B — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2025-10-01
PCMLTFA s. 11.12(1)(a); Registration Regulations Schedule 1 Part C — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.12(1.1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
Registration Regulations s. 6.02(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2025-10-01
FINTRAC — Register your MSB or FMSB (also FINTRAC — Money services businesses) — text in force from page date modified 2026-08-27
FINTRAC — Register your MSB or FMSB, 'After you submit your registration application' — text in force from page date modified 2026-08-27
PCMLTFA s. 11.14(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.18 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.3(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.13(1) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.19; FINTRAC respond-eng page; Registration Regulations s. 6.1 (first renewal date for virtual currency dealers and FMSBs) — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
PCMLTFA s. 11.2 — text in force from consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26
FINTRAC — Answer clarification requests, update, renew or cancel; FINTRAC — Register — text in force from page date modified 2026-08-27
AMP Regulations Schedule Part 1 items 15–21; s. 5(b); PCMLTFA s. 73.1(2) — text in force from s. 5 as amended 2026, c. 4, s. 118; consolidation current to 2026-10-19, last amended 2026-03-26

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Canada money services business (MSB) registration with FINTRAC