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Country guide · Americas

🇨🇦 Financial licensing in Canada

FINTRAC MSB registration, Bank of Canada payment service provider registration and OSFI-regulated banks.

Money services businesses register with FINTRAC. The Retail Payment Activities Act requires payment service providers to register with the Bank of Canada. Banks are federally regulated by OSFI. Provincial securities regulators oversee crypto trading platforms.

Regulators

  • Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)

    Federal banks

    Official website

  • Bank of Canada (Retail Payments Supervision) (BoC)

    PSP registration under the RPAA

    Official website

  • FINTRAC (FINTRAC)

    MSB registration and AML

    Official website

Licence and authorisation types

Money transmitter / MSB

FINTRAC MSB registration

Regulator
FINTRAC (FINTRAC)
Permitted activities
Money transfer, FX dealing, virtual currency dealing.
Minimum capital
No federal capital requirement under MSB registration.
Ownership, management & substance
Foreign MSBs serving Canadians must also register.
Application procedure
Online registration with FINTRAC; Bank of Canada PSP registration under RPAA if applicable; Québec requires separate licence.
Government fees
Verification required
Indicative timeline
No reliable published estimate
Limitations
—
Legal basis
PCMLTFA; RPAA