Today, Canadian banks and the entire financial system are considered one of the most reliable in the world, and in 2020, this country entered the ten best and most stable economies, ranking 9th. Of course, banks, financial institutions and payment systems support the financial sector. Instead of unattainable requirements, the Canadian regulator has established quite understandable rules and criteria for the ability to work in the financial sector and provide such services. All monetary transactions that are carried out by this or that institution are necessarily monitored by a special center. FINTRAC in Canada operates completely separate from law enforcement agencies, but has the right to share the information it finds with them. Individuals and businesses, as defined by the Act, are required to report a number of identified suspicious transactions to this official body.
FINTRAC in Canada, operation principles and registration procedure
The new law expands the powers of the FINTRAC in Canada beyond the monetary sphere and thus obliges banks, trust and insurance companies, and other bodies to inform state structures about the presence of illegal financial payments. The Center is authorized to communicate with the Police and Security Canada. In accordance with existing UN resolutions and sanctions, the federal government can confiscate any property on suspicion that it is located or controlled, or may be used by a terrorist group, or may facilitate terrorist activities.
As stated earlier, FINTRAC is the body that grants or denies licenses in Canada. To pass the check in this body successfully, you will need to perform the following actions:
- take a pre-check at Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada. This will require providing the Center with the name of the corporation, its actual address, all the necessary information on the contact person from the company and, of course, the types of services that the company intends to provide;
- start the registration procedure with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada. This stage involves the submission of information about the company bank account, compliance officer and the total number of staff.
You will also need to provide information about the incorporation of the company along with statements about the director and everyone who owns more than 20% of the shares. FINTRAC, in addition to all of the above, will also request an estimate of the planned annual amount of transfers for each of the services provided (in dollars) and detailed information about each MSB agent.
New FINTRAC regulations
FINTRAC in Canada is tightening regulation of digital assets. The new rules took effect on June 1, 2020. Exchanges need to pay special attention to passing the KYC procedure. The regulator proposes to tighten control over cryptocurrency companies and digital asset transactions.
Under the new rules, if a company has a turnover of more than CAD 10,000, it must register as a cash operator. When making a transaction worth more than $ 1,000, companies must provide the name of the sender and recipient of funds, their addresses, date of birth, contact phone number and the name of the transaction cryptocurrency. In the case of larger transactions, the list of information provided will be expanded.
Eternity Law specialists will provide you with professional assistance in obtaining FINTRAC approval and registration of the company, as well as in obtaining an MSB license. In addition, Eternity Law offers ready financial licenses for sale, not only in Canada, but also in many other jurisdictions.
If you are interested in a ready-made MSB in Canada, please see our offers below:
https://www.eternitylaw.com/ready-licenses-for-sale/financial-institution-msb-in-canada-for-sale/
You can also see our offers in category ready-made companies and licenses for sale.