Kick-Start Your Fintech Company in Canada

An MSB requires physical presence in Canada (i.e. a physical location and local representatives working on your behalf). We can help with that.

In contrast, an fMSB is a foreign business that wants to direct and offer its services to Canadians. We can also help with that.

In addition, there also exists practical differences in the registration process and the ability/opportunity to onboard with certain financial institutions.

Find out more at our “MSB Registration page”.

Approximately 2-3 months.

For a more detailed walkthrough of the steps involved, check out our “MSB Registration Timeline”.

A local director is not necessary for legal or regulatory reasons. However, an MSB is strongly encouraged to have an experienced Canadian compliance officer overseeing its FINTRAC-compliant compliance program. To learn more about why you should have a Canadian compliance officer, see here. To read more about how we can help provide you with a Canadian compliance officer, please click here.

From a Canadian regulatory perspective, you are generally allowed to service non-Canadian clients. However, servicing foreign clients may trigger foreign laws and regulations.
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Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about how you can potentially “passport” into foreign jurisdictions.

You may need to obtain additional expensive registration with securities regulators if you (1) custody your clients’ crypto assets, (2) operate a custodial crypto exchange, or (3) deal with smaller less-established crypto assets.

If you want to operate in the province of Québec or take on Québec clients, you may need an additional MSB license with Revenu Québec.

Effective November 2024, remittance companies, neobanks, payment service providers, and certain fintech technology providers may need to register under the Retail Payment Activities Act.

You can provide the following types of services with an MSB/fMSB:
- Currency exchange
- Cross-border remittance
- Payment services
- Gateway services
- Merchant services
- Issuing or redeeming money orders or traveller’s cheques
- Over-The-Counter crypto trading
- Crypto remittance, payment, gateway, or merchant services

An MSB is expected to have physical presence in Canada. According to FINTRAC, this means that you need a Canadian private physical address (not a PO box or virtual office) and a representative of your business who will be working on your business during normal working hours at such address.

This representative person should be available if FINTRAC were to conduct an examination in person at the MSB's offices.

To learn more about how we can help you establish physical presence in Canada, please see here.

Certainly, we can assist you in navigating the banking landscape. Check out our “Bank Account Opening” service for more information.

This is not currently one of our service offerings. However, a local director is not necessary for legal or regulatory reasons and banks do not expect it. If you’d like more information on how we can help you get banked, click here.

Yes, you can provide crypto-related payment services, such as sending, receiving, or OTC exchanging well-established crypto assets (e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.). However, you may need to obtain additional expensive registration with securities regulators if you (1) custody your clients’ crypto assets, (2) operate a custodial crypto exchange, or (3) deal with smaller less-established crypto assets.

‍Please reach out if you’d like to learn more.

Whether you are registering an MSB or an fMSB, the cost is the same! For either option, we offer our “Basic” service for $9,500 USD and our “Premium” service for $11,500 USD.

Find out more at our “MSB Registration page”.

Generally speaking, if your MSB/fMSB registration has expired or ceased, the first step is to reach out to FINTRAC and let them know you’d like to your registration.

Depending on the length of time your registration has lapsed and the reason for the lapsing, you may need to redo your MSB/fMSB registration.

We’ve helped several companies engage with FINTRAC and get their MSB registration back up and running. Please contact us here if you would like to learn more about how we can help.

Canadian regulators have no issue with MSBs servicing non-Canadians. However, in order to service clients outside of Canada, you will need to comply with the local laws and regulations of that region.

Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about how you can potentially “passport” into foreign jurisdictions.