Licensed companies formation in Canada

MSB organization has its own commercial characteristics. In particular, such features relate to the services offered by the company:

• Currency exchange;
•  Money transfer;
•  Trading in virtual currency;
• Transfer of virtual cash as a means of payment.

The process of registration of MSB companies will require various KYC documents, such as personal details about the owners and senior firm management, workers number, account information, etc. Entrepreneurs need to send name and address of Canadian representative. The representative will be primarily responsible for getting notices and documentation on behalf of the company and liaising with government structures. Upon completion of registering process, businesspersons receive an approval notice and a registration number.

As part of recent changes to AML system, identity verification methods for structures registered as Money Services Businesses (MSBs) have been updated and modernized. Previously, a document used to verify identity had to be “provided in original and valid”. Now, to confirm the identity of the client, you can rely on documents provided in electronic form.

Money Services Business (MSB) Registration Procedure and License Obtaining

A money exchange license can be obtained in Canada after passing several main steps:

• firm establishment in Canada;
• registration of organization name;
• office rent in Canada;
• preparing application and a package of documentation for a license;
• preparation of AML/CTF policy, commercial plan;
•  opening banking account in jurisdiction.

Generally, all businesses (foreign or local) operating in the money services sector must register with FINTRAC. You can choose any province to register. Firm name must include a description of the core business, such as “payments”, “money transfers”, etc. Abbreviations are not accepted. FINTRAC does not charge any registration fees.

For registration of Money Services Business, applicants must provide FINTRAC with following documents and data.

• Bank account data.
• ·Data about compliance officer.
• Data on the number of workers and organizational mechanisms.
• Corporate documents.
• Operational address.
• Detailed data about firm owners and senior management.
•  An estimate of the number and amount of transactions per year.
• Compliance policies and procedures.
• Measures and strategies for assessing and reducing risks.

The final stage is the direct filing of an application for an appropriate license permit.

The process of obtaining an MSB license in Canada is quite complicated, depending on the activity, additional difficulties may arise. If you intend to quickly register your money services business (MSB) saving time and avoiding unnecessary expenses, it is worth contacting specialists.