FINTRAC Registration | Outlier Solutions

FINTRAC MSB Registration Expired?!?

FINTRAC Registration

Over the past few months, we have heard from several money services businesses (MSBs) that have experienced issues in renewing their MSB registrations with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). In most cases, these issues are easily resolved. However, if MSB registration issues are not addressed promptly, administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) or criminal charges may ensue.

It is likely that registration-related issues have become more common as FINTRAC is increasingly requesting additional information or clarifications from MSBs as part of the initial registration and registration renewal process. These requests are sent via email to the contact person listed in the MSB registration form.

Check Your MSB registration Status

You can view the status of your MSB registration by searching for your business on the public MSB registry. While this article is about the MSB registration status, anytime you are on this page, it is a useful practice to check to ensure that all of the information is up to date. There are several possible options for the “Registration status of MSB” field:

Registered: this is the status that is displayed for active MSBs. The detailed view will also show the expiry date of the registration.

Ceased: this status is displayed when an MSB has cancelled their registration (e.g. because the business is no longer conducting MSB activity or is only performing MSB activity as the agent of another MSB).

Expired: this status is displayed when an MSB has not submitted an MSB registration renewal on time, has not responded to requests for information from FINTRAC, or has not provided sufficient information to FINTRAC to complete the renewal process.

Revoked: this status indicates that FINTRAC has revoked an MSB’s registration.

If the Expiry Date is Coming Up Soon

If you notice that your MSB’s registration is expiring soon, there are several steps that you should take proactively. First, make sure that you have your login credentials and access FINTRAC’s secure MSB Registration portal. On the left-hand side of the screen, you may see an option to submit your renewal application. If this option is not yet present, it is still a useful practice to select “view completed form” and review the MSB information to ensure that everything is up to date. If there is anything that needs to be updated, you can update the form (information must be updated within 30 days of any changes; do not wait for the renewal date to make updates).

If the renewal can be processed at this time, make sure that you take the time to look at all data fields. Are these fields complete and accurate? Does the information related to the MSB’s beneficial ownership match what will be found in any corporate registries (if not, additional information and/or correction may be required before the registration can be processed). FINTRAC may request additional information by email, and your registration will not be renewed until these queries have been satisfied.

If the Registration is Expired

If you notice that your registration has expired, you should immediately access FINTRAC’s secure MSB Registration portal to renew it. It may be that you have simply missed a deadline, or that you did not notice an error message or request for additional information from FINTRAC. Whatever the cause, you should work to resolve the issue and renew the registration as soon as possible.

If you are not able to renew the registration, contact FINTRAC immediately by emailing guidelines-lignesdirectrices@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca and MSBRegistration@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca immediately with the subject line “URGENT – MSB Renewal Issue – Renewal Date Passed”.

In the body of the email, let them know:
The company name and MSB number
That you have been attempting to renew the MSB registration
If you have responded to any requests for additional information, the details of these correspondences (attach copies if possible)
Ask what information is needed at this stage to renew the MSB registration

Keep a copy of this and all communications with FINTRAC.

You may also want to consider making a voluntary self-declaration of non-compliance (VSDONC) to FINTRAC. For help with disclosures, check out our previous blog post.

If you receive a “Notice of Violation”

Where an MSB registration is expired, and the MSB continues to perform MSB activities (other than as an agent for another MSB), a penalty may be assessed, and a “Notice of Violation” may be issued. At this stage, a law firm should be engaged (we’re happy to recommend competent firms if this is something that you need). There are specific and relatively short timeframes for all response steps, and this should be treated as urgent.

We’re here to help.

If you are not sure what to do next or need assistance with compliance, please get in touch.

Dealers In Virtual Currencies Can Pre-Register With FINTRAC

Last week, the Canadian Federal anti–money laundering agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), announced that money services businesses (MSBs) dealing in virtual currencies will be allowed to voluntarily register in advance of becoming reporting entities. All dealers in virtual currency (also referred to as cryptocurrency) are expected to register with FINTRAC by June 1, 2020.

The process of registration is relatively straightforward, beginning with a pre-registration form. In order to complete pre-registration, you simply need to provide full business and contact information. There is no cost to register an MSB with FINTRAC, although we’ve heard of several scams claiming that there is a fee. We also suggest that before you hire someone to assist, you try to complete the form on your own.

To read more on the full registration details and all obligations that will apply to dealers in virtual currency beginning June 1, 2020, check out our blog 2019 AML Regulation Highlights for Dealers in Virtual Currency.

We’re Here To Help

Whether you need to figure out if you’re a dealer in virtual currency, put a compliance program in place, or evaluate your existing compliance program, we can help. You can get in touch using our online form, by emailing info@outliercanada.com, or by calling us toll-free at 1-844-919-1623.

An MSB by Any Other Name

What’s in an MSB?

Under Canadian federal legislation, a money services business (MSB), in Canada, is a person or entity engaged in the business of any of the following activities:

Foreign exchange dealing;
Remitting or transmitting funds by any means or through any person, entity or electronic funds transfer network; or
Issuing or redeeming money orders, traveller’s cheques or other similar negotiable instruments (except for cheques payable to a named person or entity).

More detailed guidance on these specifications can be found in FINTRAC Interpretation Notice no. 1, published by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). There is also a number of excellent guidance documents for MSBs available on FINTRAC’s website.

Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Payment Processors

We’ve had a lot of MSBs lately calling to ask if they can simply declare themselves as payment service providers (PSPs) or payment processors rather than MSBs.

The short answer is “no.”

The long answer is “only if you change your business model to include only PSP activities.”

PSP or payment processing services, in FINTRAC’s view are quite restricted. These include providing payment processing services for the purposes of:

Payroll and commission payments, or
Tuition fee payments, or
Utility bill payments, or
Mortgage and rent payment.

These services do not, generally, involve any element of foreign exchange. While this is probably not the answer that many MSBs are looking for, especially those that are labouring to maintain banking relationships in the current climate, it is important information. Operating an MSB without registering with FINTRAC or maintaining a compliance program can lead to penalties including administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) and the publication of the MSB’s name on FINTRAC’s website. To date, 36 MSBs have received a total of $814,805 in AMPs.

Corollary Services

There are also cases where MSB type activities are performed as a “corollary” another product or service. In these instances, the business does not offer MSB type products or services to the public as standalone services, but provides these in order to facilitate other services. The most common exemption that we have seen relates to lending services.

For example: A company that is in the business of automotive lending (loans) might make a payment on its customer’s behalf to a car dealership. In this case, the payment that is remitted to the car dealership could be considered “remitting or transmitting funds by any means or through any person, entity or electronic funds transfer network” (which would be an MSB service), however, it is only remitted for the purpose of issuing the loan, and is considered a corollary.

There are, however, a number of cases that might appear to be corollary services on the surface, which are not. Unless your business model is identical to a business model where FINTRAC has already issued a policy interpretation citing the MSB services offered as a corollary, we highly recommend seeking a policy interpretation from FINTRAC in order to ensure that you are not carrying out MSB business in the regulator’s view.

FINTRAC’s Policy Interpretations – Just Ask

Fortunately, FINTRAC publishes its policy interpretations on its website. We’ve pulled together the most relevant of these in this document.

MSB PSP FINTRAC Policy Interpretation at 16Jan2017

FINTRAC’s policy positions are provided as guidance to the industry. If you have specific questions about your business model, you may contact FINTRAC directly via email at: guidelines-lignesdirectrices@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca.

There is no cost to contacting FINTRAC directly, however, it generally takes 4-8 weeks (in our experience) to receive a response in writing. We recommend reading and referring to FINTRAC’s existing guidance (including guidelines and policy interpretations) in order to frame your question effectively.

Need a Hand?

If you have questions about this document, would like to receive a copy in Word, or need assistance with compliance, please feel free to contact us. We aim to answer all queries within 2 business days.

Phone: (844) 919-1623

Email: info@outliercanada.com

Web Form: https://www.outliercanada.com/contact-us/

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