FINTRAC Money Services Business Registry: What It Publishes and How to Use It

What the FINTRAC money services business registry is

The FINTRAC money services business registry is the official public list of money services businesses registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. FINTRAC is Canada's financial intelligence unit and the federal body responsible for anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing compliance.

Businesses that provide money services must register with FINTRAC under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act before serving the public. The registry records the business name, registration number, location, and current registration status. Because entries change over time, the live registry at the source is the authoritative version.

The registry is a compliance list, not a review site. It tells you whether a business has registered to provide money services in Canada. It does not measure pricing, speed, service quality, or reliability, and it is not a recommendation by the Government of Canada.

Which businesses count as money services businesses

FINTRAC groups money services business activity into three broad areas: foreign exchange dealing, money transferring, and issuing or redeeming money orders, traveller's cheques, or similar instruments. A business that carries on one or more of these activities as a business, for the public, generally has to register.

Some entities and activities fall outside the money services business rules. Financial entities such as banks and credit unions are regulated under separate frameworks, and certain activities are excluded or treated differently. FINTRAC publishes detailed guidance on who must register, and that guidance is the reference to follow when a case is unclear.

Foreign businesses that have no place of business in Canada but direct money services at people or entities in Canada also fall within the regime. That is why the registry can include businesses based abroad alongside businesses operating from Canadian addresses.

What registration means — and what it does not

Registration means the business is subject to federal anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing obligations. Those include identifying clients, keeping records, reporting certain transactions to FINTRAC, appointing a compliance officer, and maintaining a risk-based compliance program.

It does not mean the business has been approved, endorsed, insured, or vetted for customer service. Registration is not a licence to operate in every province, and it does not replace provincial consumer protection rules that may apply to certain contracts or services.

FINTRAC can refuse or revoke a registration. When a registration is revoked, the business must stop providing money services. The registry reflects those changes, so the status shown for a business today may differ from the status shown when you first looked.

• Registered name and any operating name
• Registration number
• Business address and locations
• Current registration status

How to use the registry before sending money

Checking the registry takes a few minutes and fits easily into the steps you already take before a transfer. Search for the exact business name, or use the registration number if you have it, then open the full record rather than relying on a search result summary.

Compare what the record shows with what you have been given. The name, the location, and the status should match the website, the contract, and any receipts or confirmations. If they do not match, ask the business to explain before you send anything.

• Search the registry by the exact business name or by registration number.
• Open the full record and read the current registration status.
• Compare the registered name and address with the provider's website and documents.
• Note the date you checked, in case you need it later.

How the registry fits into everyday transfers from Canada

People in Canada send money abroad for many reasons: supporting family, paying tuition, buying property, or paying suppliers. They typically use a bank, a credit union, or a licensed money services business. Each route carries different fees, exchange-rate margins, and delivery times.

The registry answers one part of the decision: whether a money services business has registered with FINTRAC. It says nothing about price or speed. For cost, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada advises looking at the total cost — the stated fee plus the difference between the exchange rate offered and a market reference rate.

The Bank of Canada publishes daily exchange rates that can serve as that reference. The rate applied to your transfer is set by the provider, not by the central bank, so a reference rate only helps you measure the margin. Ask for the fee, the rate, and the amount the recipient will receive before confirming.

How often the registry changes and how to verify it

The registry is a live administrative record rather than a fixed publication. Entries appear when registrations are approved, change when a business updates its details, and remain visible with a revoked or refused status when a registration ends. Any list copied onto another website can go out of date.

For that reason, this page does not reproduce registry contents or counts. To check a business today, search the registry on FINTRAC's website and read the status shown for that record. If somewhere else quotes a number of registered businesses, treat it as a snapshot and verify it at the source.

Keep a note of your search: the business name, registration number, status, and the date you checked. That information is useful if a transfer goes wrong and you need to raise a complaint or report a concern to a regulator.

Other official checks that complement the registry

The registry answers one question. Other official sources answer the ones around it, and using them together gives a fuller picture before you send money abroad.

• The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains how to compare the total cost of a transfer and how to complain about a financial service.
• The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre explains how to recognise and report transfer fraud, including requests to send money to unfamiliar recipients.
• Global Affairs Canada publishes travel advice that may matter when you send money to a region affected by instability.
• The Canada Revenue Agency explains filing obligations, including Form T1135 for specified foreign property above the reporting threshold.
• OSFI lists federally regulated financial institutions, which follow a different framework from money services businesses.