Currency Exchange Business Licensing in Canada
Opening a currency exchange means registering with FINTRAC before you trade a single dollar. We handle your registration, we build the cash-handling controls the regulator expects, and we keep your bureau operating compliantly.
Foreign Exchange Dealing Requires FINTRAC Registration
Dealing in foreign exchange makes you a money services business under the PCMLTFA, whatever you choose to call your storefront. Registration is mandatory before you serve a single customer, and because currency exchange is so cash-intensive, FINTRAC treats the entire sector as inherently higher risk.
Cash Reporting Is Where Bureaus Fail
Your biggest exposure is the large cash transaction report. Receive ten thousand dollars or more in cash within twenty-four hours and it must be reported, including where a customer splits the amount across several visits. Missing these aggregation rules is the single most common failure we see in currency exchange examinations.
FINTRAC Registration
We register your currency exchange business and declare your foreign exchange activities.
Cash Controls
We build the reporting thresholds, aggregation rules, and procedures your counter staff need.
Compliance Program
We deliver the policies, risk assessment, and training the PCMLTFA requires from you.
Multi-Site Support
We extend your compliance program across branches, kiosks, and any agents you appoint.
Ready to Simplify Your Compliance?
Exchange Businesses We Support
We support bureaux de change, airport and hotel exchange kiosks, storefront money exchangers, online foreign exchange platforms, and businesses that combine currency exchange with remittance services right across the country.
We support banks with program design, oversight, & regulatory examination readiness.
We help credit unions meet obligations proportionate to their membership and scale.
We handle registration, renewals, reporting, & controls FINTRAC expects from you.
We cover Bank of Canada registration alongside your anti money laundering obligations.
We establish what your wallet activity triggers, then build only what applies.
We build compliance around what your product does, before volumes and questions arrive.
We register virtual currency dealers and build the reporting their activity demands.
We support financial institutions across registration, program build, and reporting duties.
Why Currency Exchanges Choose Us
Cash Expertise
We understand cash-intensive operations, so your reporting thresholds and aggregation rules are right from the first transaction.
Bankable Controls
Banks are wary of cash businesses, so we build the compliance depth that keeps your accounts open and operating.
Provincial Awareness
Some provinces impose their own licensing on money services, and we check those obligations before you open a branch there.
Serving Exchanges Across Canada
We register and support currency exchange businesses nationwide, from Toronto and Vancouver through to Calgary and Montreal, including the bureaux that operate across several provinces or from many separate retail locations.
Let's Talk About Your Compliance Needs
Schedule a Free Consultation
Whether you’re starting a new MSB or need ongoing AML support, our team responds within one business day.
Currency Exchange Questions
Clear answers to the questions currency exchange operators ask most about FINTRAC registration, cash reporting, and running a compliant bureau in Canada.
Do I need a currency exchange licence?
You need FINTRAC registration as a money services business. Canada issues registrations rather than licences, but the practical requirement is the same.
When must I report a cash transaction?
When you receive ten thousand dollars or more in cash within a twenty-four hour period, including amounts split across multiple transactions by one customer.
What exactly is cash structuring?
Deliberately breaking a large cash amount into smaller transactions to stay below the reporting threshold. Recognising it is a core duty for counter staff.
Do provincial rules apply as well?
Sometimes. Certain provinces licence money services businesses separately from FINTRAC, so we confirm your obligations before you open in a new province.
Can I run multiple exchange locations?
Yes, but your compliance program must cover every branch and agent, with consistent procedures and training applied at each location you operate.