Ready-Made MSB Company in Canada: What You Buy and What FINTRAC Requires

A ready-made MSB is a Canadian corporation that already holds a FINTRAC registration as a money services business, sold with its shares. The registration belongs to the corporation, so it stays in place after a share sale, on three conditions set by the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA): the new directors, officers and owners of 20% or more are eligible under section 11.11, FINTRAC is told of every change to the registration information within 30 days (section 11.13), and the registration is renewed every two years (section 11.19). FINTRAC charges no fee for a new registration and processes most complete applications within three months, which is the benchmark a purchase price is weighed against.

At federal level FINTRAC registers an MSB, and the word "licence" in "MSB licence Canada" describes that registration. Quebec is the province with its own licence, issued by Revenu Québec. The full registration route is in Setting Up an MSB in Canada, and the government fees in Canada MSB cost and timeline.

Looking at a ready-made MSB? We check the corporation and the registration before you sign, or register a new MSB from scratch. MSB registration in Canada → · Book a paid 30-minute consultation (USD 99, credited to the project)

What a buyer of a ready-made MSB actually gets

What FINTRAC requires after a change of ownership

Report the change within 30 days. Section 11.13(1) of the PCMLTFA requires a registered person or entity to notify FINTRAC of any change to the information provided in the application, or of newly obtained information that should have been in it, within 30 days after becoming aware of the change. For a corporation the registration information names its chief executive officer, its president, each director and every person who owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 20% or more of its shares (Schedule 1 to the PCMLTF Registration Regulations, SOR/2007-121). A share sale and a new board change exactly these lines. FINTRAC takes updates through its change form.

The new people must be eligible. Section 11.11(1)(e) makes a corporation ineligible for registration when a director, the chief executive officer, the president or a person who owns or controls 20% or more of the shares has been convicted on indictment of an offence under the PCMLTFA or the former Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act, or of a substantially similar offence under foreign law. Under section 11.11(2) the registration is revoked as of the day the entity becomes ineligible. A buyer checks this before closing, for every incoming director and owner.

Clarification requests have 30 days too. FINTRAC may ask a registered business for clarification, and under section 11.17 it may revoke the registration when the answer does not arrive within 30 days.

Renewal every two years. Section 11.19 requires renewal every two years. An MSB that changes hands close to its expiry date is in practice a renewal file on day one, and FINTRAC processes most complete renewal applications within three months.

A foreign MSB has an extra line. A foreign MSB names a representative for service in Canada. FINTRAC's page on updates states that a foreign MSB that fails to notify FINTRAC of a change to the representative's name or address within the 30-day period has its registration revoked or denied.

Buy a ready-made MSB or register a new one

A ready-made MSB saves the FINTRAC waiting time. It carries the corporation's past and the same compliance work as a new one, because the programme, the compliance officer and the two-year effectiveness review describe the business the new owners run. Where speed matters less than a clean history, a new registration is the simpler file.

How to check a ready-made MSB before you pay

1. The registry entry. Look the corporation up in FINTRAC's public MSB registry, or with our FINTRAC MSB registry check: status, services, registration number and the expiry date. The services listed should match the business you plan to run.
2. The corporation. Certificate and articles, the record book, directors and shareholders, good standing and annual returns.
3. The incoming people. Every new director, officer and 20% owner against section 11.11.
4. The history. Reports filed, any FINTRAC examination or penalty, the existing compliance programme and the last effectiveness review.
5. The paperwork after closing. The FINTRAC change notification within 30 days, the corporate filings for new directors, the Quebec licence changes where relevant, and the bank's onboarding.

Companies that already hold an MSB registration are listed for sale at Crystal Tax: ready-made MSB companies in Canada. INNOVA handles new registrations, the compliance programme and the bank file.

FAQ

Next steps

MSB registration in Canada · Open an MSB in Canada · Canada MSB banking memo · Canada incorporation · Contact us

Sources (checked 26 October 2026):

• Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, S.C. 2000, c. 17, sections 11.1, 11.11, 11.13, 11.17, 11.18, 11.19, 11.2: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-24.501
• Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Registration Regulations, SOR/2007-121, Schedule 1, items 7 and 8: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2007-121
• FINTRAC, Respond to clarification requests, update, renew or cancel your registration (modified 27 August 2026): fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/msb-esm/register-inscrire/respond-eng
• FINTRAC, Register your money services business or your foreign money services business: fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/msb-esm/register-inscrire/reg-ins-eng
• Corporations Canada, Services, fees and processing times: ised-isde.canada.ca/site/corporations-canada/en/services-fees-and-processing-times
• Revenu Québec, Money-services businesses: processing times: revenuquebec.ca/en/businesses/sector-specific-measures/money-services-businesses-msbs/

For information only. The decision on a registration rests with FINTRAC; a share purchase needs its own legal review.