Provider risk appetite
Not every bank or payment institution supports MSBs, international transfers, crypto-related activity or your target jurisdictions. You need to find the right providers (we can help).
Find the right banking and payment partners for your business.
Getting FINTRAC-registered is only part of launching a Canadian MSB. You also need a banking setup that can support your business model, currencies, payment flows and compliance requirements.
Renno & Co helps Canadian money services businesses (MSBs), payment service providers and fintech companies identify realistic banking options, prepare bank-ready onboarding materials, and navigate due diligence with banks and other account providers.
Discuss Your Banking Requirements →Traditional banks are often reluctant to onboard MSBs, crypto businesses and payment companies. Even with FINTRAC registration, a provider may reject an application if it cannot get comfortable with the company's business model, AML controls, source of funds or transaction flows.
The solution is not to apply indiscriminately to more banks. It is to approach MSB-friendly providers that can actually support your business — with a clear, credible application package.
Not every bank or payment institution supports MSBs, international transfers, crypto-related activity or your target jurisdictions. You need to find the right providers (we can help).
The onboarding process is tough and its getting tougher. Providers will assess your AML program, monitoring controls, compliance personnel, and AML tool set (amongst other things).
Many account providers want to see a genuine Canadian footprint — a local presence, Canadian directors or officers, or experienced Canadian AML support behind your program. Credible Canadian compliance expertise signals that your business is built for Canadian regulatory expectations.
An account is useful only if it supports the currencies, jurisdictions, payment rails and transaction types your business needs.
We combine our relationships with banks and other account providers with Canadian legal and AML compliance expertise to help you approach the right providers and complete onboarding.
We assess your business model, identify suitable banks and non-bank providers, and make targeted introductions based on your requirements and the provider's risk appetite.
The process is tough — providers request extensive documents (AML and other policies, notarized corporate records, flow of funds, and more), send rounds of follow-up questions, and may even want a call with your compliance officer. We help you through it.
Banks primarily care about two things: will you make them money, and will you get them in trouble? We help you present a clear narrative — your business model, revenue, customers, flow of funds and AML controls — that answers both and sets you up for success.
We help evaluate options for CAD and foreign-currency accounts and payment capabilities such as EFT, Interac e-Transfer, SWIFT and SEPA, where supported by the provider.
There is no single best “MSB-friendly bank.” The right banking or account-provider setup depends on your company's activities, customer base, risk profile, expected transaction flows, currencies and required payment rails.
May be appropriate for businesses that meet a bank's risk, compliance, operational and commercial requirements. Direct banking is not necessarily the best starting point for every new MSB.
Depending on the business model, regulated electronic-money institutions and BaaS providers may offer a practical route to accounts and payment rails. Their capabilities and regulatory arrangements vary.
For businesses that buy, sell or convert digital assets, liquidity providers and OTC desks offer access to crypto markets and fiat on- and off-ramps. These are not bank accounts and usually sit alongside your banking setup rather than replace it.
You may need more than one type of account — and sometimes more than one provider — depending on how your business moves and holds money. We can help you figure out which accounts you actually need, and help you get them.
Your main day-to-day business account — for paying expenses, payroll, vendors and consultants. This is the ordinary operating account every business has, not just fintechs.
Used to receive funds from third parties (customers, payors, acquirers) and settle funds out to others (merchants, payees, payout partners), via local rails like SEPA or e-transfer, or SWIFT. The collection and settlement account are often the same account.
A trust account (also called a client-money or FBO account) that holds end-user funds separately from your own operating money. Those funds are legally treated as your users' — so if the company fails, users can still recover their money. An ordinary operating account is not a safeguarding account.
We review your services, corporate structure, customers, transaction volumes, jurisdictions, currencies and flow of funds.
We pinpoint the providers that actually fit your business model and risk profile, then make introductions.
We help you fill out and submit your bank application, and prepare any supporting policies and documents the provider requires.
We help you respond to the provider's follow-up questions (RFIs) and prepare for any compliance call they may request.
Banks take your application more seriously when a Canadian law firm stands behind it and makes the introduction — our reputation is on the line. They also see you as a safer bet knowing a Canadian law firm has your legal and compliance covered. And you get legal advice along the way.
Banks dig into your AML program, FINTRAC/RPAA registration and legal structure. With us, you’ll get an integrated team of Canadian lawyers and compliance professionals all in one roof.
We keep an internal database of account providers — tracking what actually matters: currency capabilities, payment rails, account types offered and jurisdiction limitations. We run that against your needs and business circumstances and introduce you to the providers that genuinely fit, instead of introducing you to random providers.
Getting banked is one step. We also help you get MSB-registered, handle RPAA registration, go live and stay compliant with ongoing fractional AML support.
No. Every bank and account provider makes its own onboarding decisions. We help identify suitable providers, and help you present an attractive narrative and strong application. But unfortunately, decisions made by a third-party bank/account provider are outside of our control (even though we wish they were in our control!).
Not necessarily. Registration is an important part of the picture, but providers also assess your ownership, AML program, business activities, flow of funds, jurisdictions, projected volumes and risk profile. Some activities may also require RPAA or other regulatory registrations.
Want to know whether your business is likely to trigger MSB or RPAA registration? See our guide: MSB vs. RPAA: Which Canadian Fintech Registration(s) Do You Actually Need?
Yes — there’s a number of banks and account providers that can help, although it’s tougher for some stricter banks and account providers. Don’t forget — banks primarily care about two things: will you make them money, and will you get them in trouble? And some banks view newly formed companies as being less likely to make them money and more likely to get them in trouble.
That said, many of our MSB clients already run thriving businesses outside Canada — sometimes with serious volume. With the right narrative, plenty of the stricter banks and account providers will look past a newly formed MSB entity.
Yes. We work with a wide range of banks and account providers that have a track record of banking MSBs. Between them, they can support a variety of currencies — like CAD, USD, EUR and GBP — and a range of payment rails, including SWIFT, SEPA, Faster Payments, Interac e-Transfer and ACH. What's available will depend on the specific provider, country, account structure and permitted use.
It depends on the provider, your business model and how ready your application is. With MSB-friendly banks and account providers, onboarding can take 1–2 months on the shorter end. With stricter, lower-risk banks it can run 6+ months — and honestly, those banks often aren't the right fit for many MSBs anyway. We'll help you set realistic expectations after reviewing your requirements, but no one can promise a fixed approval timeline.
Yes. Banking strategy, provider fit and document preparation can often begin alongside licensing and registration work. We can also start making introductions to providers as you get closer to getting your registrations complete. However, account providers and banks will want to see proof of registration as a condition to approving your account, and so you likely won’t get the account opened until you are fully registered.
Not automatically. Contract review or negotiation can be scoped separately if requested and agreed in writing.
Tell us what your company does, how your flow of funds works, the currencies and payment rails you need, and the status of your FINTRAC or RPAA registrations. We can discuss viable onboarding options and provide a tailored scope and fee quote. In some cases, depending on your business, we may be able to structure your bank onboarding support on a success basis — ask us whether that's an option for you.
Book a Consultation →Banking decisions, timelines, fees and account capabilities are determined by third-party providers. Renno provides advisory and onboarding support; it cannot guarantee approval or account continuity.
