FINTRAC Compliance
Getting set up with Payworks includes a few steps that help us confirm who we're doing business with. Verifying the businesses and people we work with is a standard part of onboarding, and it reflects our ongoing commitment to meeting Canada's anti-money laundering requirements.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) is the federal agency responsible for detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing across Canada's financial system. Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), payroll service providers are classified as money services businesses (MSBs) and are required to register with FINTRAC and meet specific compliance obligations. This applies to all payroll providers across the Canadian industry.
Payworks is registered as an MSB with FINTRAC. Accordingly, we maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program that includes understanding our business relationships and conducting ongoing monitoring of transactions.
So what does this mean for you? As part of onboarding, we collect information about your business and the key individuals connected to it, so we can confirm who we're working with. Here's what's involved and why it matters.
What do we need from you?
To meet Canada's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing obligations, we collect certain information about the clients we serve. This includes verifying the legitimacy of the organization (Business Verification) and the identity of certain individuals, such as authorized representatives and anyone able to transact on the client's behalf (Identity Verification). Most of our clients are organizations, but the same principles apply to individual clients such as sole proprietors.
1. Understanding your business
We're required to understand who we're entering into a business relationship with. We'll ask you to confirm key details about your business, including its legal name, business registration number, address, nature of operations, and other relevant information. This is a standard part of the Know Your Client (KYC) requirements set out by FINTRAC, and it helps us make sure we're providing our services to legitimate businesses.
2. Your ownership structure
Canadian regulations require us to understand who ultimately owns or controls the entities we serve. We'll ask for information about your organization's ownership, including its beneficial owners. A beneficial owner is an individual who holds a significant ownership stake in, or exercises control over, the organization. Our team will walk you through exactly what applies to your situation.
3. Verifying identity
We verify the identity of the individual authorized to enter into an agreement with Payworks on behalf of the client, and, in some cases, other individuals connected to the account (Identity Verification), such as those able to transact or move funds on the account. You'll receive a secure link by email to complete this step online, which usually takes just a few minutes. You can confirm your identity using a valid government-issued photo ID or another accepted method. This is part of Payworks' Know Your Client process.
What happens after onboarding?
From time to time, we may need to update the information we hold about your organization to make sure our records stay current. If that happens, we'll reach out to you directly.
Frequently asked questions
AML stands for Anti-Money Laundering. It's the underlying concept that informs the policies, procedures, and controls that organizations like Payworks put in place to prevent financial systems from being used for illegal purposes. Our AML program is governed by the PCMLTFA and includes both our Know Your Client (KYC) process and our ongoing transaction monitoring obligations.
All payroll services companies that provide for the transfer of funds are required to register with FINTRAC and maintain a formal AML program. Payworks is registered as a money services business with FINTRAC under the PCMLTFA. The information we collect reflects the specific legal obligations imposed by the regulator around knowing our client, including client identification and verification.
A beneficial owner is an individual who holds a significant ownership stake in, or exercises control over, an organization. Canadian regulations require Payworks to identify the beneficial owners of the organizations we serve as part of our KYC process.
The specifics depend on your entity type and a few other factors. Generally, you can expect to provide basic business information (legal name, business registration number, address, nature of your organization or business) and to complete identity verification for the individuals connected to your account, which can be done using a government-issued photo ID or another accepted method. We also collect information about those who own, control, or benefit from your organization; for example, if your organization is a corporation, we'll collect information about its directors and beneficial owners. Our team will let you know exactly what's needed for your situation.
You'll receive an email from Payworks with a secure link to complete the identity verification process online through our trusted verification partner. The process typically takes just a few minutes. If your verification is still outstanding after a couple of days, we'll send a reminder. If you run into any issues, our team is here to help.
There's nothing you need to do proactively. If we need updated information from you, we'll reach out directly with clear instructions and plenty of support.
Absolutely. We take data privacy and security seriously. All information collected as part of our KYC process is stored securely and handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. For more details on how we protect your data, visit our Security & Governance page.
You can visit the following resources for more information:
FINTRAC: fintrac-canafe.gc.ca
MSB obligations: FINTRAC guidance for Money Services Businesses
Canadian payroll industry: National Payroll Institute – FINTRAC
Who can I contact if I have questions?
If you have questions about our AML program or the information we're collecting, please reach out to your Payworks representative or contact our team directly. We're happy to help.