What is FINTRAC and why does my factoring company ask for all this information?
If you have recently applied to factor your invoices with Capital Now, you may have been surprised by some of the questions we asked. Photo ID? Sure, of course. A utility bill. Um? Wait, what? Information about who owns your company? Ok, makes sense. Information about your Grandpa who was your first investor and therefore owns shares in your company? Yes, probably, if he owns 25% or more. Maybe you were wondering — isn't this a factoring company, shouldn't they be interested in my invoices? Why do they need all this?
That's a great question, and you deserve to know before handing over what may seem like irrelevant information.
We are required to ask
As of April 1, 2025, Capital Now, like factoring and financing companies across Canada, is required to follow the rules of a federal agency called FINTRAC — the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. FINTRAC is Canada's financial intelligence unit. Its job is to detect and deter money laundering and terrorist financing in the Canadian financial system.
Banks have been subject to these rules for years. Now, factoring companies are too.
This doesn't mean Capital Now thinks you are a criminal and it doesn't mean we are suspicious of your business. It also doesn't mean that the Government of Canada thinks you might be a criminal. It means that the Government of Canada has determined that factoring — like banking, real estate, and accounting — is a sector that needs to participate in Canada's anti-money laundering system. And so we do and we take that responsibility seriously.
What this means for you as a client
Working with a FINTRAC-compliant factoring company is good for your business.
It means you are working with a company that has been required to know who its clients are. That means the companies Capital Now does business with have been vetted — they are real businesses with verified ownership. It also means that Capital Now is less likely to unknowingly be used as a vehicle for fraud or financial crime, which protects the integrity of the factoring relationships we maintain. It protects you.
Some clients tell us the compliance process (like the request for a copy of a utility bill, or disclosing that their Grandpa owns a bit of their business) felt a bit personal for a business relationship. Most of them also tell us that they noticed that they have been asked for these types of things more often in recent years. Others have let us know that once they understood why we were asking, it made sense — and that they felt reassured knowing their factoring partner takes financial compliance seriously.
If you have questions about what we need from you during onboarding, or why we ask for specific documents, please reach out, we always answer the phone and reply promptly to emails. We are always happy to explain in greater detail.
It's not personal, we promise
The questions Capital Now asks are not personal. They are legal requirements that apply equally to every client we work with — large or small, new or established. We ask them because the law requires it, and because knowing our clients well is simply good business.
We take compliance seriously because we take our clients seriously. With 25 years of experience in Canadian commercial financing, we look forward to working with you.
Natalie Wawzonek is the Chief Compliance Officer at Capital Now. For questions about Capital Now's compliance program or onboarding process, contact Luke Duri at luke@capitalnow.ca or 403-617-2075.
Capital Now | Calgary, Alberta | capitalnow.ca