New FINTRAC requirements that were announced in 2016 are just now coming into effect for REALTORS® on various dates starting June 17, 2017.
These changes will affect you in four ways:
1.The way you identify individuals has been improved to add more flexibility.
There are three methods for identification:
- Using a single piece of government-issued photo identification
- Verifying that the client’s name, date of birth and address match information obtained from a Canadian credit bureau that has been in existence for at least three year
- Using two original, valid and current documents or information from independent and reliable sources, such as utility bills or bank statements
2. Whenever your brokerage uses a mandatary to identify a client on your behalf, you will now have to keep more detailed records of when you received identification information from the mandatary. You will also need to review the information to make sure nothing is missing.
3. The regulations expand on existing obligations to keep a record when you use reasonable measures to satisfy certain obligations under the law. The reasonable measure record obligations are reflected in:
- New sections A.4 and B.1 in the Individual Identification Information Record
- New sections A.3 and B.1 in the Corporation/Entity Identification Information Record
- New section E of the Receipt of Funds Record (which has also been reorganized to reflect additional FINTRAC guidance)
- New records related to large cash transactions and suspicious transactions
4. Clients who have been identified by your brokerage in the past do not need to be identified again if you or your Broker of Record/Manager have no doubts about the information you obtained previously.
This is only a very brief summary of the changes taking effect in June, 2017. To read the details and get the information you need about changes to forms and what it all means for you, go to the CREA site on REALTOR Link® and check out the new information in the Compliance Centre. [REALTOR Link > CREA > Resources and Compliance > Compliance Resources > Money Laundering (FINTRAC)].
Once you are on the FINTRAC page, be sure you check out the links to helpful documents near the bottom of the page – all the material has been updated. The FAQ document may be particularly helpful.
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All CREA forms have been updated to reflect your new obligations under FINTRAC. Revised forms are now available on WEBForms®. (Note: you may use your old forms until June 17, 2017. After that time, only the revised forms will satisfy your obligations.)