Canadian Financial Firms Scramble to Meet FINTRAC’s March 31 Reporting Deadline

Thousands of small financial businesses across Canada are racing to meet a March 31 deadline imposed by FINTRAC to submit backlogged suspicious transaction reports (STRs). The requirement comes nearly a year after a cyberattack severely disrupted the operations of FINTRAC, Canada’s anti-money-laundering agency, leaving businesses unable to file their legally mandated reports for months.

The cyberattack, which occurred in early 2024, crippled FINTRAC’s reporting systems, causing widespread delays. While the agency restored most of its systems by the fall of 2024, some financial firms and compliance consultants report that they are still unable to access the system. Earlier this month, FINTRAC informed affected businesses that they must submit all outstanding reports by March 31 or risk penalties.

For many companies, the backlog has become overwhelming. One payments startup CEO, who spoke anonymously to protect their company’s relationship with FINTRAC, expressed frustration over the requirement, questioning the usefulness of filing reports so long after the fact. “Months later, those funds are gone,” they told The Logic. “A terrorist act, if it was planned, may have already happened.”

Compliance expert Suzanne Creighton raised concerns about FINTRAC’s ability to handle the flood of overdue reports. “They’re going to get swamped,” she told The Logic. “I don’t think they can manage it.”

The deadline arrives at a critical moment for Canada’s anti-money-laundering efforts. The country is preparing for an evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that assesses compliance with global financial crime regulations. At the same time, FINTRAC is under heightened scrutiny following TD Bank’s recent guilty plea in the United States for anti-money-laundering failures.

With the March 31 deadline fast approaching, businesses struggling to clear their backlogs face both regulatory pressure and operational strain, raising questions about the effectiveness of the current reporting system.

By fLEXI tEAM