FINTRAC API report submission : Methods to report to FINTRAC

Updated June 24, 2024

From: Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

Learn how to submit financial transaction reports through FINTRAC API report submission, and consult related technical documentation to implement it.

On this page

• What is FINTRAC API report submission
• Registering to use the FINTRAC API
• Submitting reports through API
• Technical documentation to implement API report submission Updated June 24, 2024
• Related guidance
• Related links

What is FINTRAC API report submission

FINTRAC API report submission allows for the secure system-to-system transfer of report information to FINTRAC.

You can use API report submission to send FINTRAC the following reports:

• Suspicious Transaction Reports  
• Electronic Funds Transfer Reports
• Large Cash Transaction Reports
• Large Virtual Currency Transaction Reports
• Casino Disbursement Reports

However, you must use the paper form to submit Terrorist Property Reports.

Transition periods to implement API report submission

Businesses that submit higher volumes of reports through systems being decommissioned must take into account the following transition periods to complete their implementation of API report submission:

• Suspicious Transaction Reports (until July 3, 2024)
• Large Cash Transaction Reports (ended November 6, 2023)
• Large Virtual Currency Transaction Reports (ended November 6, 2023)
• Electronic Funds Transfer Reports (until August 22, 2024)
• Casino Disbursement Reports (until August 22, 2024)

Registering to use FINTRAC API report submission

An application is required to submit reports using FINTRAC's API. At a minimum, one application and secret is required.

Your technical administration needs to access the FINTRAC API portal to receive enrollment instructions and information on how to create an application and secret keys, to authenticate the API submission pathway for you to begin submitting reports.

Access the FINTRAC API portal

Businesses that submit larger volumes of reports and that do not currently have access to FINTRAC API report submission should contact FINTRAC by email at F2R@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca.

Submitting reports through API

Submitting, changing and deleting reports

There are 2 groups of API endpoints:

• one for a single report submission
• another for the bulk submission of large volumes of simultaneous reports

Both API endpoints have 3 different actions for report submission:

• create a report submission
• change a report submission
• delete a report submission

Transaction submission limits

The transaction submission limits are different for the single API endpoint and the bulk submission:

• If you use the single API endpoint, you can include up to 500 transactions in a single report (maximum total file size of 25 MB)
• If you use bulk submission, file size is limited to 300 MB. You can include up to 5,000 reports and up to 5,000 transactions per report. The  number of reports and transactions you can submit in a bulk file will depend on the volume of data in those reports

If the number of transactions exceeds these limits, you must create a new report to include the additional transactions.

Linking transactions across multiple reports

When you create another report because you exceeded the transaction limit, you can link transactions across multiple reports by including the reporting entity report reference number with a suffix (for example, -01, -02, etc.). This will also ensure FINTRAC is aware of linked reports.

If you need to link transactions in multiple reports, you can continue counting transactions incrementally with each report.

Starting action and completing action limits

You can include up to 50 starting actions and 50 completing actions in a single transaction as long as they occurred on the same date and time.

If a transaction has more than 50 starting actions or more than 50 completing actions, you can include these additional starting or completing actions by creating a new transaction in the same report.

Note: Because you must provide a date and time for each transaction, it is understood that all the starting and completing actions within the transaction also occur at this date and time. If this is not the case, then you will need to add a new transaction to the report with the new date and time. This applies even if the number of starting actions or completing actions is under 50.

Technical documentation to implement API report submission

Find the technical documents you'll need to complete the implementation of your API to submit the transaction reports to FINTRAC.

Technical support

If you require support, or have questions regarding API report submission, please contact tech@fintrac-canafe.gc.ca.

Related guidance

• Reporting suspicious transactions to FINTRAC
• Reporting large cash transactions to FINTRAC
• Reporting large virtual currency transactions to FINTRAC
• Reporting electronic funds transfers to FINTRAC
• Reporting casino disbursement reports to FINTRAC

Related links

• Modernizing FINTRAC's reporting forms