Re-registration of payment service providers after refusal or revocation

Publication date: August 21, 2025

This supervisory policy provides guidance on how to submit a new registration application for individuals and entities that have had their registration as retail payment service providers (PSPs) refused or revoked.

Introduction

The Bank of Canada is responsible for supervising PSPs’ compliance with the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA). Among other things, PSPs subject to the RPAA must register with the Bank before performing retail payment activities.

Under certain circumstances, an applicant or PSP may have its registration refused or revoked. These individuals or entities may choose to submit a new registration application.

For information regarding the re-registration process under section 24 of the RPAA, refer to the supervisory policy on Acquisitions of control or prescribed changes.

Submitting a new application

The process to submit a re-registration application after refusal or revocation is similar to the initial application process for PSPs, and requires paying the registration fee again. However, some parts of the process vary.

An applicant who previously submitted an application created a profile and received a PSP ID number as part of that process. To re-apply, the applicant must log in to the password-protected section of PSP Connect using their existing profile with the same PSP ID number. Doing so allows the system to automatically populate the new registration application form with the previous application information.

To begin the process, the applicant should log in to PSP Connect and select the re-register option. The fields in the form will contain the most recent application information provided to the Bank. The applicant must review this information and update or add to it as necessary. As this is not the applicant’s first registration application, the applicant must indicate that they have previously submitted an application, and subsequently answer questions about the previous application’s refusal or revocation. The applicant will also have the option of providing additional information or documents for the Bank to consider in its registration evaluation. The Bank’s How to complete a registration application: A step-by-step guide describes the information required in a registration application.

Paying the application fee

To finalize its re-application, the applicant must pay a new application fee. The Bank will start assessing an application only once the applicant has paid the application fee.

Reviewing the new application

Once the applicant submits the application, the Bank will send a confirmation notice through PSP Connect. The Bank will then review the information provided and may contact the applicant if further information is required.

The Bank will apply the standard review process to the application. Additionally, the Bank will specifically assess whether the previous reason for refusal or revocation is still applicable and, depending on outcome of this assessment, will determine whether registration is now appropriate. In making its assessment, the Bank will consider any information the applicant provides that may be relevant to granting registration, notwithstanding the previous refusal or revocation.

Once the Bank and the Minister of Finance have completed their reviews of the new registration application, the Bank will communicate the outcome of the application to the applicant and update the public PSP registry. If the application is not refused, the Bank will provide the applicant with a notice of registration based on the information contained in the new application. Note that timelines for processing a new application are the same as for an initial application, and that the applicant may not perform retail payment activities in the scope of the RPAA until it is registered.