Opening a Canadian Bank Account as a Foreign Company: Where the Difficulty Lies

The documents banks ask for, director and beneficial ownership information, how long it takes

Scott Tang, CPAUpdated 2026-11-032026 rules4 min read

Incorporation can be quick, but the corporate bank account is often the most time-consuming step in the first month. It's not that banks are being difficult on purpose. Canada's anti-money laundering rules require a bank to establish clearly who actually owns the company and who controls it, and a structure with a foreign parent company is exactly the kind that is hardest to verify.

25%

Banks must record everyone who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more

Must be confirmed

Banks must take reasonable measures to confirm beneficial ownership information is accurate

Several weeks

Common in our experience; the timing depends on the bank's approval

What banks actually check

Under FINTRAC's rules, when a bank opens an account for a corporation, it has to obtain the information below, take reasonable measures to confirm that it is accurate, and verify the identity of the people authorized to give instructions on the account (the signing officers). Each bank can also have stricter internal requirements:

The company itself
Certificate and articles of incorporation, to confirm that the company exists.
Names of all directors
Ultimate beneficial owners
The name and address of every person who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of the shares.
Ownership and control structure
Who owns whom and who controls whom; an ownership chart is usually required.

The difficulty lies in the third item: "indirect" ownership has to be traced all the way up to individuals. The Canadian subsidiary's shareholder is the parent company, so the bank also needs to see who the parent company's shareholders are. If there is a holding company above the parent, the bank goes up another level, and so on until it reaches individuals. And the bank can't just take your word for it. It has to take reasonable measures to confirm that the information is accurate (for example, by looking at the Minute Book, the register of shareholders and government registry records). The more complex and higher-risk the structure, the more detailed the checks.

Why it takes longer for foreign companies

Structure

Several layers of ownership

Parent company, holding companies, ultimate shareholders

Documents for every layer

Certificates of registration, registers of shareholders

The more layers, the longer it takes

Documents

Foreign documents

Business licence, articles, shareholder information

Translation and notarization

Often required by banks

Preparing early saves the most time

People

Signing officers

Those authorized to give instructions on the account are verified as the rules require; others as the bank requires

People overseas

Many banks require attendance in person or by video

Plan who will attend and when

Prepare these before you go to the bank

Category	Documents commonly requested
Canadian company	Certificate and articles of incorporation; Minute Book (register of directors, register of shareholders, register of individuals with significant control); board resolution to open the account
Parent company	Certificate of registration (business licence), articles, list of shareholders; translated or notarized copies are often required
Ownership structure	A chart from the Canadian company all the way up to the ultimate individual shareholders, showing the ownership percentage at each level
People	Identity documents and proof of address for directors, signing officers and beneficial owners holding 25% or more
Business	What the company does, where its money comes from, expected transaction volumes and the countries it deals with
Tax	Business Number (BN); some banks also ask about the tax residence of the parent company and the shareholders

Common sticking points

Incomplete Minute Book
The register of shareholders and the ISC register are the main records banks rely on to verify ownership, so they should be done properly at incorporation.
Chart and documents don't match
Inconsistent ownership percentages, or company names written differently in Chinese and English across documents, are the most common problem.
Unclear source of funds
You need an explanation and documents for where the first capital injection comes from and what it will be used for.
Signers not arranged
When people are overseas and schedules don't line up, it can hold things up for weeks.

How Sheng Qian CPA can help

Complete records from incorporation
Incorporation through EasyU Incorporation (Express incorporation available). The Premium package includes an electronic Minute Book — the register of directors, register of shareholders and ISC register are prepared together, so whatever the bank asks for is ready.
Your account-opening package
We put together the ownership chart, a document checklist and a Chinese–English name reference, prepared to the bank's requirements.
Continuing after the account opens
Bookkeeping, HST, Payroll and T2 are handled by the same team, so when the bank later asks for annual financial statements, you don't need to find someone else.

Account approval is the bank's decision. We help you prepare the documents, but we make no promises about the outcome or the timing.

Sources

FINTRAC: Beneficial ownership requirements

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Account-opening requirements differ from bank to bank, and each bank's requirements at the time apply. Service fees are as set out in our written quote.