Due to Canadian Government Regulations, we are required to identify customers conducting financial transactions (money remittances, funds transfers, etc). We are required by law to ask for 2 pieces of identification from every customer who is using the Smart-Transfer prepaid services. Our customer’s information is stored securely in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

a. The first piece of identification must bear a photograph of the likeness of the customer. The following ID documents are acceptable forms of Photo Identification:

• Valid Canadian or Foreign Passport
• Valid Permanent Resident Card
• Valid Driver’s License

The following ID documents are examples of unacceptable forms of identification: Birth Certificate, Provisional Driver’s License, Credit Card, SIN or Student ID.

Before conducting any money remittance transaction, we must have a photocopy of such valid photo ID authenticated, as a true copy of the original document, (original of authentication) by a commissioner of oaths or a guarantor.

A guarantor has to be an individual engaged in one of the following professions in Canada:

• a dentist, a medical doctor or a chiropractor;
• a judge, a magistrate or a lawyer;
• a notary (in Quebec) or a notary public;
• an optometrist or a pharmacist;
• an accredited public accountant (APA), a chartered accountant (CA), a certified general accountant (CGA), a certified management accountant (CMA), a public accountant (PA) or a registered public accountant (RPA);
• a professional engineer (P. Eng., in a province other than Quebec) or engineer (Eng. in Quebec); or
• a veterinarian.

The same photo ID can also be authenticated at our office or at any Transcard authorized agent location. Photocopies of the customer identification must be kept by the agent as a proof of ID, as stated in our KYC policy.

Please note that you cannot certify copies of your own documents. The guarantor who certifies the copy must compare it with the original document, state his/her name, official position or title, address, and sign and date the certification. The following statement should also be included in the document: “This photocopy is a true copy of the original ID document”.

b. The second piece of identification, is Certified cheque, or bank confirmation (a cleared cheque confirming your identity or a confirmation of holding a deposit account with a financial entity).

The first remittance by a Canadian customer must be paid with a certified cheque, where the name and address of the remitter is clearly printed, or the customer must send to Transcard a letter from the financial institution confirming the customer has a deposit account with the financial entity; the account number is also required. This confirmation must be written on the financial entity's letterhead, and must be dated and signed by an authorized officer from the financial institution. The authorized officer must state his name and official position or title. Financial institution means a bank listed in Schedule I or II of the Bank Act, an authorized foreign bank with respect to its operations in Canada, a credit union, a caisse populaire, trust and loan company or an agent of the Crown that accepts deposit liabilities. In the case of a foreign bank, the deposit account has to be in Canada.

The account cannot be one that is exempt from identification requirements for the financial entity, such as a registered retirement savings plan or a reverse mortgage.