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The short answer
Yes. FINTRAC requires the Canadian bank that finally receives an international electronic funds transfer of $10,000 or more to report it within five business days, and the same applies to two or more transfers totalling $10,000 within a 24-hour window. The report is routine. It is not a tax, and the money is not treated as income just because it was reported.
Family sending a large sum for a house deposit, school fees or a wedding often asks the same question: will the money "flag" something? The answer has two parts. A report to Canada's financial intelligence unit is automatic at this size. Whether anyone then asks you questions depends on the bank's own checks, and good paperwork answers them.
What FINTRAC requires
FINTRAC's guidance on electronic funds transfer reports (modified 24 June 2024) sets out the rules for banks and other reporting entities:
- Threshold
- An international transfer of $10,000 or more in a single transaction. Amounts in US dollars or other currencies are converted at the Bank of Canada rate in effect at the time.
- Direction
- Both outgoing and incoming. For incoming money, the reporting entity is the last one to receive the transfer for payment to the beneficiary, in practice your Canadian bank.
- 24-hour rule
- Two or more international transfers that together reach $10,000 within a static 24-hour window, where they share the same requester or the same beneficiary.
- Deadline
- Within five business days after the day the transfer is received.
- Contents
- For people, usually name, date of birth, address, occupation, phone number and ID details. FINTRAC says Social Insurance Numbers must not be reported.
Banks between the Nigerian sender and your bank (correspondent or intermediary banks) do not file this report, but they keep records.
The threshold in US dollars
Because the test is $10,000 Canadian, a US-dollar wire below USD 10,000 can still reach it once converted. Check the Bank of Canada daily rate if you want to know where a given amount falls; it is published each business day and is described as indicative only.
What a report means for you
- Nothing is owed. A report is information to FINTRAC, not a bill.
- Gifts are generally not income. CRA's list of amounts that are not reported or taxed (modified 17 September 2026) includes "most gifts and inheritances". Interest or other income you later earn on the money is taxable.
- Payments for work or business are different. If the $10,000 is a fee, a salary or business profit, it is income whether or not a report was filed. See whether money from Nigeria is taxable in Canada.
- Splitting does not help. The 24-hour rule exists for that reason, and deliberately breaking up transfers can itself draw attention.
Questions your bank may ask
Separately from the report, your bank must know its customers. A large incoming wire that does not match your usual activity can prompt a call or a hold while it asks about the payment. Typical questions are who sent it, how you are related, what it is for and where the sender got the money. Our guide to the questions Canadian banks ask about Nigerian wires lists them.
Have ready, in one folder:
- A short signed note from the sender: name, relationship, amount, purpose, date.
- A copy of the sender's ID and the Nigerian bank's transfer confirmation.
- Evidence of the purpose: an offer to buy, a fee invoice, a wedding date.
- Where relevant, evidence of the sender's source: a statement from the domiciliary account it came from.
The Nigerian side
Under the CBN's Foreign Exchange Manual 2026, effective 1 June 2026, holders of self-funded domiciliary accounts no longer need Form A for outward remittances and may send direct transfers of up to USD 10,000 a day, according to a Pavestones Legal summary on Mondaq (24 June 2026). So a single USD 10,000 transfer from a relative's domiciliary account is a common size, and at most exchange rates it will be at or above Canada's CAD 10,000 reporting threshold.
Worked example
Your aunt sends USD 7,500 on Monday morning and USD 7,500 on Tuesday morning. At an example rate of CAD 1.38 per US dollar, each is CAD 10,350, so each transfer is reported on its own. Had she sent USD 3,500 twice within 24 hours, each would be CAD 4,830 and together CAD 9,660, below the threshold. The point is not to manage the threshold but to keep your records in order either way.
Cash is reported separately
Wires are not the only route money takes. CBSA Memorandum D19-14-1 (3 September 2024) requires anyone bringing CAD 10,000 or more in currency or monetary instruments into Canada, or the equivalent in foreign currency, to report it at the border; unreported currency may be seized. That is a separate report from the one your bank files for a wire. A relative who brings cash and you then deposit it at a branch creates a further record at the bank. A wire from a named account is usually the cleanest trail.
Where Pryme fits
Family in Nigeria can hold dollars in a Pryme Personal Account and send them when needed, and every payment can produce a regular or a verifiable receipt through Pryme's partnership with VerifyDoc.ai, which helps when a bank asks what a payment was. See the multicurrency account.
Questions people ask
Does my Canadian bank report money I receive from Nigeria?
Yes, if it is an international transfer of $10,000 or more, or several within 24 hours that add up to that. FINTRAC requires the report within five business days.
Will I pay tax because a transfer was reported to FINTRAC?
No. A report is not a tax. CRA says most gifts and inheritances are not taxable, though income earned on them is; payments for work are income in any case.
Is USD 9,000 from Nigeria reported?
It depends on the exchange rate. The threshold is CAD 10,000, with foreign currency converted at the Bank of Canada rate, so USD 9,000 can exceed it.
Will the bank tell me it filed a report?
FINTRAC's guidance describes what banks must report, not a duty to tell you. Expect your bank to ask questions only if the payment does not fit your profile.
Sources
- FINTRAC: Reporting electronic funds transfers to FINTRAC (modified 24 Jun 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Amounts that are not reported or taxed (modified 17 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Bank of Canada: Daily exchange rates (table dated 23 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Mondaq (Pavestones Legal): Key regulatory update, the CBN Foreign Exchange Manual 2026 (24 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- CBSA Memorandum D19-14-1: Cross-border currency and monetary instruments reporting (3 Sep 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.