On Tuesday, Zoth, a blockchain and real-world asset (RWA) platform that aims to bridge the distance between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) announced that it had secured the coveted Canadian Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) registration as a Money Services Business (MSB).
Zoth bags FINTRAC approval as it expands into Canada
Zoth, the stablecoin neo-bank developing next-generation payment infrastructure for cross-border settlement, today expanded its footprint into North America. By entering the Canadian market, Zoth has essentially deepened its reach into one of the world’s most active cross-border corridors.
The bank can now connect North American origination markets with existing payout networks spread across the Global South, including geographies like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and others. It now eyes a combined opportunity of more than $700 billion in market volume.
Over the past few years, stablecoins have gained immense popularity as the preferred settlement layer for global payments. The stablecoin market is steadily moving from a phase of fragmented experimentation, to regulated, production-grade infrastructure.
Against that backdrop, Zoth is developing a compliance-first payments stack that aims to meet the institutional demand across high-growth, high-friction corridors.
Now, with the FINTRAC MSB registration secured, Zoth’s Canadian offshoot has the authority to support Canada-linked foreign exchange, money transfers, virtual currency dealing, and payment service provider activities.
The MSB registration – combined with Zoth’s strategic partnership framework with Bakkt – will help the entity’s North American payment layer. Commenting on the development, Pritam Dutta, Founder and CEO at Zoth, said:
“Canada gives us a regulated foothold in North America at a time when institutions are increasingly exploring stablecoins for cross-border settlement. This registration strengthens our ability to support compliant payment flows between North America and high-growth markets across the Global South.”
What does the FINTRAC approval mean?
The FINTRAC registration activates Canada as a fully integrated node within Zoth’s global stablecoin settlement network. It means that Zoth capabilities within 4 key regulated service areas will receive a major boost.
First, foreign exchange dealing will be easier, enabling fiat-to-fiat, and fiat-to stablecoin conversion. Similarly, cross-border transfers between Canada and key international markets will become more seamless.
Third, Zoth will now be able to offer virtual currency services in Canada, including stablecoin custody, transfers, and conversion with integrated compliance controls. Finally, it will also offer payment services, such as payment orchestration for institutions, fintechs, family offices, and corporate treasuries.
Taken together, these capabilities will bolster Zoth’s presence in the Canadian presence from a market access point into a regulated execution layer for cross-border payments, treasury movement, and fiat-stablecoin interoperability.