Close your transactions quickly
From straightforward escrows to sophisticated financing and M&A structures, Computershare delivers escrow and paying agent services backed by local presence in Canada, global reach, and bilingual support in English and French.
With more than CA$9 trillion in debt under administration globally*, we provide the expertise to administer escrow transactions in line with agreed terms, integrated with our broader corporate trust services.
Escrow services
Escrow services
We support a broad range of escrow structures, including:
- Indemnification escrow. Funds and/or securities are held in escrow to cover unforeseen expenses or damages arising under an M&A agreement, and released upon predetermined terms.
- Performance escrow. Funds are held to support performance-based obligations under an M&A agreement or payment upon successful delivery of products or services.
- Withholding escrow. Funds and/or securities are held in acquisition transactions where a non-resident vendor has not provided the required clearance certificate under the Income Tax Act.
- Construction escrow. Lender-provided funds are held and disbursed as construction advances in accordance with the escrow agreement.
- Software escrow. Source code is deposited by a developer and released to licensees under predefined conditions.
M&A Escrow and paying agent services
Our experienced team supports efficient transactions with:
- An independent provider experienced in both straightforward escrows and more sophisticated structures
- Streamlined processes designed to save time and administrative friction
- A single provider for escrow and paying agent services to support a more coordinated transaction process
Paying agency services
Our paying agency services support a wide range of transaction types and payment structures, whether delivered as a standalone service or alongside escrow, debt trusteeship, or public-private partnership services. We can:
- Issue one-time, scheduled, or directed payments globally
- Execute individual or bulk payments across multiple currencies, jurisdictions, and payment methods
- Perform interest and payments, even when we are not acting as trustee
- Support high-volume distributions, including large scale payments by wire or cheque
- Provide foreign exchange capabilities to support payment distributions in varying currencies
TrustConnect™ Payment Registration
Introducing a reliable, digital solution for collecting payee and beneficiary information and facilitating payments.
Recipients can provide payment instructions directly to us through our secure cloud-based registration platform. This helps reduce the need to exchange sensitive banking information through email or across multiple intermediaries. Key features include:
Automated workflows to collect beneficiary details and facilitate payments to sellers, stakeholders, and other payment beneficiaries
Ready-to-send email templates to invite recipients and track completion
Support for domestic and cross-border distributions, including foreign exchange where required
Protocols designed to protect sensitive banking information
The Computershare Advantage
Complex corporate dealings often mean uncertainties and stressful timelines, but not when you partner with Computershare. Our dedicated team of experts answers your call, providing guidance and tackling tricky processes, so you can stay confident from account setup to closing.
Why Computershare?
Computershare Corporate Trust is an industry leader with CA$9.0 trillion of debt under administration, CA$350.6 billion in assets under administration and cross-border capabilities including CA$2.0 trillion in funds movements across 75+ currencies in foreign exchange and distributions.
$99.0 tn
of debt under administration
$350.6350.6 bn
in assets under administration
$22.0 tn
in funds movements
7575+
currencies in foreign exchange and distributions
*Data for the 12-months ending June 30, 2025. Debt under administration (DUA) includes all issues within the paying agency system of record. All totals are in Canadian dollars. CA$ to US$ exchange rate 0.73493 on June 30, 2025.
Let’s talk
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