Payments Canada Unveils Real-Time Payment System Progress

Payment clearing and settlement system operator Payments Canada has revealed that it has made ‘substantial progress’ on the Real-Time Rail, Canada’s first real-time payment system, since the back-end of 2024.

Payments Canada says that it and its delivery partners, CGI, IBM and Interac, are now more than halfway through the technical build of the Real-Time Rail (RTR). This build encompasses the installation of advanced hardware in data centres, including servers, storage systems and advanced networking equipment, alongside developing software, such as coding for the real-time clearing and settlement system.

During the last quarter of 2024, Payments Canada also made significant progress in developing an integrated fraud solution having agreed on a fraud strategy with members and participants and on high-level requirements for an effective fraud mitigation system.

Payments Canada plans to continue the technical build and prepare for testing – which includes finalising its test strategy, selecting test tools, determining approaches and identifying test participants.

“Our last quarterly update was in October. Payments Canada and its delivery partners have made steady traction in this build component of the programme,” explained Jude Pinto, chief delivery officer at Payments Canada.

The payment system operator is also working with member participants, sharing technical and operational requirements and supporting them in designing their risk management processes to integrate with these new capabilities.

Enhancing financial inclusion through payment innovation 

Pinto also added: “Amendments to the Canadian Payments (CP) Act received royal assent this past June. It includes aspects of expanded membership once it is enforced. This expanded membership includes categories for payment service providers, who will be also regulated under something called the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA). It includes expansion to credit union locals and some categories in clearing houses involved in clearing and settlement. The Bank of Canada recently completed its registration process under the RPAA and it will be important to watch how this unfolds over the coming quarters”.

These updates to the CP Act will expand Payments Canada membership eligibility to PSPs, credit union locals and certain categories of clearing houses involved in clearing and settlement. Once the CP Act updates take effect, these entities will be eligible to apply for Payments Canada membership. Upon meeting all requirements and becoming a member, they will then be eligible to apply for participation in its systems.

Each Payments Canada system — its retail batch payment system, the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS); its high-value system, Lynx; and the RTR — has its own participation requirements that members need to meet to become participants. Payments Canada hopes this expanded eligibility will enhance financial inclusivity by enabling a broader range of users to benefit from real-time payment processing while complying with regulatory requirements.

Payments Canada says that RTR represents a ‘significant leap forward’ in the country’s payment infrastructure.