Earlier this year, Payments Canada issued a public consultation on policy proposals in relation to membership expansion, with the intention of collecting responses to inform drafting instructions for amendments to Payments Canada by-laws. In this episode of The PayPod, Payments Canada’s Director of Policy discusses why Payments Canada initiated this public consultation, what key themes emerged and how we will incorporate this public feedback into our by-laws. 

From the renewed momentum of the Real-Time Rail payment system, to the Retail Payments Activities Act, to open banking legislation and Canadian Payments Act amendments receiving Royal Assent, 2024 was a year of great change for payments in Canada. How will 2025 further advance modern payments for Canadians? 

Payments Canada released its annual Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report in early October, which analyzes retail payment transactions. In 2023, that number was 21.7 billion. The report compares year-over-year payment method trends and also focuses on how payment innovation has evolved Canadian purchasing behaviours and preferences. Wearables, Generative AI (GenAI) and home device and social platform purchases figured prominently, but with real-time payments coming to Canada, how will the payment landscape adopt, adapt and change? 

The real-time movement of money enabled by the RTR will give Canadians more control over their finances by allowing payments to be cleared and settled in seconds and providing greater confidence that payments have been finalized. In this episode of The PayPod, Payments Canada and the RTR’s strategic partners discuss collaboration, security, resiliency and how the made in Canada RTR system will change payments for all Canadians.

From commercialization opportunities in real-time payments, to harnessing the power of ISO 20022, to the game-changing potential of AI, innovation is everywhere across today’s payment ecosystem, in Canada and around the globe. In this episode of The PayPod, we revisit a main stage discussion from The 2024 SUMMIT, where panelists explored the biggest developments in payments and predicted what we’ll be talking about in 2025.

Payments are becoming increasingly easier, smarter and safer for Canadian businesses and consumers. There are multiple enablers for this change - technology, innovation, consumer demand - but the real reason payments keep getting better and better are the rules and by-laws that form their foundation. How does a payment rule get created? Once it’s created, who governs it and who enforces it? Can a rule be changed? How many payment rules are there? 

On this episode of The PayPod, find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know and more about payment rules in North America from our guests, Debbie Barr of Nacha and Charlie Clarke of Payments Canada.

The High Value Payment System Plus (HVPS+) group, whose mission is to drive best practices and proper usage of payment messaging standards for interoperability and harmonization across high value payment systems, has developed an ISO 20022 Interoperability Charter, which Payments Canada has declared support for.

The charter outlines objectives and principles designed to enable evolution and interoperability of the ISO 20022 standard for high-value payments, to support efficiency, innovation and improved payment experiences for end-users. 

Elizabeth Leather of the Bank of England and Karl Lee of Payments Canada discuss how the charter was developed, who is using it and what it means for interoperability.

In the 2023 Fall Economic Statement (FES), the federal government committed to amendments of the Canadian Payments Act (CP Act). This is tremendous news for the Canadian payment ecosystem, because we are now on the path to expanded Payments Canada membership and participation in our national payment systems. Expanded access means more opportunities for regulated entities and more choices for Canadians. So now what?

Modern payments is an evolution, it will always continue to progress. Join The PayPod’s guests Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada and her former colleague and mentor, senior financial services executive John Ambrose as they discuss mentorship, how far we’ve come in the evolution of payments and what still needs to be done to reposition Canada as a leader in the global payments ecosystem.

In this episode, we take you back to the main stage of The 2023 Payments Canada SUMMIT. Industry experts from across the payment ecosystem share insights and perspectives on some of the most important challenges and opportunities facing the payment industry today. Topics discussed include: how broadening access to Canada’s payment systems will benefit businesses, consumers and the economy; why the Canadian Payments Act and the Retail Payments Activities Act are needed to support innovation, modern payment regulation and consumer protection; why there couldn’t “BE” a better time for open banking in Canada; the benefits that faster payment options will bring to Canadian consumers and businesses, and much more. 

• Abraham Tachjian, Open Banking Lead, Department of Finance
• Grant Mackenzie, President and CEO of Peoples Group
• Hanna Zaidi, Chief Compliance Officer, Payments, at WealthSimple
• Nick Catino, Global Head, Policy & Social Impact, Wise
• Ron Morrow, Executive Director, Supervision, Bank of Canada
• Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada

Visit payments.ca to learn more about Payments Canada.