The PayPod

The launch of the Real-Time Rail (RTR) is on the horizon. The use cases are well known. We know how settlement and funding works. But the question remains, how will consumers or businesses initiate a payment transaction that rides on this new rail?  What will the user experience layer look like? What is possible? The answer is overlay services!  This conversation explores the commercialization of overlay services that will provide real-time payment capabilities to end users; built around such highly anticipated functionality as QR codes and request-for-payment messages. 

Examine the business opportunities and the risks associated with these capabilities and how they have been addressed by other regions where there has been explosive growth in A2A. Industry leaders will discuss how Canadian institutions can differentiate beyond the rail by targeting business use cases and developing new revenue-generating real-time payment services.

Speakers:

• Michael Liberty, Vice-President, Global Money Operations at CIBC
• Abraham Tachjian, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer at Brim Financial
• Moderator: David Hooper, Vice-President, Banking & Payments at CGI

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Canada’s payment landscape is rapidly transforming, offering a growing range of participation options for emerging players. This conversation explores how organizations can effectively navigate the ecosystem to power their growth and examines the key money transfer systems available today, including prepaid cards, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send, Interac e-Transfer and the upcoming Real-Time Rail. 

Learn about the operational, regulatory and strategic implications of each approach and how making informed decisions drive innovation, reduce costs and expand choice for Canadian consumers and businesses.

Moderator: 

• Olivia Tang, SVP of Legal, People's Group

Panelists:

• Rohitash Hural, Associate Vice President of Strategic Accounts at People's Group
• Kartik Kamat, Vice President, Product Management at Mastercard
• Josh Rowat, Banking and Expansion Manager for North America at Wise
• Alena Scotchmer, Partner at Gowling WLG.

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Canada is flipping the switch on 24/7 banking, but the real challenge isn’t the tech—it’s the strategy. When the "9-to-5" window closes for good, how does your institution stay ahead? 

This expert panel moves past discussions of technical details to talk about what actually matters in a world of real-time payments: market implications, product strategy, keeping money moving and staying competitive in a world that never hits pause. 

Guests: 

• Jude Leclerc, Senior Vice President, Transaction Banking, Commercial Banking, CIBC
• Dougal Middleton, Head of Canada Payments & Treasury Services, Payments, J.P. Morgan Payments
• Steve Miller, VP, Cash Management, Royal Bank of Canada
• Todd Roberts, Senior Partner, Market Infrastructure & Payments Leader, Deloitte Canada

Moderator: 

• J.D. Penner, VP, Wholesale Banking & Payments Practice Lead, Intellect Design Arena

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What happens when your favourite ride-sharing, shopping or accounting app starts offering a debit card, credit line or instant payment feature? Welcome to the era of banking in disguise - where financial services are no longer delivered by “banks,” but by the apps Canadians already use every day. The rise of embedded finance is redefining who controls the customer relationship in banking. Retailers, tech platforms and service providers are embedding payments, credit and savings products seamlessly into their experiences, blurring the line between commerce and banking. 

This panel brings together innovators from fintechs, sponsor banks and payment platforms to unpack how this trend is reshaping Canada’s financial landscape. We’ll explore the infrastructure powering embedded finance, the regulatory implications of “invisible banking” and the new economics of partnerships that allow non-banks to become financial service providers. As the boundaries of banking dissolve, one question emerges: who really owns the future of money: the bank, the brand or the app? 

• SPEAKERS: 
• Shirley Hsu, GM, Payments, FreshBooks
• Timothy Morris, Chief Banking Officer, Neo Financial
• Rojin Nair, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, VoPay International Inc.
• Daljit Singh, Head, B2B Payments & Partnerships, EQ Bank

MODERATOR:

• Dina Vardouniotis, CEO, Payments and Partnerships

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This episode is an important conversation around financial crime prevention in a rapidly evolving landscape. Experts from Feedzai and top financial institutions explore the paradigm shift toward unified decisioning, emphasizing advanced fraud controls and the deployment of actionable risk intelligence. 

Panelists  examine the role of industry collaboration and trust in combating fraud effectively, particularly at the point of account opening. The discussion also addresses future-facing topics and emerging risks, including the security and regulatory implications of stablecoin transactions and the challenges and opportunities presented by open banking.

Speakers: 

• Elizabeth Tripp, Director, Fraud Management, CIBC
• Aaron McAllister, VP Fraud Threat Management, Scotiabank
• Geoff Morton, VP Fraud Management, Royal Bank of Canada

Moderator:

• Jas Anand, Value Engineering & Sales Enablement Lead, Feedzai (at the time of recording)

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We are entering the era of agentic autonomous fnance, where AI agents are transitioning from simple digital assistants to active financial participants. As these agents begin to negotiate, transact, and manage complex workflows independently, the financial system faces a critical shift in how it handles identity, trust, and control. Traditional credential-based models and manual approval chains are no longer sufficient for the high-velocity, machine-to-machine (M2M) commerce of the future.

This panel brings together global leaders in payments, banking, and autonomous systems to explore the "next frontier" of finance. We will discuss how tokenized assets, cryptographic trust, and agent-aware payment rails will build the secure foundation required for machines to safely participate in the economy and how Canadian institutions and regulators can prepare for this autonomous shift.

Guests:

• Aviva Klein, Independent Consultant
• Nate Soffio, Head, Reusable & Agentic Identity Products, Prove
• David Tax, Senior Manager, Payments Strategy & Innovation, TD Bank Group
• Mike Ward, CEO, Mica
• Moderator: Michelle Beyo, CEO & Founder, Finavator

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Supported by regulation and fueled by innovation and investment, open banking has fundamentally reshaped the UK's financial landscape, establishing it as a global leader and a vibrant hub for fintech innovation. This panel will explore the concrete experiences of three UK-based fintechs that have successfully leveraged this framework, drawing out key takeaways and discussing their potential applicability to Canada’s open banking journey. 

SPEAKERS

Paulo Barbosa, COO, Banfico

Mark Hewlett, Director, Business Development, Ebury

Dean Morrison, Chief Strategy Officer, Shaype

MODERATOR

David Prodger, Deputy Head of Mission, British High Commission

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This summer on The PayPod, we're bringing you some of the most popular and best reviewed sessions, from the deep dives and breakout stages at The 2026 SUMMIT. We're calling it The SUMMIT Summer series.

This session brings together industry leaders to demystify the Real-Time Rail (RTR) onboarding journey for system participants. The panel will discuss options for connectivity and settlement, the questions participants need to ask to best fit their business model and how to prepare for the RTR.

RTR onboarding isn’t just about getting connected. It’s about making the right decisions early so that the RTR becomes a foundation for customer value, business growth, scale and trust.

Speakers: 

• Lorna Godin, Senior Director, Everyday Payments, CIBC
• Kristi Lewis, VP, Marketing & Industry Relations, Paramount Commerce
• Aaron Walker, Director, RTR Participant Services, Payments Canada
• Moderator: Michele Poole, Founder, DeepPoole Advisory

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In anticipation of The SUMMIT, Payments Canada's annual event coming to Toronto this May, we're exploring this year's theme: accelerating economic growth. 

To do that, we brought together leading experts for a panel on how payments are essential to a thriving economy, enabling new services that deliver value to both businesses and consumers. 

Guests:

• Janet Lalonde, Vice President of Business Program Delivery, Payments Canada
• Abraham Tachjian, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, Brim Financial
• Rebecca Tasona, Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Personal and Business Banking, BMO
• Kathleen Woodard, Head of Banking and Industry Advisory for the Americas, Microsoft 

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Billions of dollars are held by Canadian financial institutions and every day, money is sent and received between bank accounts, safely. But how is your money so safe? In this episode of The PayPod, Payments Canada’s CIO is joined by CDIC’s CEO to discuss the role each organization plays in keeping Canadians’ money safe. 

About The PayPod
The PayPod is Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast that explores the trends and topics influencing payments in Canada and around the world.

In each episode, leading experts and respected thought leaders discuss the changing payment landscape, the needs of Canadians and the future of modern payments.

Connect with Payments Canada

• Visit our website: Explore payment research, news system updates and insights at payments.ca.
• Join the conversation: Follow Payments Canada and The SUMMIT, Canada’s annual premier payment event on LinkedIn. 
• Subscribe: Never miss an episode by subscribing to The PayPod on your Apple Podcasts and Spotify.