Payments Canada taps Interac Corp for real-time payments system
Spurred by developments elsewhere, Canada is trying to catch up in the field of real time payments. Infrastructure consortium Payments Canada has announced that it has selected Interac Corp as the exchange solution provider for Canada’s real-time payments system, the Real-Time Rail (RTR).
The RTR network is expected to launch in 2022 and will be ‘Operated by Payments Canada and regulated by the Bank of Canada’. This system would be used to ‘initiate payments and receive irrevocable funds in seconds, 24/7/365’ and would be using ISO 20022 data standard.
“The Real-Time Rail will be the foundation for faster, data-rich payments and act as a platform for innovation. Participants in the payment system will be able to connect and develop new and exciting ways for Canadians to pay for goods and services, transfer money and better compete nationally and internationally”, said Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada.
The exchange solution provided by Interac Corp will allow Payments Canada members to send and receive payments over RTR and will connect to close to 300 Canadian Financial Institutions (FIs). In order to enable the settlement of RTR payments in real-time, the exchange solution would interface with the clearing and settlement solution provided by Mastercard’s Vocalink, the press release noted.
“Working with Payments Canada to support the build of the Real-Time Rail represents a significant opportunity to enable consumers and businesses to take full advantage of digital payment solutions and foster increased innovation and efficiency,” said Mark O’Connell, President & CEO of Interac Corp.
According to the press release, “RTR is a fundamental part of Payments Canada’s multi-year industry program to modernize the infrastructure, rules and standards that underpin payments in Canada”.
Payments Canada is a public purpose organisation that owns and operates Canada’s payments systems, the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) and the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) and is responsible for physical infrastructure and the associated bylaws, rules, and standards that support these systems.