Get ready for the Real-Time Rail

Canada’s Instant Payments scheme, the Real-Time Rail, is expected to enter service as early as 2026. Are you ready for the transition?

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Home ◥ Real-Time Rail: Instant payments in Canada

Real-Time Rail: Canada’s first step into instant payments

Payments Canada has announced Real-Time Rail in earnest, bringing instant payments to Canada by 2026. While this has put Canada behind other countries, it gives Canadian payment service providers (PSPs) both ample time to prepare, and a wealth of case studies to learn from.

Canada has a unique opportunity to launch a more modern, more secure and more seamless instant payments scheme – so long as Canadian PSPs can nail the fundamentals.

The opportunity

Learning from other markets

“The advantage now is that Canada can pre-empt headwinds, learn from other markets, and align with legislative changes such as the rollout of the Retail Payments Activities Act (RPAA). It is an exciting time for Canadian payments.”

While the Real-Time Rail was originally scheduled for a 2022 launch, our analyst Kellie Johnson believes Canada will benefit in the long-run by delaying until 2026. Canada has more time to see how other countries have benefitted from instant payments – and to learn from their mistakes.

Read the article

Meeting customer demand

The Real-Time Rail promises many game-changing advantages for Canada’s payments infrastructure. With real-time payments available around the clock, businesses and individuals will gain a real-time view of their funds. With less manual reconciliation, and with transactions processed and cleared in a matter of seconds, the Real-Time Rail will give millions of Canadians unprecedented control over their finances.

While Canada is late to the party, demand for instant payments has reached staggering levels around the world.

76%

Over three-quarters of banks in Europe are planning to invest in new technology to meet demand for instant payments. 32.8% say they will invest at least €1 million, with 13.6% investing over €3 million.

71%

Seven out of ten banking leaders in Europe expect to see a significant uplift in Instant Payments transfers when SEPA Instant goes live in 2025 – 33% predict instant payments will displace card payments.

99%

Nearly all US banks have noticed increased demand for instant payments among both corporate and retail customers. 53% said the demand was ‘significant’ or even ‘overwhelming’.

Using the lessons learned

How to prepare for the Real-Time Rail

Meeting the needs of corporate clients will be a key factor in implementing a successful instant payments program. That means anticipating and offering value-added services before they are demanded, getting ready for peak volumes, and continuing to combat fraud.

Find out how to prepare for the Real-Time Rail by reading our article.

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What are your next steps?

Implementing the Real-Time Rail is your responsibility as a payment service provider in Canada. Fortunately, there is still time to prepare – but the sooner you get started, the sooner you can be sure of a successful integration.

While no firm deadlines have yet been declared, the rough time frame currently looks like this:

2024

The Real-Time Rail, Canada’s Instant Payments model, is expected to be completed towards the end of 2024.

2025

The Real-Time Rail will begin testing. This is important to ensure the system is compliant and secure.

2026

The Real-Time Rail will begin industry testing and, assuming the initial feedback is successful, Canadian PSPs will start to implement Instant Payments.

Make a headstart today

While there is still time to prepare for the Real-Time Rail, your successful integration will depend on working with a trusted, expert partner.

Managing the scale of the transition – from building the technology into your platform to ensuring full regulatory compliance and training staff in best practice – is guaranteed to be a long process, so the sooner you get started, the higher your chance of success.

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