Q4 2023 Delivery Roadmap update

At Payments Canada we dedicate ourselves to the delivery, operation and governance of payment systems that are innovative, secure and globally connected. As the fourth quarter of 2023 is quickly coming to a close, I’m pleased to share that so far this year, the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) and Lynx have cleared and settled over 9.1 billion transactions valued at more than $106 trillion.

Safety and security are top of mind in everything we do. In October, we successfully implemented an additional data centre to further strengthen the resilience of Lynx. This additional site provides supplementary resilience to support the continuity of Lynx operations should an extreme event occur.

In November, Payments Canada and the payment ecosystem had two very big legislative wins: changes to the Canadian Payments Act (CP Act) were included in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement implementation bill tabled in Parliament; and the final regulations for the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) were published. The legislative changes to the CP Act mean that work can begin to broaden access to Payments Canada’s systems in a way that lays the foundation for important benefits for Canadians and Canadian businesses across the country. Together, changes to the CP Act and the publication of the final RPAA regulations are critical steps for a modern payment ecosystem that is more inclusive, enables fair competition and supports a thriving Canadian economy. Payments Canada applauds the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada for advancing these important changes. I’d also like to recognize and thank our members and stakeholders who rallied around the call for these changes to happen.

This quarter, we released the 2023 Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report, an annual analysis that informs Payments Canada's strategy, and provides our members and the payment industry with insights into the evolving payment ecosystem. Additionally, new data on Canadians' use of cash preferences was published, along with three reports that explored QR enabled payments, cross-border payments and ISO 20022, all relevant and timely topics for our members and the ecosystem.

We were pleased to have Nicolas Dinh, VP of Financial Services Operations at Tim Hortons and newest member of our Stakeholder Advisory Council (SAC), participate in our industry interview series. As part of our discussion, Nicolas shares his perspectives on the evolving Canadian retail payment landscape and the benefits of broader access to Payments Canada’s systems. The SAC is an integral part of our governance framework and members provide advice and counsel to Payments Canada’s Board of Directors and staff for the future of payments in Canada.
 
At the beginning of 2023, we increased our focus on delivery assurance and de-risking the RTR program to provide planning certainty and confidence in delivery timelines. Vendor delivery activities have continued throughout 2023. I recognize that with shifting timelines there have been implications due to the delays to the payment ecosystem. Payments Canada, its regulators and member financial institutions remain fully committed to delivering a safe, secure and efficient real-time payment system for Canada and this takes time. The next update on the RTR program will be in Q1 of 2024 and I look forward to sharing more with you about this critical program.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our members, regulators and stakeholders for their ongoing effort and collaboration this year. On behalf of everyone at Payments Canada, I look forward to what we will achieve together in 2024 as we continue to make payments easier, smarter and safer for all Canadians.

I wish you a happy holiday season.

Tracey Black 
President and CEO
Payments Canada