Supporting safe, efficient and reliable retail payments in Canada: A day in the life
Celebrating 40 years of the Automated Clearing Settlement System
AUTHOR
Samantha Whynot
Manager, Retail Payment Systems Operations
Samantha Whynot is the Manager, Retail Payment System Operations at Payments Canada, where she oversees the team responsible for the day-to-day operations of the ACSS and the evolution and future of retail batch payments in Canada.
Payments Canada’s Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) turns 40 on November 18, 2024. The ACSS clears and settles the majority of day-to-day payments in Canada, including both paper-based (including cheques, paper remittances and government items) and electronic payments (including direct deposits, EDI payments, and pre-authorized debits, as some examples). That’s an average of over 39 million daily transactions, totalling $9.3 trillion in 2023 alone.
Since its launch 40 years ago, Payments Canada has consistently enhanced and upgraded the ACSS to maintain optimal efficiency, safety and functionality amid evolving technologies, payment preferences and industry shifts.
A notable example is the 2020 technology refresh, which not only reinforced the system's safety and reliability but also provided members with a more streamlined, user-friendly experience. This upgrade laid the foundation for future innovation by introducing APIs and transitioning the ACSS to a cloud-native platform.
Also in 2020, amendments were made to simplify the process for Payments Canada member financial institutions to become direct clearers on the ACSS. As a result, in June 2022, Peoples Trust Company (PTC) became the first new direct clearer in the system’s history.
A day in the life
When you pay a hydro bill online, receive a paycheck automatically in your bank account, or deposit a cheque using your mobile device, you may not stop to think about how the money moves from one bank to another. My team thinks about this every day and ensures that these payment activities that Canadians rely on can be carried out safely and securely.
The Retail Payment Systems Operations team performs many functions, from system reporting, managing relationships with our application vendors, incident management, the facilitation of business continuity and resiliency exercises. The team also helps to plan, prepare and continue to evolve the system to meet the changing retail payment needs and preferences of people living in Canada.
While every day is a bit different, our work to support the ACSS might look a lot like the following:
8:30 am - coffee in hand, I sit down at my desk and review the latest set of rule amendments the team has drafted in consultation with our members. Payments Canada rules are an integral part of our legal framework and set out the roles, responsibilities and obligations of our member financial institutions. Regular reviews of our rules are conducted so that we can identify areas requiring clarification, opportunities for process improvements or to ensure the rule continues to meet the needs of both Canadians and our members.
9:30 am
We start each week with a meeting of the ACSS operational and technical teams to discuss the status of ongoing projects and the results of any weekend activities such as an application release or a disaster recovery exercise to ensure the continued resilience of the system.
12:00 pm
I check to make sure the ACSS settlement was completed and review the daily statistics for any trends or anomalies. Approximately 33 million transactions flow through the ACSS on an average business day.
1:30 pm
Questions related to our payment systems and rules are often sent to info@payments.ca. I work with the team to respond to the inquiries received, providing clarity to Canadians on how our rules apply to the exchange, clearing and settlement of their payments over our payment systems.
3:00 pm
I end the day attending a meeting with our member financial institutions to discuss the future state of retail batch payments. This includes enhancements to the way payments are processed in the ACSS to ensure the future state meets the Bank of Canada’s risk management standards and the changing needs of Canadians.
Managing the daily operations of the ACSS and planning for the future is not possible without strong collaboration between Payments Canada, our member financial institutions, regulators and stakeholders. I love knowing the work we do together allows Canadians to send and receive payments without having to think twice.
Happy birthday, ACSS!
