Rules & documentation

By-laws, rules, standards and procedure documents are integral parts of the legal framework of the national payment systems that Payments Canada is legislated to establish and operate. They lay out the roles, responsibilities and obligations of our member financial institutions on the appropriate handling of payment items exchanged, cleared and settled via our payment systems. This includes requirements for participation in a payment system or scheme, procedures for the processing of payment items, and the requirements and timeframes for returning payment items, where eligible.

Payments Canada’s rules, standards and procedure documents are updated regularly and versions posted online are in force. You can contact Payments Canada for confirmation by e-mail at info@payments.ca.

Item Title Updated System
Rule A3
Endorsement and Identification of Paper Items
Retail batch payment system
Rule B5
Intermember Cheque Exchanges
Retail batch payment system
Rule K1
Bulk Exchange and Settlement of U.S. Dollar Items​
Retail batch payment system
Rule K5
U.S. Bulk Exchange System - Manual Balancing and Settlement
Retail batch payment system
Rule B9
Manual Balancing and Settlement
Retail batch payment system
Rule D4
Institution Numbers and Clearing Agency/Representative Arrangements
Retail batch payment system
Rule E3
Rules Applicable to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Transactions
Retail batch payment system
Standard 007
Standards for the use of transaction codes and return reason codes in AFT files
Retail batch payment system

The 2024 Payments Canada SUMMIT

Coming to Toronto from May 29 to 31 at the Beanfield Centre, The 2024 SUMMIT will bring together the best of the payment ecosystem from across Canada and around the world. As Canada’s premier payment event, The SUMMIT is the place to learn about, discuss and debate the future of payments with the industry’s thought-leaders, visionaries and innovators.

Learn more