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
Quick links - ACSS
Automated clearing settlement system rules, standards and by-laws
Retail batch payment system
Rule A1
General Rules Pertaining to Items Acceptable for Clearing
Retail batch payment system
Rule A3
Endorsement and Identification of Paper Items
Retail batch payment system
Rule A4
Returned and Redirected Items
Retail batch payment system
Rule A10
Image Rule
Retail batch payment system
Rule B2
Manual Preparation of Clearing Logs
Retail batch payment system
Rule G3
Rules Pertaining to the Redemption and Settlement of Government of Canada Paper Instruments
Retail batch payment system
Rule H6
Rules Pertaining to the Inter Financial Institution Exchange of Bill Payment Remittances for the Purpose of Clearing and Settlement
Retail batch payment system
Rule K1
Bulk Exchange and Settlement of U.S. Dollar Items​
Retail batch payment system
Standard 015
Companion Document to the ANSI X9.100-187-2008, "Specifications for Electronic Exchange of Check and Image Data - Domestic"
Retail batch payment system