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 K1
Bulk Exchange and Settlement of U.S. Dollar Items​
Retail batch payment system
Rule K4
U.S. Bulk Exchange Automated System
Retail batch payment system
Rule K5
U.S. Bulk Exchange System - Manual Balancing and Settlement
Retail batch payment system
Rule K6
Intermember US Dollar Interest Claims
Retail batch payment system
Rule K8
U.S. Dollar Automated Funds Transfer System
Retail batch payment system
Rule L1
Procedures Pertaining to the Default of a Direct Clearer
Retail batch payment system
Rule L2
Procedures Pertaining to the Default of an Indirect Clearer
Retail batch payment system
Rule L3
Collateral​
Retail batch payment system
Standard 005
Standards for the Exchange of Financial Data on AFT Files
Retail batch payment system
Standard 006
Specifications for MICR-Encoded Payment Items
Retail batch payment system
Standard 007
Standards for the use of transaction codes and return reason codes in AFT files
Retail batch payment system
Standard 010
Standards and Guidelines for the Standard Intermember Control Document
Retail batch payment system