Payments Canada announces launch of Canada's Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system

ChrisArchitect

Official release: https://www.payments.ca/canada-launches-real-time-rail-bring...

tamimio

The article didn’t mention how is this different from current interac, and great to see wealthsimple is already in it!

julianlam

Interac (eTransfer/EMT) is a great system that has already rolled out nation-wide. Unfortunately its utility is curtailed severely if your bank doesn't trust your mobile OS (LineageOS, for me). For security purposes, my bank (RBC) triggers identity checks every time I try to send an EMT, and even after sending selfies, drivers licences, etc. — it still rejects the transfer. So, security at the cost of all utility. I have now resorted to transferring money between my accounts using paper cheques... like it's the 90s. If somehow they deny me cheque deposits I'll have to use an ATM and walk the money to the other bank. Given how there are now banks that don't even have branches, this could be a major problem in the future. This Real-Time Rail system sounds promising, but that's not the link that'll kill it for everyone.

petcat

Will be curious to see if this ends up requiring Google/Apple accounts and mobile device attestation in order to work.

ChrisArchitect

Not so hot on the name, initially thought it was some kind of train system payment thing. But that just lends to the coverage of this out in random mainstream media confusing consumers - not really a consumer thing but an infrastructure thing on the backend for banks/institutions. On the consumer side many will immediately think of Interac eTransfers, which this has little to do with as far as consumer experience, but it will also use this on the backend for things. Carry on.

coevcan

I don't know why anyone would trust the Liberal government with a payment system, after they went rogue and froze about 200 bank accounts without court orders during the convey protests using the emergencies act which has since been deemed illegal. > Using powers granted under the Emergencies Act, the federal government has directed banks and other financial institutions to stop doing business with people associated with the anti-vaccine mandate convoy occupying the nation's capital. > ... financial institutions are required to monitor and halt all transactions that funnel money to demonstrators — a measure designed to cut off funding to a well-financed protest ... If you think they wouldnt abuse this, good luck to you. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/emergencies-act-banks-ottaw... https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/emergency-bank-measures-fin... https://reclaimthenet.org/court-rules-trudeau-freezing-civil...

rvz

So FedNow for Canada, meaning you can't use this outside of Canada at all. Crypto blockchains like Solana, XRP, Stellar and Tempo on the other hand can be used anywhere worldwide, 24/7 and sends stablecoins like USDC in seconds with extremely low fees.

lbrito

I couldn't find this info in the release, but I assume account information and transactions go through the Bank of Canada? That's how the closest analogy, Brazil's Pix, works.

mig39

Doesn't look like any of Canada's major banks are taking part? > The initial cohort of active RTR system participants includes: Wealthsimple, Questbank, Peoples Trust Company, Paramount Commerce, KOHO, DoBusiness.com™, Digital Commerce Bank, Bank of America,

mentalgear

Just like the EU started their independent EU-wide (500 million people) payment network to become independent of the American payment monopolists. It took a fascist US admin to get the move world-wide rolling to decouple from the US and towards smaller sovereignty, but ultimately it is for the better.

diego_moita

TL;DR: this is not Brazilian Pix or Indian UPI. Meh, just another "payment option". These payment systems need network effects, otherwise they just won't matter. Another private provider won't generate these effects. Just look at the list of participants, they're small players in Canada's marketplace. They won't generate net effects. Besides, in times of renewed imperialism it is very crucial that a country has full control of their payment systems. And, at last, they must offer guarantees that there will be no friction and won't be subject to enshitification. So, what Canada needs is a system implemented, enforced and managed by the government, like Brazil's Pix and India's UPI.

QGQBGdeZREunxLe

Insane that the US does not have a realtime payments network in 2026. FedNow exists but is supported by handful of banks which charge fees to use the feature. > Outgoing transfers cost 0.75% of the transaction amount (minimum of $1, maximum of $30). SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming transactions. > SoFi Plus members save 50%. They pay 0.375% of the transaction amount with a maximum of $15 (minimum remains $1). https://www.sofi.com/banking/instant-money-transfer

frereubu

Totally OT, but such a glorious name of the guy in the middle of the top photo, "François-Philippe Champagne". If I read that in a novel I'd be rolling my eyes.

lifeisstillgood

So the quiet voice here is I think the desire to stop small businesses being the working capital providers of larger ones (“take the 90 day payment terms or go find someone else”)

arkt8

Interesting it have "lower processing costs". It could be free at all like Brazilian PIX... but certainly it wouldn't be liked by Visa and Mastercard. People in Brazil can simply generate a one time PIX code or use own key and instantly receive. It is now the most used payment mode for more than a hundred million people... this is why Trump attacked the Brazilian financial system as unfair with North American payment systems. Yes, it can have no cost, receiver can have no cost, payer need not to have a hidden cost at price tag and it can save billions of dollars and make products and services circulate more, warming economy , reducing unemployment and avoiding money dump to external countries for the local enterpreneurs.

MarkusWandel

So basically a modernized M-PESA? Where you just scan a QR code or such, and then say how much $$ you want to transfer to that account, with cash-like low effort? The last bastion of cash, for me, here is garage sales. Absolutely everything else has gone cashless, but low-friction, low dollar transfers between individuals is still ruled by cash. Not that I haven't paid for stuff via Interac e-transfer but that has high friction (log into bank app, add one-time payee etc.) so only for cases where suitable cash isn't on hand.

100111011111

Wait whats new then, dont they have interac, its at least real time on the surface and you can bind cards, bank accounts etc to it, so what am I missing?

maratc

High on self-approval but low on details. Are the transactions reversible? For instance, can a scammer convince an elderly person to transfer money to their account (instantaneously) and then split it and send the money to partners in crime (also instantaneously)? What is the process for conflict resolution, for cases like the product fully paid for (instantaneously) doesn’t work as advertised? How much information on payer identity is being shared with a recipient, to be recorded, cross-matched and sold to the highest bidder? Sometimes I think that the slow speed of moving money is a feature, not a bug.

purpleidea

Does it require an email? Because if it does you already failed. If you don't increase privacy protections as well, then we don't care.

bawolff

I guess i dont really understand what this means for the average consumer. Isn't interac etransfer essentially instant?