Real-time rail (RTR) is coming to Canada.
Given RTR’s history of delays (the initial planning for this national payments initiative began back in 2019), one might be forgiven for feeling a bit skeptical about this statement. However, Payments Canada seems to have achieved a critical mass of momentum, recently stating it had reached 60 percent completion on the technical build and reaffirming that development remains on target for completion in Q3 of 2025.
Key milestones remain, including the addition of a centralized fraud system, as well as continued testing and engagement with industry partners.
What is RTR?
Payments Canada’s goal is to provide a real-time, irrevocable, data-rich payments platform available 24/7/365. This platform, which Payments Canada will own and operate, is called real-time rail, or RTR.
For Canadians, this means payments will be processed and settled within seconds—no matter the time of day or day of week. Canadians will also be able to access ISO 20022-compliant contextual information about each transaction, including sender and recipient details, account numbers, transaction status and more.
At a broader level, RTR is expected to bring significant economic benefits. If executed well, it should improve liquidity management for individuals and businesses, enable future innovation in payment services, drive economic growth, and enhance consumer and business experiences. One study by the C.D. Howe Institute estimated that RTR could contribute more than $3 billion to the Canadian economy over its first five years, with consumers reaping substantial benefits.
Given these benefits, why hasn’t RTR launched yet? RTR is a complex, large-scale infrastructure program involving multiple dimensions and stakeholders. The RTR Program consists of two main components: RTR Exchange and RTR Clearing & Settlement. The launch of RTR will include real-time clearing and settlement for Interac e-Transfer, as well as a centralized fraud solution.
There are many factors to consider. The solution must work seamlessly across a variety of payment systems used by financial institutions and payments providers across Canada. Cybersecurity is another critical concern. While real-time payments offer speed and convenience, they also present new challenges for fraud prevention that must be carefully planned for and mitigated. For example, after the UK launched its real-time payments system in 2008, online banking fraud rose by 132 percent. (For a deeper discussion of this topic, see EY’s white paper, Lessons in managing Real-Time Payments Fraud: A guide for Canada.)
To that end, Payments Canada and its partners have emphasized applying international learnings from other jurisdictions.
Where are we at with RTR today?
In 2023, RTR was paused to reassess delivery plans. At that time, the RTR exchange component had been built by partner Interac, but the remainder of project remained in limbo.
In April 2024, Payments Canada announced a renewed path forward for RTR in a press release titled Canada’s Real-Time Rail program resumes with renewed momentum. It introduced new partners—IBM Canada and CGI—to support the delivery and operation of RTR, and established renewed timelines with development and testing planned for 2025, leading to broader industry testing through 2026.
Recognizing the great anticipation for RTR, Jude Pinto, Chief Delivery Officer at Payments Canada, has begun providing quarterly updates on the program’s progress. According to his latest update on April 24, Pinto says the technical build of RTR is 60 percent completed and is on target to be finished, as planned, in Q3 of 2025.
Notably, Pinto highlighted that “The centralized fraud services build, which is also at 60 per cent complete, includes new protections for the ecosystem that will work in tandem with our member participants’ existing fraud controls.”
Key milestones still lay ahead. One particularly important and challenging task is ensuring the system integrates effectively with the many different payments service providers that will use it. To support this, Payments Canada is conducting a “participant impact assessment” alongside its testing efforts:
“to understand the technical and operational changes for each member participant and the onboarding and readiness activities needed for new member participants.”
This assessment is ongoing, and Payment Canada expects to be share the results in the second half of 2025.
Next Steps: RTR and PPJV
As one of the industry participants representing our credit union partners, PPJV regularly engages with Payments Canada and other stakeholders for the project. In parallel, we are working closely with our credit union partners to ensure our systems are updated and ready to meet RTR requirements. This work includes:
- Upgrades to core and digital banking systems to align with Interac e-Transfer’s RTR API specifications;
- Adoption of the new settlement process and the new Enhance Reconciliation File (ERF), which will be processed daily, including holidays and weekends;
- Identifying and working with credit union champions—one from each of the prairie Centrals—to participate in industry testing, alongside each central, starting in March 2026.
This will be a significant lift, and PPJV is continuing to build out RTR expertise while developing a strategy to ensure we are ready to be full participants in this important payments modernization initiative.