Bank of Canada designates RTR as a prominent payment system

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem has designated the Real-Time Rail (RTR), operated by Payments Canada, as a prominent payment system under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act, effective November 8, 2026.

The designation brings the RTR under formal Bank oversight and requires Payments Canada to ensure that the RTR adheres to the Bank’s risk-management standards, including maintaining controls that support the RTR’s safety and resilience. As a designated domestic clearing and settlement system, the RTR will also fall within the Bank’s resolution regime, which supports the continuity of critical services in the unlikely event that the system becomes non-viable.

The RTR will provide continuous clearing and settlement of payments with immediate availability of funds. It will also clear and settle payments exchanged through Interac e-Transfer. The Bank regularly monitors the evolution of new and existing payment systems to determine whether they warrant oversight because of their potential to cause systemic or payments system risk.

Additional information

• Under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act, the Bank has formal responsibility for the designation and oversight of clearing and settlement systems—also known as financial market infrastructures—that could pose a systemic or payments system risk.
• While the Bank’s oversight role does not extend to consumer protection, it expects designated clearing and settlement systems to take appropriate measures to prevent fraud. Victims of fraud should report the incident to their financial institution and alert the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
• For more information about the Bank’s oversight of designated clearing and settlement systems, see the Guideline Related to Bank of Canada Oversight Activities Under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act.