Open Banking in Canada is Closer Than Ever as Retail Payments Act Advances

The Bank of Canada this month unveiled the initial selection of registered payment service providers.

These service providers—300 so far and counting—will gain access to key financial infrastructure such as real-time payment rails for simpler money transfers through Payments Canada via an open banking framework when it finally launches.

This also means that the providers are subject to the Retail Payments Activities Act, which introduces a new set of rules and regulations for the firms.

Initially discussed in the 2021 federal budget, the Department of Finance Canada led the development of these regulations for the supervisory framework with support from the Bank of Canada.

The RPAA came into effect last November, offering a 10-month transition period. That transition ended last month, and now the providers must be compliant with all aspects of the Act.

The Bank’s executive director of payments, Ron Morrow, remarked in September that the RPAA is designed so “Canadians can access cheaper payment options and a broader array of services.”

Readers of Fintech.ca will recognize many of the companies thus far accepted by the Bank, including Calgary’s Helcim and ZayZoon, Vancouver-based VoPay and Peloton, Montreal-born Zum, and Ottawa’s Shopify, as well as Wealthsimple, Koho, Brim, Trolley, and more from Toronto.

And there are still more than 1,000 pending applications for the Bank to consider as the country advances toward a more open banking model.