Cross-border financial services provider Pesa has become a member of Payments Canada, opening a pathway to apply for participation in the country’s national payment systems.
Pesa serves diaspora communities across Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates and Europe. The company says membership supports its efforts to build faster, more transparent ways for customers to move money across borders.
“Becoming a member of Payments Canada is an important milestone for Pesa and for the customers who trust us to move money across borders,” said Tolulope Osho, CEO and co-founder of Pesa. “We started Pesa because we experienced firsthand how difficult and frustrating that could be.”
The announcement comes as Canada prepares to launch its Real-Time Rail (RTR) in the fourth quarter of 2026. The system is designed to enable instant, data-rich domestic payments around the clock.
Membership is an initial step toward participation. Pesa would still need to meet applicable technical, operational and security requirements before accessing the system.
“Pesa is joining at an exciting moment as we prepare for the launch of Canada’s Real-Time Rail,” said Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payment Officer at Payments Canada. “Membership is the key first step to participating in the RTR, which will catalyze billions in economic benefits, driving payment innovation and productivity for Canadian businesses and consumers.”
While the RTR moves money within Canada, Pesa says eventual participation could improve the Canadian portion of cross-border transfers, supporting greater speed, transparency and convenience.
“From an engineering perspective, this is about getting closer to the infrastructure that sits underneath how payments move in Canada,” said Wale Afolabi, Pesa’s co-founder and CTO. “As that infrastructure evolves, we want to be in a position to build with it.”
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