Payments Canada has been working on a national real time payments network called the Real-Time Rail or RTR. It plans to have all the typical features that real time systems around the world often have:
- Facilitate account-to-account payments
- Uses ISO 20022, which can handle a significant data load with the transaction itself
- Payments that are irrevocable
- Payments delivered and received 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day
Today they announced that they would rely on VocaLink, a Mastercard company, to assist in the build out of RT and meet their launch date in 2022. Here’s how the press release described this partnership:
The partnership will draw on Mastercard’s expertise, and its next-generation real-time payments technology to provide the infrastructure and services to support the clearing and settlement for the RTR. The clearing and settlement solution will meet all Payments Canada requirements, including support for the ISO 20022 messaging standard, and will comply with the Bank of Canada’s risk management standards for prominent payment systems.
Operated by Payments Canada and regulated by the Bank of Canada, the RTR will allow Canadians to initiate payments and receive irrevocable funds in seconds, 24/7/365. Underpinned by the ISO 20022 data standard, the system will support payment information travelling with every payment and act as a platform for innovation, enabling the introduction of new and enhanced payment products and experiences. The RTR is expected to launch in 2022.
Canada’s new real-time payments system will consist of two components: a clearing and settlement component provided by Mastercard; and an exchange component. Payments Canada is in the final stages of the vendor procurement process for the exchange component. A public announcement will be made in due course.
This is another example of how the card networks continue to grow their non-card based payment solutions.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
