Payments Canada published research showing that 60 per cent of surveyed Canadian businesses would use real-time payments in specified situations, ahead of the Real-Time Rail’s scheduled launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 following comprehensive testing. The new infrastructure will process data-rich payments instantly around the clock, including weekends and holidays, and will launch with centralized fraud services that complement participants’ internal controls. Businesses identified government tax payments, domestic account-to-account transfers and supplier payments as leading uses for sending funds. For receiving funds, the main use cases were domestic transfers and customer bill payments. Guaranteed payments ranked as the most important core feature for 29 per cent of respondents, followed by real-time fraud monitoring at 27 per cent, while businesses also expressed demand for recurring payments, payment requests, aliases and confirmation of payee.
2026-08-20Payments Canada
Payments Canada finds 60 per cent of businesses ready to adopt real-time payments ahead of Q4 2026 launch
Payments Canada found that 60 per cent of surveyed Canadian businesses would use real-time payments in specified situations. The Real-Time Rail is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, enabling instant, data-rich payments around the clock with centralized fraud services.