Payments Canada has opened a 30-day public consultation on policy proposals to amend its by-laws and rules in preparation for pending Canadian Payments Act changes that would expand Payments Canada membership eligibility. The statutory amendments, once in force, would allow payment service providers as defined in the Retail Payment Activities Act, certain credit union locals, and clearing houses of designated clearing and settlement systems to apply for membership. The proposals cover membership and governance, system participation, and compliance. PSP applicants would need to be registered with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act and provide evidence of registration, and Stakeholder Advisory Council eligibility would be adjusted by removing a blanket restriction affecting directors, officers, or employees of entitled members while maintaining the restriction for PSPs that become members. For participation in Payments Canada’s systems, the proposals would not introduce entity-based restrictions for the new member categories, would retain existing entity-based restrictions in the ACSS by-law for certain entity types, and would revise ACSS direct clearer eligibility by redefining “affiliation” to focus on whether the relationship could prevent settlement obligations being met. On compliance, Payments Canada proposes expedited investigation processes for “straightforward” objective breaches and “uncontested” contraventions, and an increase in the maximum penalty under the compliance by-law to CAD 1,000,000 per contravention from CAD 250,000. Comments are due by March 6, 2025. Feedback will inform drafting instructions for by-law amendments that would proceed through the regulatory approval process, including Canada Gazette publication, while rule changes would follow Payments Canada governance procedures.

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