Payments Canada has published the full recording of a fireside discussion at the 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT between Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne and Payments Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Susan E. Hawkins. In the discussion, the minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Canada’s forthcoming Real-Time Rail, describing it as critical national infrastructure that will deliver instant, irrevocable and data-rich real-time payments and is scheduled to launch in Q4 2026 with mandatory fraud mitigation requirements from day one. The remarks framed payment modernization as part of Canada’s response to geopolitical change and rapid advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, with predictable and modern financial systems presented as a competitive advantage. The minister also highlighted the establishment of a new financial crime agency in the 2026 Spring Economic Update, linking stronger security measures to economic stability and national security.
Payments Canada 2026-05-13
Payments Canada publishes summit discussion reaffirming Real-Time Rail launch in Q4 2026 with mandatory fraud controls
Payments Canada released a recording of a fireside discussion between Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne and Payments Canada President and CEO Susan E. Hawkins at the 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT. The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the forthcoming Real-Time Rail as critical national infrastructure delivering instant, irrevocable, data-rich payments with mandatory fraud mitigation from launch, and framed payment modernization and a new financial crime agency as central to Canada’s response to geopolitical change, advanced technologies and national security.