At the Payments Canada SUMMIT, Payments Canada used a fireside chat with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and chief executive Susan E. Hawkins, along with a separate delivery update, to restate the role of payments modernization in Canada’s economic agenda and to provide a timetable for the Real-Time Rail. The main operational update was that the system is undergoing comprehensive testing, industry testing will begin in Q3 2026, and launch is planned for Q4 2026 subject to successful completion of all testing criteria. In the summit discussion, Minister Champagne linked payments modernization to the 2026 Spring Economic Update’s focus on productivity, security and competitiveness, and pointed to recent changes to the Canadian Payments Act and other payment legislation intended to expand competition and payment choice. He described the forthcoming Real-Time Rail as a cornerstone of the government’s modernization agenda and said the government would continue engaging stakeholders on its future capabilities. Payments Canada said the system will support instant, irrevocable payments, 24/7 availability and data-rich ISO 20022 messaging, with centralized fraud detection built into the platform. The session also covered fraud and financial crime, including the government’s proposed legislation to establish a Financial Crime Agency. Once testing is complete, participants will be onboarded in deliberate phases.

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