Payments Canada has opened a public consultation on the legal framework for Real-Time Rail (RTR), seeking feedback on a proposed RTR by-law and core policy elements that will underpin how Canada’s new real-time payment system will operate. The package updates and extends the approach consulted on in 2020 and is intended to provide clarity on RTR’s governance, participation, operational requirements, and risk controls. RTR is designed as a real-time gross settlement system for instant, irrevocable, data-rich payments operating 24/7/365, using ISO 20022 messaging, with end-to-end processing expected within seconds and funds made available to the payee within 60 seconds after settlement. The proposed framework sets out a tiered participation model (direct settlement participants, settlement agents, and indirect settlement participants), with requirements including access to a Bank of Canada RTR settlement account, training and testing, routing specifications, and obligations around incident reporting and recourse processes. It also outlines financial risk controls built around pre-funding and real-time settlement, including a CAD 100,000 per-transaction value limit and net debit caps for settlement agents managing indirect participants. Fraud requirements include mandatory centralized services for all participants, including Confirmation of Payee, a Central Risk List, Central Fraud Analytics, and Central Fraud Reporting. The consultation runs until July 2, 2025. Payments Canada plans to publish the draft RTR rules and related materials before the end of the consultation process, and will use responses to inform by-law and rule amendments through its member and stakeholder committee processes.

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