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My guess is they don't want something that interferes with their fee-overloaded oligopoly.
I skimmed right past that part of the article, but yes I think that is what the article is implying.
Betakit is focused on how this affects fintech startups (they mention in the article that "Wealthsimple vice-president of payments strategy and chief compliance officer, Hanna Zaidi, sits on BetaKit’s board of directors").
However, it also sounds like the banks are being selfish at the expense of regular Canadians too.
I have added more excerpts and emphasis to highlight that information
What makes this better/different than interac and e-transfers?
From my limited understanding, this is about upgrading the backend systems that e transfers (and other payment systems) use.
Etransfers feel instantaneous in the current system, but in the background the money doesn't actually make it in to your account right away. That's also why some payments take time to clear (whether a few hours or days), and why certain things can't be done after hours / on bank holidays.
Interac is the entity that will be running this new system: https://www.payments.ca/payments-canada-selects-interac-corp-exchange-solution-provider-canadas-new-real-time-payments
More from this article:
Canada is the only country in the G7 without an instant payment rail. RTR is meant to support higher-priced transactions of up to $100,000 and settle them instantly. Existing payment rails are limited by speed and transfer size. When making payments, Canadians typically see money leave their accounts right away, but transactions are actually settled within hours or days—which is why it can take up to three business days for a credit card payment to post. While Interac’s e-Transfer system is faster than those traditional payment rails, it typically limits consumer transfers to $3,000, and businesses to $25,000.
The Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor, Carolyn Rogers, said in a speech last year that RTR and open banking are two important changes coming to Canada’s financial sector that will likely improve competition. The establishment of RTR could bring more than $3 billion in efficiency gains to the Canadian economy over its first five years, according to a 2023 study by think tank C.D. Howe Institute.
The Big Six will do anything in their power to keep themselves out of this scheme. I recall years ago when I worked at one of them, the first initiatives for CBDC were starting. The people involved told me the direction from above was that no system that doesn't invovle the bank should be considered. Their goal was to propose a bank-involving system to the gov't in order to ensure the bank is a necessary part of it. The whole promise of CBDC was (still is) that it allows payment transactions and "chequing accounts" that don't require private bank accounts and therefore bank fees.
It's nice to see that Payments Canada is moving. I'm guessing credit unions would also jump on it.
this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2026
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