Payments Canada confirmed that industry testing for the Real-Time Rail will begin in Q3 2026, with the system launching in Q4 2026. The announcement came at the Payments Canada Summit held May 5-7 in Toronto, attended by 2,300 participants from 25 countries. CEO Susan Hawkins noted that 1,800 payments businesses have registered with the Bank of Canada as the first step toward RTR access.
Participants will be onboarded in three deliberate phases starting in Q4 2026. Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payments Officer, said all companies ready to join on day one will be able to do so, while later phases will consist of institutions that missed earlier deadlines. Full access for all participants is expected sometime in 2027. Once onboarded, institutions must receive payments through the RTR, but sending capabilities remain optional.
The staged rollout means the benefits of instant payments will not be available to all Canadian consumers and businesses immediately at launch. Canada's existing payment systems cleared $103 trillion in 2025, averaging $411 billion daily. The RTR will deliver real-time irrevocable payments with ISO 20022 messaging and centralized fraud detection built into the infrastructure from launch.