Canada's Big Six Banks Not Scheduled for Real-Time Rail Phase 1

Real-Time Rail (RTR), an instant payment infrastructure managed by Payments Canada, is slated to go live in the fourth quarter of 2026. According to four sources within the FinTech ecosystem, none of Canada’s Big Six banks are currently scheduled to participate in the first phase of RTR. These banks settle the vast majority of payments across the country.

The exclusion of the largest banks from the new payment rail raises questions about the system's utility, given that these institutions handle most national payments. If the banks are not onboarded to RTR, institutions may be required to use existing payment rails to move funds for customers.