What happened. Payments Canada announced on October 1 that it approved six new members: Bounce Finance Inc. (Bounce Pay), Everlink Payment Services ULC (FIS Everlink), Nium Canada Corporation, Pesapeer Incorporated (Pesa), Remitly Canada, Inc., and Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity). Twenty-two members have joined since September 2025, when amendments to the Canadian Payments Act and implementation of the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) widened who can apply.
Eligibility now extends to payment service providers registered under the RPAA, local credit unions that are members of a central, and clearing houses of systems designated under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act. Members may then apply to participate directly in Lynx, the ACSS and the Real-Time Rail.
“Membership is a necessary key that unlocks new ways to engage with Payments Canada as well as the pathway to apply for system participation,” said Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payments Officer at Payments Canada.
Why it matters. The Real-Time Rail is set to launch in Q4 2026. Payments Canada says its initial capabilities are expected to generate between $5.3 billion and $14.5 billion in cost savings over the next decade, from lower processing costs, reduced use of cash and cheques, and less float. The release says connecting to its systems requires meeting technical, operational and security standards tailored to each participation model.
Our read. This part is our analysis. Joining Payments Canada is the first step, and the release says outright that membership is the pathway to apply for system participation, not participation itself. The six names include a credit union, a payments processor and several payment service providers. Readers tracking real-time payments elsewhere can compare with corporate RTP volume growing at Bank of America and the fraud-prevention angle in Deutsche Bank wiring IPID into payments.
Source: Payments Canada
