Further Consultation On Payments Canada – And More To Come

The Department of Finance recently published a consultation paper (Consultation Paper) that proposes to  expand access to Canadian payment systems and seeks feedback on changes to Payments Canada's governance structure that were implemented in 2015. The comment period for this consultation ends July 24, 2018.

For anyone new to this topic, the Consultation Paper provides a useful summary of the current and proposed Payments Canada payment systems, in addition to raising the specific questions that are the subject of the consultation.

BROADENING ACCESS TO CANADIAN PAYMENTS SYSTEMS

Currently, Payments Canada membership is limited to banks and authorized foreign banks (mandatory members) and credit unions centrals, cooperative credit associations, trust and loan companies, life insurance companies, securities dealers and money market mutual fund corporations (eligible members). Considerable reliance is placed on the fact that existing members are subject