Canada

Real-time payments have been available in Canada since the launch of Interac e-Transfer in 2002. Adoption and use of real-time payments have gained traction steadily over the last few years, thanks to the wider participation by more than 280 financial institutions as of January 2024 and continued preference for electronic payments among consumers. However, real-time payments still account for a small share of transaction volumes — 5.9% in 2023 — compared to other electronic payments, which have an 83.7% share. This is due to the high adoption and usage of payment cards in Canada, especially contactless cards. The increased contactless payments limit in 2020 has further pushed their usage for day-to-day, low-value transactions, occupying the space that real-time payments otherwise could at the point of sale. Meanwhile, Payments Canada is developing a new and more advanced real-time payments system known as Real-Time Rail, which was expected to go live in June 2023 but has now been delayed pending a second review of the system.