Digital Payments & Fintech · Canada
Fintech & payments regulation in Canada (2026)
Canada shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Fintech and digital payments in Canada: licensing regime.
FrameworkRetail Payment Activities Act (RPAA, S.C. 2021, c. 23) — mandatory registration and supervision of Payment Service Providers by the Bank of Canada; complemented by the Consumer-Driven Banking Act (2024, substantially replaced by Bill C-15, 2026) for open banking, Payments Canada Act for the Real-Time Rail, and FINTRAC/PCMLTFA for AML. FCAC oversees federal consumer-protection rules for banks.
Canada now has a dedicated federal licensing/registration regime for non-bank payment service providers under the RPAA, administered by the Bank of Canada, with the ongoing supervisory obligations (risk management and safeguarding of end-user funds) in force since 8 September 2025 and a public PSP registry launched in October 2025. The Consumer-Driven Banking Act, re-enacted through Bill C-15 (Royal Assent 26 March 2026), moved oversight of open banking from the FCAC to the Bank of Canada, with the Phase 1 (read-access) framework being rolled out during 2026 and draft Consumer-Driven Banking Regulations pre-published on 27 June 2026. Payments Canada's Real-Time Rail (RTR) is scheduled to launch in Q4 2026 after by-laws take effect on 24 August 2026; Canada does not have a stand-alone e-money licence akin to the EU EMI regime, and BNPL is not subject to a bespoke federal statute.
Key points
Entities performing retail payment functions (fund transfer, holding funds, providing accounts, payment initiation/authorization, clearing) that do business in Canada must be registered with the Bank of Canada. The registration window opened 1 November 2024 with a C$2,500 application fee; a public registry of PSPs went live in October 2025.
Since 8 September 2025, registered PSPs must maintain a Risk Management and Incident Response Framework and safeguard end-user funds (segregation in trust accounts or backed by insurance/guarantee), with annual reporting and incident-notification duties enforced by the Bank of Canada's Retail Payments Supervision function.
The Consumer-Driven Banking Act, first enacted under Bill C-69 (2024) with FCAC as administrator, was repealed and replaced by a broader Act in Bill C-15 (Royal Assent 26 March 2026) that reassigns oversight to the Bank of Canada, prohibits screen scraping, and creates an accreditation regime; proposed regulations were pre-published in the Canada Gazette on 27 June 2026 for a 60-day consultation.
Payments Canada's ISO 20022-based Real-Time Rail is scheduled to launch in Q4 2026 following the coming-into-force of the RTR by-law and rules on 24 August 2026. The exchange component is delivered by Interac and settlement will occur in central-bank money 24/7/365.
In parallel with RPAA registration, entities providing money services (including foreign exchange, remittance, crypto transfer and payment services) must register with FINTRAC as Money Services Businesses under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and comply with KYC, reporting and record-keeping obligations.
Canada has no dedicated Buy-Now-Pay-Later statute. BNPL arrangements are captured indirectly by federal cost-of-borrowing disclosure rules under the Bank Act / FCAC oversight where offered by federally regulated banks, and by provincial consumer-credit and consumer-protection legislation; the FCAC continues to monitor the sector.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The Bank of Canada brought its public PSP Registry online under the Retail Payment Activities Act, listing all PSPs registered to perform retail payment activities in Canada (roughly 320 entities in its initial snapshot). It is the authoritative public record of who is licensed to operate.
Bank of Canada ↗The Bank started publishing its registration decisions under the RPAA, including which payment service providers were registered and which were refused, marking the end of the transition period in which applicants could operate while under review.
Bank of Canada ↗The 2024 Fall Economic Statement set out the remaining design elements of Canada's open/consumer-driven banking framework, scope, accreditation, common rules and technical standards, building on the foundational Act passed earlier in 2024.
Department of Finance Canada ↗The RPAA's registration regime took effect and the Bank of Canada opened its PSP Connect portal, requiring payment service providers to apply for registration (by Nov. 15, 2024) and later meet operational-risk and fund-safeguarding requirements. This created Canada's first dedicated licensing/supervision regime for retail payments.
Bank of Canada ↗Amendments (via Bill C-59) expanded eligibility for Payments Canada membership to include RPAA-registered payment service providers, credit union locals and designated clearing houses, opening access to core payment infrastructure beyond banks.
Payments Canada ↗Enacted via Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, the Act establishes Canada's first legislative framework for consumer-driven (open) banking and designates the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada as lead regulator, with a new Senior Deputy Commissioner overseeing data-sharing participants.
Parliament of Canada ↗Division 7 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1 enacted the RPAA, creating the statutory framework requiring payment service providers to register with the Bank of Canada and manage operational risk, laying the legal foundation for retail payment supervision.
Parliament of Canada ↗PCMLTFA regulatory amendments took effect treating dealers in virtual currency (crypto exchanges and value-transfer providers) as money services businesses, requiring FINTRAC registration and full AML/CFT compliance, bringing crypto firms into the licensing perimeter.
FINTRAC ↗Following PCMLTFA changes, all money services businesses (money transfer, foreign exchange, money orders) were required to register with FINTRAC, aligning Canada with FATF standards and establishing the core registration regime that still governs fintech money movers.
Government of Canada ↗Canada enacted its anti-money-laundering statute (later the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act after 2001 amendments) and created FINTRAC as the financial intelligence unit, the legal basis for supervising money services businesses and payment intermediaries.
FINTRAC ↗The Canadian Payments Act created the Canadian Payments Association (rebranded Payments Canada in 2016) to operate national clearing and settlement systems, the foundational infrastructure and membership framework that fintech access to payments rails is now being built upon.
Payments Canada ↗Canada - other topics
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