Global

Beacon Launches Digital Wallet for Immigrants Starting New Lives in Canada

Fintech

"Toronto’s Beacon has unveiled Beacon Money, a digital wallet designed to empower immigrants as they transition to life in Canada. This addition to the MyBeacon Super App aims to simplify financial integration for newcomers, enabling them to confidently prepare for their journey and thrive upon arrival."

Tags: Canada

Global

More Than 2.5 Million Canadians Only Make the Minimum Payment on Their Credit Cards, Says New Research From Fig Financial

Business Wire

"Fig Financial Inc., Canada’s premier personal loan provider, released its Financial Challenges Barometer, which sheds light on the pressing issues faced by Canadians in managing rising costs and debt, underscoring the essential need for accessible financial options."

Tags: Canada

Global

Canada’s Interchange Cuts Add Fuel to the Move Beyond Card Payments

American Banker

The Canadian government is about to cut payment fees for small businesses by up to 27%, adding to international pressure on credit card companies to reduce what they charge users and find alternative sources of revenue. [Subscription Required]

Tags: Canada

Global

Canada Moves Away From Retail CBDC, Shifts Focus to Broader Payments

Coindesk

"Canada has announced it is shifting its focus away from a retail central bank digital currency but implied that it was prepared if the people of the nation decide such a product is needed in the future."

Tags: Canada

Global

Majority of Canadians Alter Payment Habits Due to Fraud Concerns — 13 Per Cent Affected by Payment Fraud in the Past Six Months

Payments Canada

"More than one in 10 Canadians have experienced payment fraud in the past six months, indicating similar year-over-year patterns (13 per cent in 2024 compared to 14 per cent in 2023), according to a new study from Payments Canada."

Tags: Canada

Global

Changes to the Canadian Payments Act Receive Royal Assent

Payments Canada

"The proposed changes to the Canadian Payments Act (CP Act) to expand Payments Canada’s membership have received Royal Assent, the final step required for a bill to become law. The changes were included in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, also known as Bill C-59, and will come into force on a day/days to be set by the Governor in Council."

Tags: Canada

Global

Budget 2024: Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking Framework

Canada

"Consumer-driven banking, also known as open banking or consumer-directed finance, refers to frameworks that allow consumers and small businesses to securely transfer their financial data through an application programming interface (API) to approved service providers of their choice."

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

Mastercard and Fintech Vopay Enter Strategic Partnership to Empower Canadians to Move Money Quickly and Securely With Mastercard Move

Mastercard

"Mastercard and VoPay announced a strategic partnership that will offer choice, simplicity and efficiency for near-real-time money movement in Canada and internationally for businesses and consumers."

Tags: Canada

Global

Mastercard and Leading Canadian Fintech VoPay Enter Strategic Partnership to Aid Money Movement for Canadians with Mastercard Move

Fintech Finance

"Responding to the ever-growing need to move money seamlessly, Mastercard and VoPay announced a strategic partnership that will offer choice, simplicity and efficiency for near-real-time money movement in Canada and internationally for businesses and consumers."

Tags: Canada

Global

Payments Canada Declares Support for HVPS+ ISO 20022 Payments Interoperability Charter

Payments Canada

"Payments Canada is actively involved in promoting harmonization of the ISO 20022 message usage for high-value payment systems globally and is declaring its support for the High-Value Payments Systems Plus (HVPS+)."

Tags: Canada

Global

Opinion: Canadian Banking Needs More Competition

Financial Post

"Competition and product innovation are hindered by Canada’s outdated financial infrastructure, which lags the real-time payment settlement and consumer-driven banking that have measurably improved outcomes for consumers in all other G7 countries."

Tags: Canada

Global

Canadians Report a Love-Hate Relationship With Cash, Reveals New Payments Canada Study

Payments Canada

"While cash use has significantly declined over the last six years from 2017-2022, with a 59 per cent decrease in the volume of cash payments and a 41 per cent decrease in the value of cash purchases, new research reveals that Canadians have no intention of ditching their physical wallets just yet."

Tags: Canada

Global

Payments Canada Selects Nexi To Enhance Critical Resilience of RTGS

Nexi Group

"Payments Canada is now using Nexi’s RTGS Extreme Contingency Solution, specifically designed to ensure the reliability and resilience of the Lynx system."

Tags: Canada

Global

Bank of Canada Identifies Global Barriers in Developing Inclusive CBDC

CoinGeek

"The Bank of Canada has highlighted several challenges standing in the way of banking regulators looking to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) amid rapid digitization."

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

Nuvei Launches Upgraded Solution for B2B Payments in Canada

GlobeNewswire News Room

"B2B businesses working with Nuvei are now able to offer their customers in Canada a holistic payments solution including Card-Not-Present and account-to-account processing capabilities, Level 3 processing and Nuvei’s proprietary accounts receivable (AR) solution, directly integrated with their ERP system."

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

Bank of Canada Taps EvolutionQ to Explore Impact of Quantum Computing on Digital Dollar

BetaKit

"Quantum security startup EvolutionQ is contributing to a Bank of Canada research project involving quantum-safe cybersecurity technologies for digital currencies."

Tags: Bank of Canada Canada EvolutionQ

Global

Coinbase Accelerates International Expansion with Official Launch in Canada

Businesswire

"Today, Coinbase announced its Canadian expansion with a series of new offerings that demonstrate its commitment to Canada as a priority Go Deep market."

Tags: Canada

Global

Canadian Bank’s Report Reveals Drawbacks To CBDC Adoption

Bitcoinist.com

"Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been gaining prominence around the world over the last couple of years and Canada has not been left out. However, unlike some countries where these central bank-issued digital currencies seem to be picking up steam, Canadians have not been as welcoming."

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

PayPal Expands Passkeys to Canada

News Wire

"PayPal helps customers shop and pay with peace of mind by helping to protect their privacy, money and purchases every step of the way. Starting today, the company is expanding passkeys to eligible customers on Apple devices and Google Android devices in Canada."

Tags: Canada PayPal

Global

Rollout of Canada's Real-Time Rail Payment System Delayed Again as Project Undergoes Second Review This Year

BetaKit

"Payments Canada has announced that the launch of the country’s forthcoming Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system has been delayed once more."

Tags: Canada

Global

RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. Launches RevoluPOS Worldwide Credit and Debit Card Processing

GlobeNewswire News Room

"RevoluGROUP Canada Inc., (the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to the news release dated 24th of March 2023, the RevoluPOS Worldwide Credit and Debit Card Billing and processing platform has now launched on schedule."

Tags: Canada

Global

A Guide to Modernizing Payments in the Financial Sector

Policy Options

"Canada must act swiftly to remain on track with modernizing its financial sector policies that affect how consumers make payments. Other countries are adopting fintech innovation at a much faster pace, leaving Canadians with limited consumer choice and competition among financial service providers compared with other parts of the world."

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

Government Announces Lower Credit Card Transaction Fees for Small Businesses

Government of Canada

"The Government of Canada today announced it is delivering on the Budget 2023 commitment to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses by finalizing new agreements with Visa and Mastercard, while also protecting reward points for Canadian consumers offered by Canada’s large banks. Small businesses pay fees to process credit card transactions, with the largest component being the interchange fee paid to credit card-issuing financial institutions, such as banks."

Tags: Canada

Global

Canada And Australia Continue Consultation And Research Into CBDCs

ZyCrypto

"According to a May 8, 2023 press release, the Bank of Canada has launched online public consultations to understand the features that could be included in a digital Canadian dollar. The consultation seeks to understand how Canadians would likely use a Canadian digital dollar, what security features are important, and accessibility and privacy concerns. The public consultation runs until June 19, 2023. The Bank of Canada has stated that a digital Canadian dollar is not needed at this time, and any decision to issue one rests with Parliament and the Government of Canada."

Tags: Austria Canada

Global

Interac Enables Secure Digital Transactions with the Launch of Interac Verified

Cision

"Interac Corp. (Interac), one of Canada's most trusted brands1, today introduced Interac Verified™, the official new name for its verification business arm. This announcement marks the organization's foray beyond payments and its evolution in helping Canadians to securely engage digitally. Just as consumers and businesses have relied on Interac for innovative ways to pay and get paid, Canadians can lean on the homegrown brand they know and trust to digitally verify and authenticate themselves."

Tags: Canada

Global

Bank of Canada Launches a Public Consultation on the Design of Its CBDC

Tokenist

On Monday, May 8th, the Bank of Canada launched a consultation on the design of its digital dollar. The Bank is seeking feedback on what key features the public believes the potential CBDC should have. The press release, however, highlights that there is currently no need for a digital Canadian dollar and warns that such a currency may ultimately never be issued.

Tags: Canada

Companies Global

Clik2pay Announces Bank Payments for Shopify Stores

Clik2pay

Payment service provider Clik2pay announced it has developed an industry changing application which allows any Shopify store to seamlessly offer a direct-from-account payment option to customers. When using Clik2pay, payments are completed safely and securely using Interac e-Transfer™, one of the most trusted money transfer systems in the world.

Tags: Canada Clik2pay

Global

TransLink Customers Can Now Tap With Interac Debit

Businesswire

"TransLink customers can now pay for transit using Interac® Debit on every bus and at every fare gate throughout Metro Vancouver. This makes TransLink the first transit agency in Canada to fully integrate contactless Interac Debit payments systemwide. As part of TransLink’s Customer Experience Action Plan – TransLink, Interac, Moneris, and Cubic Transportation Systems upgraded more than 5,000 Compass Readers throughout TransLink’s system to make transit payments more convenient. The upgrade allows customers to board transit by using Interac Debit with physical cards or through smartphone digital wallets."

Tags: Canada

Global

Canada's Nuvei to Buy U.S. Payments Firm Paya in $1.3 Billion Deal

Reuters

"Canadian fintech company Nuvei Corp has agreed to buy U.S. payments technology platform Paya Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.3 billion, the companies said on Monday. The deal will expand Nuvei's footprint in the United States as it seeks to build out its payments technology to cater to business-to-business customers."

Tags: Canada

Global

Bank of Canada Plans 2023 CBDC Consultation as It Moves to Development

Ledger Insights - blockchain for enterprise

“Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem spoke yesterday about a potential Canadian central bank digital currency (CBDC). Next year the bank plans to consult the public on a potential CBDC. Particularly they want to find out what the public’s expectations of a digital currency and what features would be important to them. As part of the central bank’s R&D into digital currency, it is moving from the research phase into the development phase to be prepared if the need arises to issue a CBDC. However, the Governor made clear that a decision on whether to issue a CBDC is up to parliament….Meanwhile, the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) is working with the Bank of Canada as part of its research work. The DCI is also working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on Project Hamilton and the Bank of England.”

Tags: Canada