Payments Canada pens open letter to Minister of Finance to expand organization’s membership eligibility

Payments Canada, along with other stakeholders in Canada’s payments industry have published an open letter to call on the Minister of Finance to expand the not-for-profits membership eligibility.

On Monday, 14 signatories signed a joint letter requesting to expand Payments Canada’s membership to include payment service providers registered under the Retail Payments Activities Act (RPAA), such as local credit unions and “operators of financial market infrastructures.”

“The only loud and outspoken opponents of this are a few of the biggest banks in the country, who actually position payment system frictions as selling points in video ads to customers.”
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Payments Canada, which operates the payment clearing and settlement system in Canada, has a membership that includes the Bank of Canada, domestic banks, and other authorized financial institutions.

The letter requests changes to the Canadian Payments Act as part of Budget 2023 to broaden access to Payments Canada’s systems for qualifying entities. According to the signatories of the letter, this would allow for payment service providers and credit union locals to “better serve their clients” with enhanced electronic payments services. Subsequently, the letter argues it would help non-financial institutions to drive competition.

“Healthy competition in payments is the…