The Real-Time Rail in Canada

What EFT Rails does

EFT Rails sends payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) and by Interac e-Transfer, with the method chosen for the individual payment. An Interac e-Transfer that arrives is final and is not held, because it cannot be taken back. A payment's state, expected settlement date and the reference that prints on the client's bank statement are kept on one record. The API reference describes the payment data available through the platform.

What the Real-Time Rail is

The Real-Time Rail gives a business a way to push money to a payee in seconds, with clearing and settlement taking place in real time throughout the year. It serves payments where the recipient is waiting for funds and where the payor wants settlement to be final.

The Real-Time Rail (RTR) is Payments Canada's real-time exchange, clearing and settlement system. Its participants are Payments Canada members whose applications to participate have been approved.¹

The RTR carries only a credit transfer. The payor's sending bank pushes the payment to the payee's receiving bank.² Payments are denominated in Canadian dollars.³ The operating cycle begins at midnight and ends at midnight Eastern Time on every calendar day, so weekends and holidays follow the same continuous availability.⁴

The payment message also carries structured data for reconciliation. See ISO 20022 in Canada for more on the payment messages and their data.

The guides

• RTR and Interac e-Transfer
• ISO 20022 in Canada
• Irrevocable payments

How a payment moves

A payor starts the payment, the system checks and settles it, and the receiving bank releases the funds and supporting information to the payee.

1. The sending bank submits the payment. The message contains the amount, the payee's account number, the institution numbers for the sending and receiving banks, and a unique reference for the payment.⁵ The reference identifies that payment through processing and later reconciliation.

2. The system checks acceptance and settlement conditions. It accepts a payment sent under the rules when the message is not a duplicate, its amount is within the value limit, and neither bank is suspended. Settlement requires the sending bank's settlement account to hold enough available money to cover the payment.⁶

3. The receiving bank releases the money. After it receives notice that settlement has occurred, the receiving bank must make the funds available promptly and no later than 60 seconds afterward.⁷ This deadline begins when the receiving bank gets the settlement notice.

4. The payee receives the remittance information. A payment can include up to 9,000 characters of structured remittance information, excluding tags. The receiving bank must provide that information no later than 60 seconds after the money becomes available and retain it for at least 90 calendar days.⁸ The payee can use the accompanying data to match the payment to its purpose.

Limits

The value limit applies to a single payment, and the duplicate rule applies to its unique reference. Both checks happen before settlement.

One RTR payment can be at most $100,000. A sending bank can set a send limit equal to or below that amount.⁹ Check the amount against the limit applied by the sending bank before submission.

A payment that reuses the unique reference assigned to another payment sent during the previous 90 calendar days is rejected as a duplicate.¹⁰ A new payment needs a fresh reference, including when its amount and payee match an earlier payment.

When a payment is final

The payor cannot stop or edit a payment after submission, and the completed payment gives the payee final funds except for a defined set of circumstances. Confirm the amount and payee details before sending.

A payment cannot be amended or revoked after it is sent. Settlement between the banks is final and irrevocable, and the payment to the payee is also final and irrevocable except where the rules specify otherwise.¹¹

After the payee has received the money, the receiving bank can take it back only for a processing error, an error by the person who sent it, an unauthorized payment, fraud that tricked the payor into sending it, the payee's death, or a requirement to remove the money under law.¹²

A return request provides a separate process for asking for the funds back. The sending bank can submit one return request for the original payment within 60 calendar days, at the payor's request or because of an error or fraud. The receiving bank must respond within 10 calendar days. It can receive an extension of up to 30 calendar days, and a request left unanswered after that period is rejected.¹³

A return request is a request with a response deadline, and the original payment remains final while that process runs. The guide to irrevocable payments covers what finality means for payment operations.

Who can send one

A bank takes part in the RTR either with its own settlement account or through another institution that settles for it.

A direct settlement participant clears and settles its RTR payment obligations through its own settlement account at the Bank of Canada. An indirect settlement participant uses the settlement account of a settlement agent.¹⁴

A payment service provider may join Payments Canada if it meets the membership requirements.¹⁵ Membership and approved participation establish the institutional path for sending and receiving payments.

From September 30, 2027, the Canadian leg of an international payment can be sent on the RTR, provided the sending bank identifies the payment as international. Before that date, the Canadian leg of an international payment cannot be sent through the RTR.¹⁶

For a comparison with another way to push funds to a recipient, see RTR and Interac e-Transfer.

What stays on EFT

The RTR carries payments pushed to a payee, so collections and file-based disbursements keep their existing payment flows. Pre-authorized debits, payroll files and scheduled collections stay on EFT.

The RTR suits a payment where the recipient is waiting: a marketplace payout, a refund, a loan advance or an urgent supplier payment. Its continuous operation and finality serve those immediate disbursements, while EFT continues to carry pull payments and scheduled files.

The EFT payments in Canada guide covers file-based transfers, and the pre-authorized debits guide covers collections authorized through a PAD agreement.

Where the RTR stands

As of November 12, 2026.

The Real-Time Rail is live. Payments Canada's system page described it as launching in the coming weeks on November 3, 2026, and said it was live when read on November 12, 2026, so it went live in November 2026.¹⁷

The by-law and the RTR rules came into force on August 24, 2026.¹⁸

Payments Canada planned to launch the RTR in the last three months of 2026, with the first banks with direct connections going live at launch. Interac e-Transfer traffic will move to the RTR in two subsequent phases, with individual transactions settled in real time. A bank may join once it is technically and operationally ready, with no mandatory deadline.¹⁹ Payments Canada targets more than nine in ten Canadian bank accounts being reachable by the RTR by the third quarter of 2027. A reader's own bank may not be connected yet.¹⁷