Definition

The Real-Time Rail (RTR) is Canada's forthcoming instant payments infrastructure, managed by Payments Canada. Budget 2025 targeted its launch in Q3 2026; some industry observers expect it to slip to late 2026 or early 2027. The RTR is a dependency for Phase 2 of Canada's open banking framework: Phase 2 is targeted for mid-2027 and is explicitly contingent on the RTR being live and in widespread use. Phase 2 introduces write access—allowing accredited third parties to initiate actions on behalf of consumers, such as making payments, switching accounts, opening new accounts, and triggering lending flows. Canada's five largest banks (Big Six) account for the majority of financial services, holding around 93% of banking assets; write access is where competitive dynamics could shift materially. Payment initiation alone removes interchange costs for merchants; account switching lowers the practical barrier to changing providers. A 2024 Abacus Data poll found that two-thirds of Canadians had no intention of considering switching financial providers in the next two years—inertia that reflects structural friction as much as preference. Write access follows once the RTR is operational at scale, so any delay in the RTR pushes Phase 2 accordingly.

Explore More Open Banking Resources

Dive deeper into the Open Banking ecosystem with our comprehensive directories.