Retail Payment Activities Act Framework
Enabling act: Retail Payment Activities Act
Description
Regulations would support the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA), enacted in June 2021, in creating a supervisory framework for retail payment activities. Once the framework is in place, the Bank of Canada will be responsible for supervising payment service providers such as card networks, payment processors and digital wallets that perform electronic payment functions. Regulations would require payment service providers to have measures in place to safeguard end-users’ funds and mitigate operational risks that could disrupt or compromise their services. Regulations would also include national security safeguards.
Regulatory cooperation efforts (domestic and international)
The Department of Finance is working closely with the Bank of Canada on the development of regulations for the framework.
Potential impacts on Canadians, including businesses
The proposed regulations will ensure that payment services remain reliable and safe for Canadians, and will help support the payment ecosystem to continue to develop faster, cheaper and more convenient methods of payment.
Consultations
Canadians were consulted in 2017 on key features of the RPAA framework. The Bank of Canada has also led consultations on topics covered in the regulations through its industry consultation forum, the Retail Payments Advisory Committee.
Interested stakeholders will have an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed regulations as part of the formal regulation-making process when the regulatory proposal is pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I.
Departmental contact information
Nicolas Marion
Senior Director, Payments Policy
Financial Sector Policy Branch
Department of Finance Canada
90 Elgin St.
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Email: Nicolas.Marion@fin.gc.ca
Date the regulatory initiative was first included in the Forward Regulatory Plan: November 2021
Consult Finance Canada’s acts and regulations web page for:
- a list of acts and regulations administered by the Department of Finance
- further information on the Department of Finance’s implementation of government-wide regulatory management initiatives
Consult the following for links to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation and supporting policies and guidance, and for information on government-wide regulatory initiatives implemented by departments and agencies across the Government of Canada:
To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit:
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