Canada

Despite further delays, the country has taken two key steps to opening up access to its Real-Time Rail, including allowing payment companies to participate without a bank partner, but it has yet to commit to a date for the project to go live.

The Canadian bank reported a 70% decline in profits at its U.S. commercial banking and wealth management unit in the most recent quarter and boosted reserves amid distress in the commercial real estate market.

The Montreal-based bank reportedly hired JPMorgan Chase to consider its options.

Canada's banking regulator is proposing to make it more costly for lenders to accommodate mortgage borrowers who stretch out their loans in an effort to limit housing-market risks in the financial system.

The pending deal will help keep the Canadian bank's funding costs low, since Bank of the West has a strong core deposit portfolio, executives said Tuesday. BMO is sticking with its year-end timeline for closing the acquisition.

Net income at the Toronto-based bank dipped by double digits during the fiscal third quarter. But the company's U.S. operations, including City National Bank in Los Angeles, fared better.

The Canadian banking giant reported a 22% increase in loan balances, with the largest contribution coming from the United States. The surge in lending helped to compensate for weakness in debt and equity issuances.

Apple and Affirm's PayBright are planning to launch a buy now/pay later program for Apple device purchases in Canada, stepping up the iPhone maker’s ambitions to offer more financial services.

Stored-value cards are growing in popularity with underbanked gig workers who need an easier way to get paid as well as with younger consumers in Canada who have traditional bank accounts but prefer the cards for e-commerce transactions.

The national debit network Interac is working with Payments Canada, which oversees the country's payment system, on an instant payment rail while demand from local shoppers and a need for faster supply chain finance grow more pronounced.

John Adams, Executive Editor at PaymentsSource, talks to Debbie Gamble, chief officer of Innovation Labs and New Ventures at Interac, about Canada's growing digital needs.

The company, which operates private-label and cobranded credit card and loyalty programs, plans to spin off its loyalty operations this year to improve ADS' financial performance.

David Heun, associate editor at PaymentsSource, talks to Laura Socha, senior partner at Capco, about the trends driving the advancement of payment technologies in Canada.

Brim Financial contends there's an innovation gap for installment lending that favors larger lenders.

Until regulatory reforms are introduced, nonbanks won’t have direct access to Payments Canada's Real-Time Rail, a situation that risks stifling innovation.

Instant payouts for gig workers have been gaining traction globally for the last five years, but Canada lacked many options until COVID-19 struck.

Flush with excess capital, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank and others say they might be in the market to do a cross-border deal.

JPMorgan Chase is partnering with Air Canada, the bank's first new cobranded card partner to be announced in years.

Scotiabank is an early adopter of a Canadian initiative to improve liquidity for B2B transactions by speeding processing.

Real-time payments carry a trove of valuable data for supply chains, and a way for card networks to grow beyond card-dependent revenue. The collaboration between Payments Canada and Mastercard’s Vocalink will go a long way toward both ends.