06:54 AM EDT, 05/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Bank of Canada is disappointed with the country's lack of progress toward launching a modernized payments system, a senior bank official said Thursday, The Globe and Mail reported

It noted Ron Morrow, executive director of payments, supervision and oversight at the central bank, said in a speech in Toronto that Canada lags other countries in rolling out real-time payment capabilities.

Canada's Real-Time Rail system, which would allow instant transfers and settlement of payments to occur on a 24-7, 365 basis, was originally scheduled to be fully operational in 2022.

After numerous delays, however, Payments Canada said in April the system would only begin industry testing in 2026. No timeline was given for a countrywide launch. Payments Canada is the non-profit organization that owns and operates Canada's national payment infrastructure and is funded by 110 financial institutions, including the country's largest banks.

"I think it's fair to say that we're all disappointed this initiative hasn't yet been launched," Morrow told the Payments Canada Summit. "We're behind other jurisdictions in rolling out real-time payment capability."

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