Payments Canada urges cross-sector anti-fraud strategy

Payments Canada has submitted recommendations to the federal consultation on a National Anti-Fraud Strategy, calling for a multi-sector approach to tackling fraud across Canada's payments system.

The operator of Canada's core payment clearing and settlement infrastructure said the strategy should bring together banks and other financial firms, telecommunications providers, digital platforms, regulators and law enforcement. Fraud now moves across sectors and jurisdictions, it argued, making isolated responses less effective.

At the centre of the submission is a call for broader coordination across the full fraud cycle, from prevention and detection to disruption and response. Gaps between sectors can be exploited by criminals to deceive consumers and move money, it said.

The recommendations come as Canada's payment system undergoes major change. Payments Canada is rolling out the Real-Time Rail, designed to support round-the-clock payments, while expanding the use of ISO 20022, a payment messaging standard that allows richer transaction data.

Those changes can improve fraud detection by giving institutions more detailed and timely information about payment activity. But the shift to faster, more data-rich transactions also creates risks, particularly in authorised payment fraud, where consumers are tricked into sending money themselves.

For that reason, Payments Canada said access to payment systems should come with standardised requirements for fraud prevention, detection, monitoring and response. It also pointed to the potential role of artificial intelligence in helping institutions keep pace with the scale and sophistication of fraud.

Canada's payment ecosystem is also widening. Membership has expanded to include more payment service providers and other participants outside the federally regulated banking sector, and any anti-fraud rules should apply proportionately and consistently across this broader group, it said.

Data sharing

Another priority is sharing fraud-related information between sectors and with regulators. Timely access to transaction patterns and other indicators of suspicious activity could help organisations identify threats earlier and act before more damage is done, according to the submission.

It also warned that broader data sharing would require clear rules. Any framework should be purpose-driven, proportionate and designed to respect privacy rights and legal protections, with explicit guidance on what can be shared, when and how it may be used.

Oversight model

On governance, Payments Canada backed a structure combining a central coordinating body with sector-specific regulators. It said such a model could create more consistency across industries while still allowing specialist regulators to oversee obligations in their own areas.

The group also urged coordination between federal and provincial regulators to avoid overlapping or conflicting requirements. International cooperation would also be important, it added, because many fraud schemes are cross-border and exploit differences between jurisdictions.

Consumer protection was another part of the submission. Public education should remain a core element of the national strategy because many scams rely on deception and social engineering, and newer technologies can make fraudulent approaches appear more convincing, it said.

Coordinated messaging across sectors could help Canadians identify suspicious activity sooner. Clear reporting channels and timely dispute resolution would also be needed to maintain confidence in the financial system, it added.

Scale of the system

The recommendations reflect the scale of the infrastructure under Payments Canada's control. Its systems cleared and settled CAD $103 trillion in 2025, equivalent to more than CAD $411 billion each business day, the organisation said.

That network handles transactions ranging from payroll and household bills to business and government payments. It noted that fraud in that environment is rising in scale and sophistication, requiring a response that matches the breadth of the modern payments ecosystem.

Payments Canada also said that law enforcement should have access to relevant ecosystem insights, provided appropriate safeguards are in place. Any such arrangements would need to remain aligned with privacy requirements and applicable legal protections across the entities involved.

"A coordinated and forward-looking approach that reflects the evolving nature of fraud, alongside the ongoing evolution of Canada's payment systems, will be essential to protecting Canadians and maintaining trust in the financial system," Payments Canada said.