Mike Packer, Sr. Business Development Director
Attending the 2025 Payments Canada SUMMIT, and participating as showcase partner with IBM, was a fruitful experience for the Iliad Solutions team. As a business deeply engaged in the evolution of payment testing systems, the event provided an invaluable opportunity for our team to connect with key industry leaders, decision-makers, and innovators from across the Canadian and global payments ecosystem.
Being there in person allowed us to engage in meaningful conversations around real-time payments and modernization initiatives, plus the need for readiness and compliance testing—areas where Iliad offers significant value. The insights we gained from the sessions and from networking reinforced our understanding of market drivers and helped confirm emerging trends that are influencing our roadmap and strategies.
Moreover, it was a chance to showcase our t3 Platform (Iliad’s cutting-edge payments testing and validation solution), to highlight our recent market successes, and to explore collaborations that could further enhance the payments infrastructure in Canada and beyond.
A time of learning
The SUMMIT also provided key learnings that highlighted the rapid transformation occurring across the payments landscape. One of the most significant takeaways was the industry-wide emphasis on real-time payments and the critical role of interoperability in building a seamless, efficient, and inclusive financial ecosystem. It was great to hear the latest from Payments Canada (and ecosystem partners) on the plans and progress for Canada Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system.
Payments Canada confirmed that the system is due to go live in Q3. Notably, this will be the first real-time payments system in the world to include fraud prevention components at the time of launch—a milestone that highlights the initiative’s emphasis on security from the outset.
Payments Canada also emphasized that the RTR is only the beginning. They have laid out a roadmap for additional service offerings that will be delivered in iterative phases, leveraging the foundational infrastructure of the RTR. As they move closer to launch, their focus is shifting toward system testing and onboarding participants, indicating that the rollout is entering a critical execution phase.
Amongst the discussions, there was a growing concern that banks and core payment systems providers may be falling behind in their development and testing efforts related to Canadian RTR. Iliad Solutions can step into this situation and provide essential testing and integration support to ensure stakeholders are RTR-ready.
In parallel, artificial intelligence (AI) continued to dominate conversations. The pace of AI innovation and adoption is accelerating rapidly, influencing everything from fraud detection to customer experience within the financial sector.
Cross-border payments also remain a pressing topic, particularly given the current geopolitical climate. Outside of the SWIFT network, cross-border solutions suffer from a lack of ubiquity in terms of pricing, user experience, and interoperability. Interestingly, the barrier here is not technology, but rather regulatory, policy, and operational challenges that slow or stall progress.
Digital assets—especially stablecoins—were another area of intense focus. As regulatory frameworks evolve, stablecoins are increasingly viewed as potential bridges between traditional finance and emerging digital ecosystems, with implications for both domestic and international transactions.
These were my key takeaways from a whole array of subjects discussed.
In summary
Canada’s payment landscape is about to change drastically, representing challenges – and opportunities – for us all. This was an important event to attend. If I missed seeing you there, or you’d like to find out more about Iliad, please reach out.