case study
Payments
TCS readies Canadian financial institutions
for real-time payments modernization
By Lokesh Rai, Head of TCS Financial Solutions, Canada
Payments Canada provides Canada's national payments
contributing its experience in delivering modernized
systems, including those for large-value payments and for solutions in multiple markets for real-time gross
day-to-day domestic commerce. In 2018, those systems settlement, real-time payments rails, and ISO 20022
cleared approximately $53 trillion.. implementations. Through consulting services, innovation
In 2015, Payments Canada commenced a strategic plan
to develop a modern payments system, including:
l Real-Time Rail, a new real-time payments system
for low-value payments that can be initiated with mobile
numbers and email addresses, to serve as a platform for
value-added service offerings. Expected go-live (with a
new name) in 2020.
l Lynx, a new high-value payments system to provide
support, and technology solutions, TCS is accelerating the
modernization of Payments Canada.
#Invisible Payments
Based on our experience in multiple markets building
real-time capabilities much like those being developed
by Payments Canada, we anticipate that in the future,
Canadian payments will become #Invisible:
- omnipresent throughout the digital economy;
real-time settlement finality. Expected go-live in 2021.
l Settlement Optimization Engine, a centralized retail
batch system to replace existing applications for clearing
- secure and trustworthy to a degree that alleviates
concerns;
- open to innovation of all kinds; and
of batch paper and electronic payments, with migration to
ISO 20022, an additional exchange window, and faster funds
availability. Enhancements are ongoing through 2021.
These elements of a modern payments system will
simplify and enhance daily payment interactions for
Canadians and help secure and strengthen Canada’s
competitive position as a global leader in financial services.
- personalized and contextualized using information
pertinent to the individual.
#Invisible Payments represents a paradigm shift away
from the legacy situation, in which payments are confined
to specific use cases through insecure, one-size-fits-all
instruments that cannot easily be modified.
Canadian consumers have been quick to embrace new
technology and digital payments. Cash use has decreasing
by 20 percent since 2011, and the marketplace is eagerly
awaiting the innovation enabled by real-time payments.
The modernization is already in progress, with each
phase carefully designed through consultations with
more than 100 organizations in the Canadian and global
payments ecosystem.
TCS is actively engaged with Payments Canada by
At the 2019 Payments Canada Summit, R Vivekanand,
Vice President and Co-Head, TCS Financial Solutions,
spoke about how #Invisible Payments will drive social
transformation and consumer empowerment; described
TCS’ role in two innovative payment initiatives, Vipps in
Europe and Unified Payment Initiative in India; and outlined
the opportunity for financial institutions to become
disruptors in their own regions with #Invisible Payments
experiences, the possibilities only limited by the imagination.
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