In an update published Tuesday, CEO Tracey Black wrote that pushing back the delivery date will give the non-profit and its vendors time to “validate and test the components and end-to-end integration” of the system, which will update the technology the country uses for payments, letting financial transactions be settled almost instantly. Payments Canada is working “to replan and confirm a revised launch date, which we will share publicly once confirmed,” Black said via email. (The Logic)

Talking point: Real-Time Rail (RTR) was most recently scheduled to launch in June 2023. The system was originally forecast to go live in mid-2019. The project’s timeline and shape have been hotly contested in the financial services technology space. Fintech firms hoping to launch peer-to-peer transaction services atop the new rails have expressed concern that delays help entrench Interac e-Transfer; Payments Canada picked the debit network, along with Mastercard’s Vocalink and Tata Consultancy Services, as contractors on RTR. Sector stakeholders who spoke with The Logic say incumbent financial-service firms have slowed down the initiative. Black has previously cited the system’s complexity and challenges deriving from the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for the delay.