About

 

Work Plan

Consultations:

An online consultation was launched in the summer of 2010, asking Canadians to identify payment issues they found pressing. The process was made public online so participants could respond. The open invitation resulted in 39 submissions from concerned citizens, banks, associations and new entrants to the payment system. These submissions are available online.

Currently, the Task Force is accepting responses to the discussion paper The Way We Pay: Transforming the Canadian Payments System.

This paper describes the evolution of the Task Force’s thinking, beginning with our creation in June, 2010.  It elaborates on the goal of becoming a world leader in payments by articulating the principles we feel must be respected going forward.  It sets out the fundamental challenges as we see them.  And it carves out the elements of an proposed Governance Framework that serves as an initial map we will continue to refine.

Written responses received before September will be posted online. A series of questions have been included in the discussion paper to help provoke responses, though participants are welcome to address any aspect of our research.

Preliminary meetings:

Over the 2010 summer months, the Chair of the Task Force for the Payments System Review held meetings with key industry stakeholders to let them know about the work of task force and invited them to make a submission.

Research:

The task force is committed to making its work as transparent and accessible as possible. By fostering a meaningful dialogue with and between participants, the task force hopes to check and challenge assumptions, provide participants a chance to share perspectives, and work towards common ground on complex and evolving issues.

The Task commissioned a comprehensive report, the Canadian Payments Landscape, prepared by Deloitte Canada, which offers a holistic mapping of the current Canadian payments landscape, and is intended to serve as a common basis for discussion and collaboration. A discussion forum was provided over the fall of 2010 so that participants could engage directly with the report and with each other.

We are studying payment systems around the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, Europe and United States. In particular, we want to understand how governance models have evolved in constructive ways that spur innovation, while reinforcing user rights.

Payments innovations around the world are also being analyzed with regard to mobile and online payments, integrated business payments and billing solutions. We are also weighing the challenge and promise of digital identification and authentication.

As well, Canada’s complex patchwork of laws and policies on payment is being assessed, with the aim of understanding where Canada stands in its payment evolution, and what is the best way forward.

Early in 2011, the Task Force sought the input of small and medium-sized businesses through roundtable consultations in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. We met face-to-face with 75 groups and businesses. The roundtables proved an invaluable opportunity for the Task Force to hear from primary users of the payment system, whose concerns were shared with passion to find solutions.

Scenarios Roundtable:

To help build a mutually beneficial consensus, we created a Scenarios Roundtable. With the help of Viewpoint Learning (an organization specializing in conducting dialogue for business and public policy), we gathered diverse payment industry leaders and stakeholders. This group of 40 then worked over months to develop four distinct scenarios for the future of the Canadian payments system.

The result of this process is a body of thoughtful research:  Scenarios for the Future of the Canadian Payments System. Only by seeing the future of the Canadian payment system from a variety of perspectives and measuring the consequences, were we able to carve out a plan that all agreed was best for Canada. As our ideas evolve, we will continue to rely on the success of this collaborative dialogue to shape a vision we can all aspire to.

Discussion Paper:

The Task Force has published its discussion paper, The Way We Pay: Transforming the Canadian Payments System.  This report is complemented by the publication of the collaborative research piece illustrate different visions of the future, Scenarios for the Future of the Canadian Payments System.

The Task Force is presently accepting responses in response to the discussion paper The Way We Pay: Transforming the Canadian Payments System. Participants are also welcome to respond to Scenarios for the Future of the Canadian Payments System, the essential companion document, if they chose to.

Written responses received before September will be posted online.

Working Groups and Advisory Groups:

A number of Working Groups and Advisory Groups have been formed to advance specific elements of our work. The purpose of these Groups, which represent a unique approach to public policy development, is to provide greater perspective to the Task Force for the Payments System Review.

The Groups will help develop research that addresses the remaining fundamental challenges of online authentication, credit and debit networks, and moving to the digital economy.

Digital Identification and Authentication (DIA) Working Group Chair: Brad Badeau

  • The DIA Working Group, comprised of expert individuals and private and public organizations, is and privacy values of Canadian citizens, businesses, and governments.

Electronic Invoicing and Payments Working Group Chair: Lili de Grandpré

  • The Electronic Invoicing and Payments Working Group is identifying and evaluating efficient and secure electronic invoicing and payment alternatives for Canadian businesses and governments, taking advantage of new technology to:
  1. Increase information flow from users to suppliers and vice-versa;
  2. Reduce paper-based transactions to minimize costs and manual intervention;
  3. Focus on moving 80% of business and government transactions to electronic payment mechanisms; and
  4. Extend solutions to business-to-individual and government-to-individual where possible.

Infrastructure Working Group Chair: Stéphane Le Bouyonnec

  • The Infrastructure Working Group is working with the CPA and other stakeholders on preliminary steps to identify alternative funding and operating models for Canada’s payments infrastructure, as well as the costs, barriers and requirements for implementation.

Consumer Advisory Group Chair: Laura Gillham

  • The Consumer Advisory Group is assessing the core principles identified by the Task Force for the Payments System Review. It is also examining education and accessibility issues, including increasing consumer awareness and understanding of digital payments and of digital identification and authentication.

Governance Advisory Group Chair: Terry Wright

  • The Governance Advisory Group is taking a holistic view of the Task Force’s proposed Governance Framework for the Canadian payments system. Its work will include examining the mandate and form of the proposed Payments Oversight Body and its relationship with the SGO, the payments infrastructure entity, the Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada.

Regulatory Advisory Group Chair: John Chant

  • The Regulatory Advisory Group is working with the Task Force for the Payments System Review on regulatory and legal issues. This Group will address the definition of the payments industry and minimum standards for the industry, as well as legal and regulatory issues raised by other Working Groups, including: 1. Defining the scope and nature of the payments legislation; 2. Exploring options for updating payments legislation; and 3. Assessing the competitive structure in payments markets and the implications of that structure.

SGO Start-up Group Chair: Barbara Stymiest

  • Although is not a formal working group of the Task Force for the Payments System Review, the SGO Start-up Group is considering an appropriate mandate, governance and operational structure.

Final report:

The task force will present a final report to the Minister of Finance by the end of 2011.