Publication date: June 17, 2024
This supervisory policy provides details on the Bank of Canada’s issuing of public notice for certain retail payments supervision and Governor’s decisions.
For terminology about retail payment supervision, refer to the glossary.
Introduction
The Bank of Canada is responsible for supervisory activities under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) and the Retail Payment Activities Regulations (RPAR), including registration, risk monitoring and enforcement. In conducting retail payments supervision (RPS), the Bank may make decisions related to supervisory activities and publish the decisions on the Bank’s website. The Bank communicates these decisions directly to the affected party—an individual, entity or payment service provider (PSP)—and provides public notice about some of these decisions on its website.
After certain RPS decisions have been issued, the affected party may request an independent review by the Governor of the Bank of Canada. After this review, the Governor’s delegate will issue a decision that either confirms the RPS decision, directs RPS staff to take a certain action, or makes an entirely new decision. The Bank also provides public notice about certain Governor’s decisions on its website.
The guidance on this page provides further details on the public notice about RPS decisions and Governor’s decisions issued by the Bank.
Public notice of retail payments supervision decisions
Registration decisions
The Bank can approve or refuse an applicant’s registration application as well as revoke a PSP’s registration status.
- If the Bank approves an applicant’s registration, it will provide a notice of registration directly to the PSP. It will also provide public notice on the Bank’s PSP registry of the PSP’s name, address and other prescribed information.
- If the Bank refuses an applicant’s registration or revokes the registration of a PSP, it will provide a notice of refusal or notice of intent to revoke registration directly to the affected party. If the affected party does not agree with the decision, the affected party may request a review of that decision through the Governor’s review process. If the affected party does not request a Governor’s review within the required time period, or if the Governor’s review confirms the original decision to refuse or revoke registration, the Bank will provide public notice of the name of the applicant or PSP in its list of refusals and revocations on its website. The Bank will also provide public notice of the reasons for the refusal or revocation.
The Bank’s PSP registry, including a list of refusals and revocations, will be available starting September 8, 2025.
Enforcement decisions
After an investigation of a possible violation of the RPAA or RPAR, the Bank may issue different enforcement decisions against an affected party, including a notice of violation (NOV) or a notice of default. The Bank will provide these notices directly to the affected party and will provide public notice of these decisions only if they are issued against a PSP.
For NOVs, the Bank will provide public notice once a PSP is deemed* or determined† to have committed a violation or if the PSP enters into a compliance agreement with the Bank in relation to the NOV.
* A PSP is deemed to have committed a violation when the PSP pays the penalty set out in the NOV or when the PSP neither pays the penalty nor makes representations through the Governor’s review process within the required period.
† A PSP is determined to have committed a violation when the Governor’s delegate finds that a PSP committed a violation.
† A PSP is determined to have committed a violation when the Governor’s delegate finds that a PSP committed a violation.
In these situations, the Bank will publish:
- the name of the PSP
- the nature of the violation
- the amount of the administrative monetary penalty, if any
- a brief description of the reasons for the NOV
- a brief description of the compliance agreement related to the NOV, if applicable
For notices of default, the Bank will provide public notice if a PSP fails to comply with a compliance agreement. This information will be provided as an update to the existing public notice about the compliance agreement in relation to the NOV.
Public notice of Governor’s decisions
The Bank will provide public notice of Governor’s decisions issued by the Governor’s delegate.
- For decisions related to registration (i.e., those that involve a notice of refusal to register or a notice of intent to revoke registration), the Bank will not publish the entire Governor’s decision but will reflect the grounds for the decision in the Bank’s list of refusals and revocations.
- For decisions related to enforcement (i.e., those that involve an NOV or a notice of default), the Bank will publish the entire Governor’s decision if the decision confirms the original RPS decision or finds that a PSP committed a violation.
- The Bank will also provide updates to the public notice, as applicable, such as when a PSP appeals a Governor’s decision to the Federal Court.