Lynx provides the setting in which the Bank of Canada conducts its monetary policy. Effective September 2021, it replaced the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS).
About Lynx
As part of Canada’s payments modernization efforts, Lynx replaced the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) in 2021. It inherits the operational functions to:
- reinforce the Bank’s policy interest rate
- provide a means for settling obligations from other financial market infrastructures (FMIs)
- channel liquidity from the Bank to financial institutions in times of crisis
An Overview of Lynx, Canada’s High-Value Payment System
This document provides an overview of Lynx—Canada’s high-value payment system—and summarizes the system’s design. It explains the development and purpose of Lynx as well as the legal and regulatory framework governing its operation. It also describes the various settlement mechanisms and processes Lynx uses to allow system participants to meet their diverse payment needs while ensuring that risks that arise in the system are managed appropriately.
About the LVTS
The Large Value Transfer System, or LVTS, was an electronic wire system that let financial institutions and their customers send large payments securely in real time, with certainty that the payment would settle. It was launched in 1999 and was replaced by Lynx in 2021.
A Primer on Canada’s Large Value Transfer System
This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Canada’s Large Value Transfer System (LVTS).
A Primer on the Implementation of Monetary Policy in the LVTS Environment
This primer summarizes the objectives and the key elements of the framework that the Bank uses to implement its monetary policy.
Building the LVTS
This is an excerpt from the book Planning an Evolution: The Story of the Canadian Payments Association, 1980-2002 by James Dingle.
Implementing Monetary Policy in the Large Value Transfer System Environment
Discussion papers, setting out a proposed framework for implementing monetary policy in the LVTS environment, were published before the final report was issued in January 1999.
See also the following presentations:
- "Introduction of LVTS in Canada", C. Goodlet, May 1999
- "International Branches and the Canadian Payments System - LVTS and Other Key Issues", C. Freedman, March 1999
- "The Canadian Payments System: Recent Developments in Structure and Regulation", C. Freedman and C. Goodlet, May 1998