Powering economic prosperity through payments: Highlights from day one of The 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT

Registration is still open for Canada’s premier payment event.

On May 5, Payments Canada welcomed over 2,300 delegates to The 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT to explore the future of payments. Day one began with a clear directive: transforming the payment ecosystem to power a stronger, more competitive Canadian economy.

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Susan E. Hawkins underscored the strategic importance of Canada’s payment infrastructure as a national asset, serving as a foundation that supports Canada’s prosperity, sovereignty and global competitiveness:

“Strengthening Canada’s payment sovereignty does not mean turning inward. It means engaging globally from a position of strength; able to build direct settlement corridors, reduce unnecessary dependencies and offer Canadian businesses and families real alternatives. That is what it means to treat payments as national infrastructure.”

Key moments from day one

• A panel discussion on how our ecosystem can remain responsive to the growing needs of Canadians without compromising financial security and stability with Andy Renshaw, Senior Vice President, Product Management at Feedzai, Anne Butler, Managing Director, Supervision at the Bank of Canada, Judith Hamel, Director General, Financial Services Division, Sector Policy Branch at the Department of Finance Canada, Paulo Barbosa, Chief Operating Officer at Banfico and Lisa Ford, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Payments Canada.
• A panel discussion on the new era of AI-powered fraud and how organizations can build their defenses, with Amisha Parikh, Vice-President, Security Solutions at Mastercard, Colin Smith, Vice-President, Risk and Decision Science at Wealthsimple, Darrell Jantzi, Director, Fraud at Payments Canada, Geoff Morton, Vice-President, Fraud Management at Royal Bank of Canada and Shayle Rothman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at DoBusiness.com.
• A fireside chat between Adriana Vega, Executive Director at Fintechs Canada and Jon Purther, Director, Research at Payments Canada, on how fintechs can navigate the journey from startup to scale-up in Canada’s evolving payment landscape.

Don’t miss these sessions on day two

• The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and Susan E. Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer at Payments Canada, will engage in a strategic discussion on the key pillars of the 2026 Spring Economic Update and payment modernization as a critical engine for national productivity and economic growth (May 6, 4:50 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.).
• Canada's Real-Time Rail (RTR) delivery partners will discuss the progress of the RTR program and the critical milestones ahead (May 6, 4:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.). Featuring Anuj Dhall, Group Head, Technology and Operations at Interac Corp., Jeff Mulholland, Partner at IBM Consulting, Rob Mayer, Senior Vice-President, Consulting Services at CGI, Todd Roberts, Senior Partner, Strategy, Risk and Transactions Market Infrastructure at Deloitte Canada and moderated by Jude Pinto, Chief Delivery Officer at Payments Canada.
• Global payment experts will discuss how expectations for instant, data-rich transactions are reshaping cross-border payments. Featuring Conan French, Director, Digital Finance at the Institute of International Finance, David Hooper, VP, Banking and Payments at CGI, Kevin O'Neil, Account Director, Head of Canada at Swift, Lavinia Bucur, Director, Business Services Payments at Scotiabank and moderated by Charlene Lee, Director, Cross Border Payments Transformation at Scotiabank. (May 6, 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.).

Register for a Deep Dive session on day three

Deep Dive sessions are back this year by popular demand, and space is filling up fast. Don’t miss the chance to secure your spot in one of six half-day sessions, combining expert talks, ask-me-anythings (AMAs) and case studies on some of the most complex and critical topics in payments:

• Leading large-scale payment transformation
• Open banking
• Digital assets
• AI and payments
• Fraud prevention and mitigation
• Real-time payments

Can’t join us in Toronto? Register for the digital experience to get access to a live stream of the main stage and join The SUMMIT community to connect with fellow delegates.