Speech: Opening remarks from The 2025 Payments Canada SUMMIT
Susan Hawkins, President and CEO of Payments Canada, took the stage to welcome over 2,000 delegates to the country’s most anticipated payment event.
Susan Hawkins
President and CEO
Susan Hawkins is the President and CEO of Payments Canada, leading the organization's next phase of development to meet the evolving payment needs of Canadians. Under her leadership, Payments Canada is focused on modern payment technology solutions that are safer, smarter and more accessible for Canada.
Note: Minor changes to the following remarks may have occurred during delivery
Toronto, May 6, 2025 – Good morning, and welcome to The 2025 SUMMIT! Today, we gather not just as participants, but as architects of Canada’s financial future.
Each of you — whether representing financial institutions, fintech innovators, regulators, or businesses — play a vital role in transforming how Canadians pay, save, and thrive in our ever-evolving digital economy.
A vision for Canadian payments
The story of payments in Canada is remarkable and, like the Canadian economy, constantly evolving.
In 2024 alone, Payments Canada systems cleared and settled 107 trillion dollars — that’s 424 billion dollars every business day — keeping our nation’s economic lifeblood flowing.
This staggering figure represents more than transactions; it represents trust, security, and the foundation of our economic prosperity and productivity.
Now we’re at a pivotal moment.
The latest data from our Canadian Payment Methods and Trends Report reveals an undeniable shift toward digital transformation, with digital payments now accounting for 86 per cent of all transactions in Canada.
Even as we embrace modernization and innovation, Canadians demonstrate their desire for payment choice and safety — with 57 per cent of Canadians indicating that they have no desire to go completely cashless.
Canadians want convenience in how they pay, but not at the expense of security or privacy.
And as we race toward the future, we also value the resilience that comes from offering diverse and safe payment options.
The power of our three themes
This year’s SUMMIT centers around three central themes: Collaboration, Innovation, and Transformation.
These aren’t just buzzwords—they’re the blueprint for building Canada’s payment infrastructure of tomorrow.
Collaboration: Team Canada approach
The path forward demands unprecedented collaboration. No single entity — not Payments Canada, not financial institutions, not government, not fintech innovators — can modernize our payment ecosystem alone.
We need what we call a team Canada approach.
I’m thrilled to share that this collaborative spirit has already delivered great results for Canada. The Real-Time Rail technical build is on track to be completed by early Q3 of this calendar year, as planned. This milestone represents countless hours of cross-industry cooperation, regulatory alignment, and shared commitment to excellence in execution.
Of course, we know it’s going to take more than technology. The true measure of the Real-Time Rail’s success will be the value propositions we collectively build on top of this foundation.
With Canada’s e-commerce and online payments market projected to reach 80 billion dollars this year alone, and with over 80 per cent of Canadians now owning smartphones, we’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how Canadians engage in their financial lives.
Innovation: Secure, inclusive and forward-looking
In 2024, we saw contactless payments surge as Canadians embrace the ease and speed of these transactions in their daily routines.
An impressive 84 per cent of Canadian merchants now accept contactless payments. That positions us well ahead of many global counterparts.
We’ve seen a rapid growth of online transfers, which experienced a 16 per cent growth in volume and a remarkable 23 per cent in year over year growth in value.
For the first time ever, online transfers have surpassed cheques for business payments by volume — a watershed moment in Canadian payment evolution.
Our modernization and innovation strategy isn’t just about speed — it’s about security and safety from day one.
Canada aims to be among the first nations to launch a real-time payment system with centralized fraud services embedded in that rail from inception.
This strategic approach acknowledges the concerning rise in payment scams and fraud that we continue to see impacting Canadians on a daily basis.
Transformation: Building lasting value
Transformation runs deeper and broader than technology — it’s about creating lasting value for Canadians through trust, security, and confidence.
The data tells a compelling story: e-commerce transactions totaled 75.2 billion dollars in 2024, representing six per cent of retail sales, and five per cent year-over-year growth.
For Canadian businesses, real-time payments mean improved cash flow management, greater operational agility and easier access to new markets.
For consumers, real-time payments means confidence, security and unprecedented control over their financial lives.
Securing Canada’s competitive future
Again: Let’s recognize that Canada stands at a pivotal moment.
As the global economic order undergoes rapid and complex change, we must look at ourselves. We must take stock of who we are, where we’re headed, and what it will take to thrive in this new reality — and new global economic order.
Looking forward, the digital payments market in Canada is projected to grow at an annual rate of above eight per cent from 2025 to 2028. We expect to reach a projected total of 340 billion dollars by 2028. This trajectory places us firmly amongst the world’s most dynamic payment ecosystems and economies.
The call to action
Our journey demands more than passive participation — we can’t wait for this to happen. Success requires our active engagement, our bold thinking, and our willingness to challenge conventions.
The SUMMIT provides the platform, and you provide the perspectives and the action. As you share them with one another — you will be shaping our collective future.
We can all see that the future of payments in Canada is not predetermined — it’s ours to create together. The choices we make today will determine whether Canada merely keeps pace or whether we set a new global standard for payment competitiveness.
I challenge each of you to use these next days to forge new connections, to share insights, and to imagine possibilities that might have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Our economic prosperity and productivity depend on you doing it. Thank you for your commitment to this vital work.
Now, let’s build Canada’s payment future, and let’s build it together.
