The PayPod Podcast

Welcome to The PayPod, Payments Canada’s multi-episode podcast on everything to do with Canada’s ambitious payments Modernization journey. 

Guiding our journey are the needs of Canadians, including consumers, financial institutions, businesses, start-ups, and governments. Hear Cyrielle Chiron, Head, Research and Strategic Foresight at Payments Canada and host of The PayPod, interview leading experts and respected thought leaders about the changing payments landscape, the needs of Canadians and how payments Modernization will deliver on them.

Episodes 9-16 of The PayPod look to pick up right where we left off from with new topics, new questions, and new voices to debate the answers and discuss the challenges of today. 

Explore past episodes 

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Episode 16: How retailers are navigating new economic realities

While COVID-19 has created many struggles for retail businesses across Canada, some managed to quickly pivot by leaning on e-commerce to help them sustain revenues and jobs. While the virus is causing chaos in many industries, it is also driving new technological adoptions and creating new opportunities for growth. Will this mean more support for new methods of payments? Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Marilyn Schaffer, XTM Inc. CEO, and Wendy MacKinnon, CEO & Founder of Digital Retail Apps, to discuss how retailers and paytech players are adapting to meet the shift in purchasing habits.

Guests: 

Listen to the episode Read the transcript of the recording 

Episode 15: Current state of central bank digital currencies

Several central banks around the world, including the Bank of Canada, are exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC). There are many benefits a CBDC could bring to an economy, however, there are complexities and uncertainties as well. What considerations are being made by central banks AND governments prior to the creation of a digital currency? What are the complexities and risks with introducing a CBDC? The Paypod host Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Rod Garratt, Pellish Chair in Economics, University of California Santa Barbara, and Francisco Rivadeneyra, PhD, Director, CBDC & FinTech Policy, Funds Management and Banking, Bank of Canada, to discuss the current thinking around CBDCs. 

Guests: 

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Episode 14: Opportunities and challenges for expanded access to Canada’s payments systems

The PayPod host Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Anne Butler, Chief Legal Officer and Vice President of Policy and Research at Payments Canada, and Jason Young, Head of Legal and Company Secretary at PayPal Canada, to discuss the opportunity of expanding membership to Canada’s payments systems and how ongoing efforts to update existing payments legislation for new entrants and paytechs is more important than ever to stay competitive. The group dives into the status of the Retail Payment Oversight Framework (RPOF) and other ongoing regulatory work to advance payments modernization efforts.

Guests: 

  • Anne Butler, Chief Legal Officer and Vice President of Policy and Research, Payments Canada
  • Jason Young, Head of Legal and Company Secretary, PayPal Canada

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Episode 13: Addressing the risk in the payments industry before, during and after COVID-19

Assessing how an organization needs to respond to and prepare for an extraordinary situation takes strong business continuity planning. So how is the payments industry responding to COVID-19? Peter Dodic, Chief Risk Officer at Payments Canada, and Sonia Baxendale, President and CEO of the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services, join PayPod host Cyrielle Chiron to discuss how strong operational resilience is the key to responding successfully to the pandemic and any future global event.
 

Guests:

  • Peter Dodic, Chief Risk Officer, Payments Canada
  • Sonia Baxendale, President and CEO, Global Risk Institute in Financial Services

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Episode 12: Continued innovation for digital ID and authentication

As digital payments continue to grow among preferred ways to pay, the need for identification and authentication to ensure safe and secure payments is fundamental. But around the world, countries are using digital identification and authentication for many more services and purposes, well beyond payments. Joni Brennan, President of the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) and Ian Glazer, VP, Identity Product Management, Salesforce and Founder and President of IDPro, discuss with The PayPod host, Cyrielle Chiron, what government and corporate action is needed to push Canada to expand the usage of digital identification and authentication technology while ensuring the data collected is safe, secure, and used responsibly. 

Guests:

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Episode 11: Faster payments, now!

The expectation of speed in the payments industry has seen a significant demand in recent months. Consumers want their money in and out of their accounts the moment they press ‘send.’ Similarly, merchants need to be paid faster, complete payroll and business-related payments and purchases. To boot, every actor in the process wants to reduce the risk of fraud in their payment platforms. The PayPod host Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Brad Pragnell, Principal, 34 South 45 North and "Paymentologist" Lance Homer to analyze how the payments ecosystem in Canada has adapted to increased demand for real-time rail and the role infrastructure innovation will play in taking Canada to the next stage in payment evolution. 

Guests: 

  • Dr. Brad Pragnell, Principal, 34 South 45 North, and Consulting Analyst, Payments Canada
  • Lance Homer, Global Head of Digital Payments and Banking Ecosystem, Equinix

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Episode 10: How a global crisis is a playground for cybercrime

The digital environment of today is demonstrating the importance of protecting payments and securing transactions. With this, we are seeing a rise in cybercrime as fraudsters act quickly to take advantage of this shift -- everything from fake websites to phishing attacks to selling government cheques on the dark web. How can individuals stay protected as their whole life moves online? In this episode, host Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Alex Frappier, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the CanCyber Foundation and Martin Kyle, Payments Canada’s Chief Information Security Officer, to explore current cyberspace issues and how to protect against this evolving playground of cybercrime. 

Guests: 

  • Martin Kyle, Chief Information Security Officer, Payments Canada
  • Alex Frappier, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Training, CanCyber 

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Episode 9: 2020 Canadian Payment Trends

Canadians have consistently demanded more digital and modern payments options. So, what has changed in the face of a global pandemic? PayPod host Cyrielle Chiron is joined by Tracey Black, President and CEO of Payments Canada and David Chance, Chair of Payments Canada’s Stakeholder Advisory Council. Cyrielle and Tracey discuss the economic impact COVID-19 is having on payment trends -- from cash use to direct deposit demand and more. David shares his perspectives on changes in consumer behaviour and why merchants need to follow the trends, patterns and behaviours of consumers. 

Guests: 

  • Tracey Black, President and CEO, Payments Canada

  • David Chance, Vice President, Payments Strategy and Innovation at Fiserv & Chair of Payments Canada’s Stakeholder Advisory Council

Listen to this episodeRead the transcript of the recording