Payment file validation service

The Payment file validation service (PFVS) is designed to reduce the time and effort required to test and validate client-generated payment files during the client onboarding process at financial institutions (FI’s). It also facilitates communication between these institutions and their clients during the testing process. This convenient online service can shorten the payment file testing process from a matter of weeks to days.

Payments Canada’s turnkey solution automates the validation of corporate-to-bank payment files. This simplifies client onboarding to new payment file types and supports Canada’s industry-wide transition to data-rich payments. The PFVS is an optional service that’s available to financial institutions on a paid subscription basis.

“I have been working with financial institutions and electronic file transfers for the longest time and have never received such an amazing tool for validating, cuts down the development time big time!" - Treasury Consultant

The PFVS is a Payments Canada online service powered by XMLdation. It is designed to prepare and support the future of modern payments including the industry-wide migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard.


Service benefits and features 

As a subscriber to this service, Payments Canada’s PFVS team will work with you to quickly transform traditional resource-heavy payment file validation processes into an easy and convenient online experience. Financial institutions can also choose to activate self-service for their clients — allowing clients to log in and test independently according to their own timetable, while implementation managers monitor and support client testing activity.

The PFVS can be tailored to validate any type of payment files, including legacy (flat) files as well as ISO 20022, in addition to providing these service solutions:

  • replace time-consuming, manual processes with a convenient online tool
  • avoid the time and hassle of building and maintaining in-house infrastructure 
  • test against overarching payment standards and your own business rules
  • upload guides, download reports and edit payment files 
  • create simulated payment system responses to help fine-tune client ERPs
  • offer client self-service in both official languages, and easily monitor progress 
  • facilitate remote and international client implementations
  • scale up the capacity of your implementation teams, and 
  • create a better client experience.

Interested in learning more about how this service can be tailored for you? 

Request a demo


Service use cases

Learn how and why BMO Financial Group and TD Bank are using the Payment file validation service. Perspectives they shared at The 2019 Payments Canada SUMMIT.

 “A financial institution that chooses to subscribe to the service, and / or the corporate clients of that institution, can go from initial conversations to user acceptance testing in a fraction of the time, and with a fraction of the effort that it previously used to take.” - Brenda Wagle, Payments Canada