Rules & documentation

Rule amendments improve clarity, operational processes and alignment with existing standards

These changes took effect on February 10, 2025.

By-laws, rules, standards and procedure documents are integral parts of the legal framework of the national payment systems that Payments Canada is legislated to establish and operate. They lay out the roles, responsibilities and obligations of our member financial institutions on the appropriate handling of payment items exchanged, cleared and settled via our payment systems. This includes requirements for participation in a payment system or scheme, procedures for the processing of payment items, and the requirements and timeframes for returning payment items, where eligible.

Payments Canada’s rules, standards and procedure documents are updated regularly and versions posted online are in force. You can contact Payments Canada for confirmation by e-mail at info@payments.ca.

Item Title Updated System
Rule E3
Rules Applicable to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Transactions
Retail batch payment system
Rule G3
Rules Pertaining to the Redemption and Settlement of Government of Canada Paper Instruments
Retail batch payment system
Standard 006
Specifications for MICR-Encoded Payment Items
Retail batch payment system