As commerce becomes increasingly digital, automated, and global, the way money moves must evolve alongside it. Payments are no longer confined to checkout moments or business hours. Today, payments are increasingly embedded into platforms and software and beginning to support automated, always\u2011on workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more than 40 years, Interac has played a central role in connecting Canadians to trusted payment experiences at national scale. In 2025, Interac enabled more than 8.5 billion secure transactions through Interac Debit, Interac e-Transfer and the Interac Verified suite of solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the Interac Innovation Team is exploring how emerging digital asset capabilities, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins, could complement and extend the infrastructure Canadians already rely on, while preserving the trust, reliability, and governance expectations that come with operating critical financial infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re approaching this with a pragmatic lens. Rather than treating digital money as a wholesale replacement for what works today, we\u2019re examining how emerging technologies can complement existing rails. At Interac, our focus is exploring how the ecosystem can evolve by combining the resilience and oversight of established infrastructure with new capabilities like programmability and automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a payments context, \u201cdigital assets\u201d refers to digitally represented forms of value that can be moved and settled using modern infrastructure. As payment systems evolve, financial institutions and infrastructure providers are increasingly focusing on forms of digital money\u2014such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits\u2014that combine the familiarity of existing financial instruments with new capabilities like programmability and always\u2011on availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two forms of digital assets are especially relevant to the areas Interac is exploring: tokenized deposits and stablecoins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tokenised Deposits<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stablecoins:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The approach taken by Interac is grounded in a deliberate choice: start with real payment problems, not technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital assets introduce new capabilities, but they are also complex, evolving, and dependent on broader ecosystem alignment. Leading with technology alone risks creating solutions that are difficult to scale, operate, or integrate into existing systems. Instead, the focus has been on identifying where existing payment flows face constraints\u2014such as settlement timing, reconciliation, or cross\u2011platform coordination\u2014and assessing where new rails could address those gaps in a practical, controlled way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach ensures that any exploration is directly tied to real use cases, while maintaining the governance, transparency, and operational safeguards required for infrastructure operating at national scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To make this exploration actionable, the exploration has been structured as a phased approach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The objective of this phased model is to reduce uncertainty and inform decision\u2011making across three critical dimensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interoperability is a central pillar of this approach. Canada\u2019s payments ecosystem depends on broad participation and coordination across institutions, and any new form of digital money must be able to connect into that system to be viable at scale. Without interoperability, there is a risk of creating siloed networks that increase complexity, reduce efficiency, and weaken trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By taking a phased, interoperability\u2011first approach, Interac is able to explore digital asset capabilities in a way that is pragmatic, future\u2011ready, and aligned with the role of a trusted national network, ensuring that any evolution in payment infrastructure strengthens the ecosystem, rather than fragmenting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital assets are entering a new phase of maturity. Across global markets, institutions are increasingly treating tokenised deposits, stablecoins, and blockchain\u2011based settlement as infrastructure components designed to improve how value moves, settles, and reconciles across complex networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Interac, the exploration is not about creating parallel payment systems. It\u2019s about understanding how new capabilities\u2014like always\u2011on availability, programmable payments, and cross\u2011platform interoperability\u2014can be introduced in a way that strengthens (rather than fragments) the Canadian ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canada\u2019s payments ecosystem is also likely to evolve in stages: established rails continue to provide broad reach and trusted operating models, while tokenised forms of money become more relevant over time as interoperability infrastructure develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exploring digital assets is a natural extension of the work Interac has always done: building solutions that enable trusted, interoperable money movement at a national scale along with strong consumer protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For decades, Interac has held a central place in the Canadian economy, bringing together financial institutions, merchants, platforms, and consumers through shared rails that prioritise reliability, security, and broad participation. As money and commerce continue to evolve, that connective role becomes even more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digital assets introduce new capabilities such as programmability, continuous availability, and new interoperability patterns. But digital assets also raise important questions around governance, trust, and integration. Interac is well positioned to help the ecosystem explore those questions in a way that remains anchored in Canadian priorities and infrastructure\u2011grade expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trust at Scale<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interac operates infrastructure Canadians already rely on every day. That trust is earned through rigorous governance, security, and alignment with Canada\u2019s regulatory and public\u2011interest objectives. Applying these principles to digital assets can help ensure innovation strengthens the payments ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orchestration and Interoperability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interac holds a central position in Canada\u2019s financial ecosystem, helping connect financial institutions, acquirers, merchants, government organizations, and consumers. This position enables coordination across emerging digital asset rails and existing payment systems, supporting interoperability rather than creating new silos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Bridge Between Today and What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The approach taken is intentionally evolutionary. The exploration focuses on how tokenised deposits and stablecoins might coexist with today\u2019s payment rails, and where they can extend the ecosystem with capabilities such as programmability, automation, and new digital\u2011first experiences, without abandoning what already works well in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canada\u2019s payments ecosystem has long been defined by trust, stability, and broad participation. However, economic competitiveness increasingly depends on whether Canada has strong domestic rails that can evolve with global commerce. As tokenised forms of money and new settlement models scale internationally, countries that move early will shape standards, liquidity corridors, and interoperability norms. If Canada lacks a credible domestic pathway, more payment activity can default to foreign rails and frameworks\u2014making Canadian institutions less competitive and reducing Canada\u2019s ability to influence how digital money works at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why we\u2019re not exploring how to build new technology. Instead, our focus is on paths to understand how Canada could maintain a trusted, domestic interoperability layer\u2014a national rail, such as Interac, that can connect established payment systems with emerging digital asset rails in a controlled, governable way. Without a strong Canadian stablecoin or tokenised deposit infrastructure, there is a risk that foreign networks become the de facto settlement layer for certain digital flows, which could weaken domestic oversight and resilience over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By exploring digital asset capabilities within Canada\u2019s regulatory and institutional frameworks, Interac is helping to strengthen the innovation environment so Canadian businesses, financial institutions, and policymakers have a domestic foundation to build on, rather than relying on external systems by default. In practical terms, that means future\u2011proofing Canada\u2019s payments backbone, so it remains a competitive asset for Canadian commerce: trusted at scale, interoperable by design, and aligned with public\u2011interest outcomes as global standards mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The exploration of digital money by Interac reflects a broader commitment to innovation that is pragmatic, inclusive, and grounded in real\u2011world needs. The goal is not disruption for its own sake\u2014it is to ensure that Canadians, businesses, and institutions can continue to move money with confidence as commerce becomes increasingly digital, automated, and global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This exploratory work was conducted by the Interac Innovation team using non\u2011production, ring\u2011fenced test environments. It is intended to assess potential future roles and capabilities and does not represent a production deployment or a commercial commitment.<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As commerce becomes increasingly digital, automated, and global, the way money moves must evolve alongside it. Payments are no longer confined to checkout moments or business hours. Today, payments are increasingly embedded into platforms and software and beginning to support automated, always\u2011on workflows. For more than 40 years, Interac has played a central role in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":229076,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"content-tags":[952,294],"content-category":[189],"spokespeople":[],"in_the_know_post_format":[169],"class_list":["post-229075","content","type-content","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content-tags-enterprise-and-government","content-tags-trends","content-category-business","in_the_know_post_format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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The Payments\u2011First Approach at Interac<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From Digital Assets to Digital Infrastructure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why Is Interac Exploring the Future of Digital Money?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Interac Brings Three Distinct Strengths to the Digital Assets Landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why This Matters for Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDisclaimer<\/h6>\n\n\n\n