PAYMENT UPDATE OVERDUE: BOC
The country’s payments infrastructure is long overdue for an update to ensure financial system stability amid the rapid advance of new technologies and the risks that accompany them, a senior Bank of Canada official said Thursday. Deputy bank governor Sylvain Leduc warned that, for example, the systems must be able to keep up with new payment options that have mushroomed in recent years. He pointed to examples including innovations like PayPal, Interac e-transfers and Apple Pay. Keeping the payment systems up to date, he added, is necessary to protect Canada’s financial stability and to address credit, liquidity and operational risks that can arise — including those that can even come in the form of a computer glitch. Leduc was speaking in Toronto at an event for Payment Canada, a not-forprofit group funded by financial institutions.