Canada Capability Matrix

While the United States and Canada share a close economic relationship, their respective payment standards exhibit notable differences and regulatory frameworks. Understanding these distinctions is essential for businesses operating in Canada or both the U.S. and Canada to ensure compliance and optimize payment processing strategies for all levels of entity involved. Below are the unique differences between the Canadian and U.S. payment processing on the Payrix platform, exploring key areas like:

• General Payments Requirements

• Payrix Platform Access

• Card Payment Transactions

• EFT (eCheque) Payment Transactions

• Transaction Funding Flows

• Transaction Batch Cutoff Times

• Reporting

Canada Payments Processing Standards & Requirements

Outlined in the expandable content below are Canada-specific requirements, regulatory bodies, address formatting standards, and more.

Click the expandable content below to view a matrix of general payment requirements for Canada:

Payrix Platform Access

The Payrix Portal and API are available to every user level within each Canadian entity, just like they do in the U.S. Below are some key elements you’ll need to know to begin using Payrix tools and features in Canada.

Payrix Portal Access

The same robust Portal you access in the U.S. is available to users in Canada, but with some limitations. To access the Payrix Portal for Canada-based Facilitators, Referrers, and Merchants, use the following links:

Payrix API Access

The Payrix API is also accessible in Canada with a slight change to the domain of the API server URL. To access the Payrix API for Canada-based Facilitators, Referrers, and Merchants, use the following URLs:

Merchant Sign-Up Form Link

The Merchant Sign-Up Form hosted will also utilize a similar structure as the Portal and API URL domains for Canada respectively: payrixcanada.com, with the applicable subdomain of “test-portal” or “portal” as usual based on the intended environment. This can also be set manually in the Payrix Portal by accessing the Sign-Up Forms page (under Forms) while logged into the applicable environment.

Card Payments

Credit and debit cards can be used in payment transactions like U.S. Merchants except for some card brand limitations.

Card Brand Support

The following card brand matrix outlines the available card brands that Canadian Merchants may process.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Payments

Electronic Checks accepted by Merchants in Canada work differently than in the U.S., rather than using the Automated-Clearing House payment network (ACH), the account is debited using the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) protocol used to make bank account transfers internally from one account to another.

Due to this difference, the formatting of the routing number is very different from the U.S. ACH routing number format.

EFT (eCheque) Routing Number Formatting

Physical Cheques and EFT payment accounts in Canada utilize a different formatting than their U.S. counterparts for their account routing numbers.

• Cheque Number - Indicates the number of overall cheques written by the account holder.

• Transit (Branch) Number - Identifies the specific branch of the institution where the account is held.

• Institution Number - Identifies the financial institution where the account is held.

• Account Number - The specific account number for the account within the institution.

Example - Finding the Routing Number

Using the routing number format displayed above: 0 + 010 (Institution Number) + 12345 (Transit Number), we can determine that the routing number of this eCheque account is: 001012345

Transaction Funding Flow - Canada

Payrix submits transaction settlement batches daily to the processor for both credit cards and EFT transactions at 9:00 PM EST. Each batch is composed of all authorization, sale, and refund activity that has been captured for processor settlement within the daily period.

Card Payment Transaction

The following outlines the difference in card payment transaction funding flows for Merchants processing card payments in Canada:

• All open credit card authorizations will batch for capture by 9:00 PM EST the same day.

• Daily Batch Cut-off time for new transactions is 10:00 PM EST.

EFT Payment Transaction

eCheque payment transactions, also known as “EFT payments”, are funded to the Merchant’s FBO account 3-5 business days after the transaction is processed. Transaction funds are typically deposited through an electronic funds transfer to the Merchant’s bank account the morning after the FBO account is funded.

Cutoff Time Impact on Transaction Funding and Withdrawals

Transaction Settlement Batch Cutoff

Transactions processed before the batch cutoff time are typically funded the following day.

However, any transaction completed after this cutoff point will result in a delay, potentially changing the date of the transaction settlement and subsequent funding.

Daily Scheduled Withdrawal (Payout) Cutoff

Scheduled withdrawals of the FBO account balance are processed before the daily cutoff and are typically deposited by ACH the following day.

However, any withdrawal scheduled after this cutoff point will result in a one-day delay in the depositing of withdrawn funds to the Merchant’s bank account.

Reporting

All Canada-based Facilitators, Referrers, and Merchants will have access to the same Portal reports available to U.S. Merchants, with all localizations and currency formatting applied for Canada.