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 entities involved. Below are the differences between Canadian and U.S. payment processing on the Payrix Pro platform, exploring the following key areas:

• General Payments Requirements

• Payrix Pro Platform Access

• Card Payment Transactions

• EFT (eCheque) Payment Transactions

• Transaction Funding Flows

• Transaction Batch Cutoff Times

• Reporting

Canada Payments Processing Standards and Requirements

Outlined below are the requirements for Canada, including regulatory bodies, address formatting standards, and relevant information.

Partner Entity Requirements

While a Canadian business entity is not required for Partners, having one is recommended. They must have a Canadian business bank account. Additionally, all direct Merchants must be domestic Canadian businesses with a domestic Canadian bank account.

Business Entity Requirements

Canadian businesses are required to complete the following registrations:

• Taxation: Registration with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provincial/territorial tax authorities.

  • Business Tax Identification Number: Business Registration Number (BRN)

  • Owner Tax Identification Number: Social Insurance Number (SIN)

  • Local or Provincial Business Registration Agency:

    • Alberta Corporate Registry

    • British Columbia Registry Services

    • Manitoba Companies Office

    • New Brunswick Corporate Affairs Registry

    • Newfoundland and Labrador Companies and Deeds

    • Registry of Joint Stock Companies

    • Ontario Business Registry

    • Prince Edward Island Corporate/Business Names Registry

    • Northwest Territories Corporate Registries

    • Yukon Corporate Affairs

Risk and Legal Compliance

In Canada, the payments industry is regulated by the following standards and bodies ensuring compliance and security:

• Regulatory Bodies: Bank of Canada, OSFI, various provincial regulators

• Privacy Laws: PIPEDA (federal), various provincial privacy laws

• Anti-Money Laundering (AML): FINTRAC, PCMLTFA

• Consumer Protection:

  • Consumer Protection Act, various provincial laws

  • Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry

  • Payrix Pro Canada Sub-Merchant Agreement

  • Payrix Pro Canada Direct Merchant Agreement and Peoples Trust Bank Disclosure

  • Custom Platform Terms and Conditions

Payments

Some essential payments information to get started in Canada is below:

• Currency: Canadian dollar (CAD)

• Common Payment Methods: Credit/debit cards, electronic funds transfer (EFT or eCheque)

• Interchange Fees: Regulated by card networks, government

• Surcharges: Regulated by the government

Address Formatting

Below is the standard for formatting addresses in Canada, which can be utilized for delivering products to customers, applying interchange discounts if relevant, or using the Address Verification Service in underwriting processes:

• Postal Code: Utilizes a 6-character alphanumeric structure with a space in between. For example, A1A 1A1.

• Province Code: Canada's provincial system uses a two-digit code to identify the province in an address, replacing the U.S. state system. For example, use ON for Ontario.

See the example below for a sample of Canadian address formatting:

275 Pope Road
Summerside PE C1N 6E8

Payrix Pro Platform Access

The Payrix Pro Portal and API are available to every user level within each Canadian entity, just like they are in the U.S. Below are some key elements you must know to begin using Worldpay for Platforms tools and features in Canada.

Important!

Due to recently passed legislation, Bill 96, Worldpay for Platforms cannot board merchants in the Province of Quebec at this time due to the lack of French language support.

Do not attempt to board merchants in Quebec until Worldpay implements French language support. This support is crucial for preventing translation errors related to essential business or merchant information, enabling Worldpay to comply with recent regulations.

Payrix Pro 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 Pro Canada Portal for Referrers and Merchants, use the following links:

• Sandbox Portal: https://test-portal.payrixcanada.com

• Production Portal: https://portal.payrixcanada.com

Payrix Pro API Access

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

• Sandbox API Server: https://test-api.payrixcanada.com

• Production API Server: https://api.payrixcanada.com

Merchant Sign-Up Form Link

The Merchant Sign-Up Form follows the Canada-specific portal and API URL domains: http://payrixcanada.com. It utilizes subdomains test-portal or portal, depending on the environment.

A unique aspect of Signup Forms in Canada includes an additional Fee Disclosure acknowledgment for the Merchant. This confirms their review, acceptance, and agreement to the Fee Disclosures in the Merchant Terms and Conditions, ensuring compliance with Canadian regulatory standards. The Fee Disclosures can be accessed through links on the Merchant Signup Form for compliance with Canadian regulations.

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 can process.

• Visa: ✅ Supported

• Mastercard: ✅ Supported

• Discover: ✅ Supported

• American Express: ❌ Not Supported

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 (ACH) payment network, 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 use a different formatting than their U.S. counterparts for their account routing numbers.

Routing Number Format = 0 + Institution Number + Transit Number

• 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

See the example below for a sample of eCheque routing number formatting as displayed on a standard cheque:

• Cheque number: 001

• Transit number: 12345

• Institution number: 010

• Account number: 12-12345

  • Routing number: 001012345

Using the routing number structure shown above, 0 + the institution number + transit number, we can ascertain that the routing number for this example eCheque account is 001012345.

For new EFT transactions, you must include the account number similar to a U.S.-based eCheque payment, but the routing number must be identified following the method outlined above because it does not appear on the cheque.

Transaction Funding Flow

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

Important!

Trace ID numbers for bank account disbursements are not available or displayed for Partners and Merchants in Canada on the Withdrawal or Payouts page.

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 batch for capture by 9:00 PM ET the same day.

• The daily batch cut-off time for new transactions is 10:00 PM ET.

EFT Payment Transaction

eCheque payments, known as EFT, are credited to the Merchant’s FBO account within three to five business days. Funds are electronically transferred to the Merchant's bank account the morning after. Canadian and U.S. Merchants receive EFT payments in the same way.

_{* = These timelines are based on the earliest possible funding time for eCheques, three business days. Please note that eCheques can take up to five business days to complete settlement to fund the Merchant FBO account for later withdrawal.}

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 results in a delay, potentially changing the date of the transaction settlement and subsequent funding.

The cutoff time for including a transaction in the day’s batch is 9:00 PM ET.

Daily Scheduled Payout Cutoff

Scheduled withdrawals for payouts 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 results in a one-day delay in the depositing of withdrawn funds to the Merchant’s bank account.

The cutoff time for completing a scheduled withdrawal of FBO account funds is 5:00 PM ET.

Reporting

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