Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
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Moneris Sale and Canada’s Changing Payments Market
Payments | Aug 21, 2025 | Last Updated Sep 21, 2026
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Moneris Sale Separates Bank Distribution From Payment Processing
On August 10, 2026, Francisco Partners agreed to acquire Moneris from RBC and BMO for approximately C$2 billion in cash, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Each bank is entitled to half of the proceeds. The agreement turns the potential sale first reported in 2025 into a signed change of control.
Moneris supports more than 325,000 points of commerce and handles roughly one in three transactions in Canada. RBC and BMO are selling their ownership interests, but both banks have established long term agreements to refer customers exclusively to Moneris.
RBC and BMO can therefore continue serving business customers and distributing Moneris payment services without owning the processor itself. Francisco Partners will own the company responsible for much of the merchant technology, payment acceptance and commerce infrastructure behind those relationships.
The Moneris sale also leaves the company's Canadian headquarters and technology infrastructure in place while ownership changes hands.
TD, Scotiabank And National Bank Also Use Payment Partners
Canada's other major banks already use variations of this model.
In July 2025, TD partnered with Fiserv under a multi year managed services agreement. TD Merchant Solutions uses Fiserv payment processing, servicing and Clover products. Fiserv also agreed to acquire part of TD's merchant processing business covering approximately 3,400 merchant relationships and 30,000 locations.
Scotiabank works with Chase Payment Solutions for merchant services. National Bank refers commercial clients to Clover Canada, a Fiserv company, for payment processing and merchant technology.
Banks can keep the deposit account, lending, treasury services and customer relationship while specialist payment companies carry more of the technology and operating load.
Merchant acquiring now includes ecommerce, mobile acceptance, terminals, fraud controls, reporting, software integrations, inventory tools, analytics and faster settlement. Competing effectively requires continuous investment well beyond processing a card transaction.
Moneris Is Expanding Beyond Card Processing
Moneris itself is also becoming more than a traditional card processor.
In June 2026, the company expanded Konek pay by bank across Moneris Checkout and its API, giving merchants an online account to account payment option alongside cards.
Moneris has also added accounting integration with QuickBooks and technology that can connect AI agents with commerce tools. Merchant payment providers are now competing across checkout, accounting, data, software integration, fraud controls and business operations as well as payment acceptance.
Francisco Partners is acquiring both a large Canadian processing network and a merchant software platform with room to expand further into commerce technology.
Real Time Rail Adds Another Payment Option
Canada's national payment infrastructure has also advanced substantially since this article was first published.
The Real Time Rail rules and access framework is now approved. The RTR By-law and Rules came into force on August 24, 2026, establishing the legal and operating framework ahead of launch.
Payments Canada is targeting a Q4 2026 launch. Initial direct participants are scheduled to connect first, followed by additional participants and transaction volumes through 2027.
RTR is designed to support instant clearing and settlement around the clock with richer payment data. Payments Canada reported in August that 60% of Canadian businesses surveyed would use real time payments in specified situations. Supplier payments, government payments and domestic account to account transfers were among the identified use cases.
RTR is not a replacement for merchant acquiring or card networks. Banks, fintechs and payment providers still need to build payment initiation, fraud controls, reconciliation, merchant services and customer experiences around the rail.
Account to account products could give merchants another way to receive money and give payment companies another service to integrate into checkout, invoicing and business software.
More Payment Providers Can Enter Canada's Core Systems
Canada is also widening access to its national payment infrastructure.
Changes to the Canadian Payments Act expanded Payments Canada membership eligibility to qualifying payment service providers and other organizations that historically operated outside the core systems. The opening of Canada's payment infrastructure has already brought fintechs, PSPs and credit unions into systems once dominated almost entirely by banks.
The Retail Payment Activities Act framework adds regulatory oversight. Registered payment service providers are supervised by the Bank of Canada and must meet requirements covering operational risk, safeguarding funds, incident response and reporting.
Firms still need settlement arrangements, technical connections, fraud controls, liquidity, compliance and reliable operations before they can build competitive products on national payment infrastructure.
What The Moneris Sale Means For Fintechs And Merchants
For fintech companies, there are more ways to compete around the merchant relationship without owning the underlying processor.
A commerce platform can combine payment acceptance with accounting, reconciliation, lending, payroll, inventory, loyalty and analytics while another company handles regulated payment processing. Banks can distribute these products without building every payment capability themselves.
For merchants, pricing, uptime, settlement timing, dispute handling, fraud protection, software integration, reporting and support matter more than who owns the processor.
Real time account to account payments should eventually add another option once RTR is operating and commercial products are available. Cards will continue to offer different acceptance, credit, rewards and consumer protection features, so merchants are likely to support several payment methods rather than replace one system outright.
Outlook
RBC and BMO are selling Moneris while keeping exclusive referral relationships. TD uses Fiserv technology and has transferred part of its processing portfolio. Scotiabank works with Chase, while National Bank refers merchants to Clover.
At the same time, RTR is approaching launch and more regulated payment providers can participate in Canada's payment infrastructure.
Ownership of the processor is only one part of the market. Banks can control the commercial relationship, processors can run payment infrastructure, software companies can own the merchant workflow and fintechs can build services across those layers.
That gives new entrants more places to compete than the older model where merchant acquiring was concentrated inside a small number of bank owned networks.
Talking Point
If banks can keep the business customer without owning the payment processor, where will the most valuable part of the merchant relationship sit once real time payments and new account to account products become widely available?
Related NCFA Intelligence
Canada's payments market is opening while banks, processors and fintechs compete across different parts of the merchant relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Moneris Sale And Canada's Payments Market
Who is buying Moneris?
Francisco Partners has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Moneris from RBC and BMO for approximately C$2 billion in cash. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Are RBC and BMO leaving merchant services?
RBC and BMO are selling their ownership interests in Moneris, but both banks have established long term agreements to refer customers exclusively to Moneris. Their business customers can therefore continue to use Moneris services after the transaction closes.
What happened to TD Merchant Solutions?
TD entered a multi year managed services relationship with Fiserv in 2025. TD Merchant Solutions uses Fiserv payment processing, servicing and Clover products. Fiserv also agreed to acquire part of TD's merchant processing portfolio covering approximately 3,400 merchant relationships and 30,000 locations.
When is Canada's Real Time Rail expected to launch?
Payments Canada is targeting Q4 2026. The RTR By-law and Rules came into force on August 24, 2026, and participant onboarding and transaction volumes are scheduled to increase in stages through 2027.
Will the Real Time Rail replace credit and debit cards?
RTR is national infrastructure for instant account to account payments. It can support new payment products, but cards offer different acceptance, credit, rewards and consumer protection features. Banks, fintechs and payment companies will decide how RTR is incorporated into merchant and consumer services.
Why does the Moneris sale matter for fintechs?
The sale separates ownership of a major Canadian payment processor from the banks distributing its services. Fintechs and software companies can compete around merchant software, payment integration, data and customer experience without owning the underlying processing network.
This article was originally published on August 21, 2025 and updated on September 21, 2026 using public company, regulatory and industry disclosures. The proposed Moneris acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Payments Canada continues to target Q4 2026 for the initial Real Time Rail launch, and implementation timing may change. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial or legal advice.
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