Canada vs Pakistan · Real-time payment systems compared
| Capability | Interac e-Transfer | Raast |
|---|---|---|
| QR Code Payments | — | — |
| Wallet Support | — | — |
| 24/7 Availability | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-Border | — | — |
| ISO 20022 | — | ✓ |
| Request to Pay | ✓ | — |
| Open API | ◐ | ◐ |
| Alias/Proxy | ✓ | ✓ |
Canada's dominant person-to-person and business payment system, used by virtually every Canadian with a bank account. Interac e-Transfer enables instant transfers via email address or phone number across all major Canadian banks and credit unions. Originally a next-day service, it was upgraded to real-time settlement in 2022. Interac processes over 1B transactions per year with CAD 900B+ in value, making it one of the world's highest per-capita instant payment systems. Operated by Interac Corp (jointly owned by Canadian financial institutions), it also supports Interac Debit for point-of-sale and Request Money for invoicing.
Pakistan's instant payment system launched by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as part of its Digital Pakistan vision. Raast (meaning "direct path" in Urdu) enables 24/7 real-time transfers between banks and fintech providers via IBAN, mobile number (Raast ID), or CNIC (national ID). Designed with ISO 20022 messaging from the ground up, Raast supports P2P, P2M, and bulk/salary disbursements. With Pakistan's 220M+ population and only ~30% banked, Raast is a critical financial inclusion tool. It also includes a request-to-pay feature and plans for QR-based merchant payments.