ATB Financial's Brian Ford says stablecoins will leapfrog Canada's RTR system. With 99% of stablecoins USD-pegged, a CAD stablecoin push gains urgency. Budget 2026 policy is key.
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Canada's long-delayed real-time rail (RTR) payment system faces a credible threat from stablecoins. ATB Financial vice president of business solutions Brian Ford told a panel at the 2026 Canadian Finance Summit that stablecoins will eventually "leapfrog" RTR for both international and domestic payments. The panel, moderated by Blakes partner Vladimir Shatiryan, included Cybrid CEO Avinash Chidambaram and Paytrie chief strategy officer Jason Tong. All three agreed that stablecoins present better value than RTR.
Ford did not argue for replacement. "I don't think it will replace RTR," he said from the stage. "I just think the cost benefit for banks will be better on stablecoin than it is RTR." He called blockchain transfers "simply way cheaper."
Blockchain settlement removes multiple intermediaries, reduces reconciliation overhead, and operates 24/7 without batch windows. RTR still relies on layered clearinghouse rules and legacy infrastructure. The cost delta grows with each incremental transaction. Ford's comment about "simply way cheaper" reflects a structural advantage that no amount of RTR optimization can close.
Every basis point of settlement cost compounds across millions of daily transactions. Canadian banks process a high volume of electronic payments through existing systems. A shift to stablecoin rails could cut variable cost per transaction by a factor of 10 or more, according to estimates common in the fintech literature. The panel's consensus points to a near-term reality where stablecoins become the primary settlement rail for high-volume, low-value payments.
Canada's progress toward RTR payments has moved at what industry participants describe as a glacial pace. The Spring Economic Update reaffirmed that RTR will finally become operational in 2026, more than a decade after other jurisdictions launched similar systems. The same document said the government expects to outline its next steps on stablecoin policy heading into Budget 2026.
RTR has faced repeated delays over governance disputes, cybersecurity standards, and clearinghouse coordination. Stablecoins already operate on live blockchains. The gap means a technology that requires no new regulatory approval to deploy – though it does require legal clarity – can reach the market years before the government-led alternative. Banks evaluating infrastructure investment must choose between waiting for RTR or building stablecoin capability today. If stablecoins go live at scale before RTR, first-mover institutions will capture settlement volume and customer relationships that RTR may never reclaim.
JPMorgan estimates that 99% of stablecoins globally are pegged to the US dollar. That concentration creates a sovereignty risk for Canada, a point raised by former RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie in earlier public comments. At the summit, Ford echoed the argument, comparing the absence of CAD-denominated stablecoins in the digital world to a bank teller who cannot provide Canadian cash in the legacy finance system.
ATB, an Alberta Crown corporation, has backed Calgary-based Tetra Trust in its effort to launch a Canadian-dollar stablecoin. The cryptocurrency would be pegged to the value of the loonie and designed for faster, 24/7 payments. If successful, it would give Canadian institutions a native digital dollar option rather than forcing them to route through US-dollar stablecoins.
Key insight: A CAD stablecoin removes currency conversion risk on every settlement, keeps transaction data inside Canadian legal jurisdiction, aligns with the Bank of Canada's long-term digital currency research, and reduces dependence on US-dollar liquidity channels.
The panel agreed that stablecoins offer better value than RTR. Ford emphasized that the cost benefit for banks will be better on stablecoin. Any institution that waits for RTR to launch before testing stablecoin settlement will face a competitive disadvantage. The cost differential is structural, not temporary.
Risk to watch: Regulatory uncertainty remains the highest barrier. The government's Budget 2026 stablecoin policy will determine whether Canadian-dollar stablecoins can operate under existing securities law or require a new framework. A restrictive outcome could push activity onto offshore platforms.
Banks should start stablecoin pilot programs now, even if regulatory clarity lags. The panel agreed that early experimentation reduces execution risk when the policy window opens. Cybrid and Paytrie already offer infrastructure that connects blockchain settlement to existing bank systems. Institutions that move first on stablecoin integration – or that back Tetra Trust and similar initiatives – stand to capture the settlement revenue that RTR was designed to deliver but may never achieve at competitive cost.
Canada's Budget 2026 will include the government's next steps on stablecoin policy. That document, combined with the RTR go-live target in the same year, will determine whether Ford's leapfrog prediction materializes on schedule. If the government enables CAD stablecoins with clear rules, the cost advantage alone will pull volume off the legacy rails within months.
For investors tracking Canadian fintech, the timeline is now measurable. The panel's consensus points to a structural shift in payment infrastructure that will reshape how financial institutions settle transactions. The question is no longer whether stablecoins will compete with RTR. It is how fast the cost advantage and regulatory clarity will allow them to bypass it entirely.
For broader context on how these trends affect equity markets, see our stock market analysis.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.