RBC and BMO are selling Moneris. Here is what it means for how Canadian businesses get paid.

The news

RBC and BMO announced on August 10, 2026, that they are selling Moneris Solutions Corp. to the US private-equity firm Francisco Partners. The sale price is about $2 billion in cash. RBC's half is worth about $1 billion and carries an expected after-tax gain of about $475 million. BMO's share is about $600 million. The deal still needs regulatory approval and has not closed yet. The banks expect the sale to close by the end of their first fiscal quarter of 2027. Both banks will keep long-term arrangements to refer customers to Moneris.

What Moneris is

RBC and BMO started Moneris together in 2000 with a 50% stake each. It became Canada's largest payment processor and serves over 325,000 points of commerce. If a Canadian shop accepts a credit or debit card, Moneris likely processes that payment.

Why the sale matters

Two Canadian banks owned Canada's largest card processor for 26 years. If the sale closes, a US private-equity firm will own it. News coverage of the announcement raised two concerns: where Canadian transaction data ends up, and one more Canadian technology asset moving to American ownership.

These changes will not affect how your card terminal works next week. However, a Canadian business might want to ask: how many companies exist between my customer's money and my bank account, who owns those companies, and what are their individual fees?

The rail that has no processor

Interac e-Transfer works differently. It moves money between Canadian bank accounts through the Interac network. This method does not use a card network, a terminal rental, or a middle processor. According to Interac, Canadians sent about 1.4 billion e-Transfers worth about $563 billion in 2024.

Costs: receiving an e-Transfer is usually free for personal bank accounts. Many banks charge about $1.00 to $1.50 per received transfer on business accounts. Compare these costs to the percentage-based card fees for that sale. Check your own bank's schedule, as fees and limits vary by institution.

The speed picture is honest but not instant. With Autodeposit, most transfers arrive within seconds or a few minutes. However, a sender's bank may hold a first transfer to a new recipient for a security review. This works better for counters, stalls, trades, and invoices than for checkout lines.

What a business can do with it today

Three steps, using just your computer and your own bank:

1. Choose one email address to receive payments and enable Autodeposit for it through your bank. This allows money to enter your account without a security question.
2. Use Interac's notification emails as your record of receipts. Genuine emails come from payments.interac.ca and include an Interac digital signature (DKIM). Any email with an attachment is a scam.
3. You can automate the checking process if you wish. Since August 2026, map.ca has used this loop for actual membership payments: software checks the mailbox, verifies the signature, matches the amount, and sends the receipt. This software is being prepared for release here under an open licence.