Ebury and Form3 Expand Partnership to Launch Instant Payments on Canada's Real Time Rail

Global financial services firm Ebury is expanding its partnership with Form3 to provide instant payment capabilities in Canada via the country’s forthcoming Real Time Rail (RTR). For fintech professionals, this move signals a significant step in cross-border payment efficiency, leveraging a single cloud-native platform to bridge UK, European, and North American payment infrastructures.

What was announced

The partnership enables Ebury to integrate with Canada’s Real Time Rail (RTR), a new national payment system designed to facilitate the exchange, clearing, and settlement of instant transactions. This collaboration builds upon an existing relationship where Form3 provides Ebury with connectivity to the UK’s Faster Payment Service (FPS) and Europe’s SEPA payment schemes. By utilizing Form3’s cloud-native platform, Ebury aims to provide frictionless cross-border transaction capabilities to its corporate client base.

The rollout of the Canadian RTR is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Following the initial launch, additional financial institutions will be permitted to join the rail in successive phases throughout 2027. Ebury is positioned to be among the pioneering firms joining during these 2027 stages. Form3’s technology allows banks and fintechs to access multiple payment rails across North America, the UK, and Europe through a single unified platform. The company currently processes approximately five billion transactions annually for a roster of over 40 global customers, including major financial institutions such as J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Santander, and Klarna. This expansion into the Canadian market is intended to simplify the technical and regulatory hurdles associated with adopting new regional payment standards.

"We are thrilled to be supporting Ebury to deliver instant payments in Canada. The new real time rail marks Canada’s move into instant payments, but it has somewhat of a late-mover advantage, having modelled its rail on both the UK and US’ offerings. As a result, banks and fintechs are looking for partners with a strong track record in these regions to support them to deliver instant payments in Canada and we are pleased to be bringing our experience to bear."

Mike Walters, CEO and co-founder of Form3

The companies involved

Ebury is a global financial services firm that specializes in international payments, collections, and foreign exchange services. The company is a subsidiary of Banco Santander, one of the world's largest retail and commercial banks, which provides a significant corporate backbone for Ebury’s global operations. Ebury has established a strong presence in the market by focusing on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as corporate clients navigating complex cross-border financial requirements.

Form3 is a prominent global fintech provider that offers account-to-account payment technology through a cloud-native model. The firm acts as a critical layer of financial infrastructure, allowing its clients to bypass the complexities of traditional legacy systems when connecting to various national and international payment rails. Form3 has attracted significant interest from the traditional banking sector, counting several Tier 1 banks among its client base and investors. The company’s platform is designed to scale with customer demand for global instant payments, providing the necessary financial fabric for modern digital banking services across major economic regions including the UK, Europe, and North America.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed the growth of both entities closely. We recently reported on how Ebury Institutional Launches Escrow and Paying Agent Services for Complex Global Transactions, highlighting the firm's move into more sophisticated corporate services. The company has also been active in emerging markets, as seen when Ebury Expands Sports Partnerships Network in Brazil With Copa Libertadores Winner Botafogo. Regarding infrastructure and investment, we covered when Form3 Secures Strategic Investment From Nationwide, a move that bolstered its position in the UK market. Additionally, Ebury’s parent company has been optimizing its internal operations, with Santander Slashes AI Costs by 99% Using Specialized NVIDIA Infrastructure, demonstrating the group's broader commitment to technological efficiency.

What this means

Canada’s transition to the Real Time Rail represents a catch-up moment for the nation’s financial infrastructure, which has lagged behind the UK’s Faster Payments and the US’s FedNow. By leveraging Form3’s existing footprint in those more mature markets, Ebury is effectively bypassing the first-mover friction that often plagues new rail adoption. This partnership places significant pressure on traditional Canadian incumbents to accelerate their own modernization efforts or risk losing corporate volume to more agile, cloud-native competitors. The broader industry question now is whether the single platform approach to global rails will become the mandatory standard for any fintech with international ambitions, potentially consolidating the power of infrastructure providers like Form3.