On Monday, November 9, 2026, Canada switched on something called the Real-Time Rail, or RTR (Payments Canada). If you missed the news, you're not alone. It sounds technical, and most of the headlines were written for bankers. Here's the short version: money in Canada can now move between accounts in seconds, any time of day, any day of the year. For small businesses, and especially for payroll, that's a big deal. Let's break it down.

Switching from cheques to electronic B2B payments helps small businesses improve cash flow, save time, reduce costs, and enhance security. Digital payments also simplify bookkeeping and taxes, speed up transactions, and support seamless payments across Canada. Tools like PaymentEvolution make paying vendors and contractors fast, secure, and efficient.

Budget 2017 proposed letting employers provide T4 slips electronically without needing employee consent upfront, as long as they use a secure employee portal, allow printing, and offer a paper option on request. T4s still must be available by the end of February, and emailing T4s still requires consent due to security concerns.