How Submission Deadlines are Determined

Each Canadian financial institution branch has a field called “Serviceability Code”, which gives the number of business days in advance the financial institution must deliver a direct deposit to the receiving financial institution to ensure that funds are available to the recipient on the date of the transaction. The Serviceability Code field only applies to credit payments.

The CPA maintains a computer database called the Financial Institution File (FIF). FIF stores the demographic information (name, address, etc.) of all financial institution branches in Canada including the serviceability codes.

There are two kinds of clearers who can process payments. All direct clearers access the FIF. In particular, direct clearers look to the Serviceability Code to determine the minimum number of business days prior to due date that a client should deliver payment details to the Bank.

Most institutions require 1 day for CAD dollar payments destined to financial institutions in Canada. Some of the indirect clearers might have 2 days requirement.

Royal Bank

• RBC Royal Bank is a Direct Clearer that accepts electronic transactions