Keeping Payments Moving Against All Odds
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Challenge
When a sudden outage in 2022 halted Canada’s retail batch payment ecosystem, Symcor was called on immediately to keep payments moving. The disruption impacted both the Automated Clearing and Settlement System (ACSS) and the U.S. Bulk Exchange (USBE)* — systems that are critical to the functioning of Canada’s economy, processing 99% of daily transaction volume and 13% of daily transaction value cleared by Payments Canada. As deadlines loomed and millions in U.S. payments sat in limbo, direct clearers faced mounting pressure, prompting Payments Canada to invoke manual balancing contingency measures. The risks were clear: missed settlement obligations, customer impact, regulatory exposure, and financial discrepancies. With Symcor leading the response, direct clearers who were impacted by the outage — maintained control and avoided disruption.
Solution
- Manual Balancing Execution — Symcor completed ACSS entries before theextended closing time, ensuring accurate end-of-day settlement with Bank of Canada.
- Data Collection & Validation — Our specialists manually reconciled and validated payment data across multiple sources (USBE logs, exchange statements, paper and electronic reports) including millions of dollars in USBE transactions to enable bilateral settlements.
- Collaboration & Communication — Symcor coordinated with Payments Canada, direct clearers, bridging communication gaps and ensuring transactions were executed without disruption.
- Regulatory Support — Supported the bank’s OSFI notifications and delivered full incident documentation.
Results
- Zero Customer Impact – maintaining uninterrupted payment processing for clients across the payments ecosystem.
- Reconciled $23M manually — validating EFT credits, debits, cheque images, and paper items for accurate bilateral settlement.
- Corrected financial discrepancies — recovering overpayment and preserving financial integrity
- Timely ACSS Settlement — obligations with the Bank of Canada were met without compromise.
- Industry-wide Improvements — Symcor actively participated with Payments Canada and industry stakeholders to complete a resilience exercise, review roles and responsibilities, update contingency protocols, and strengthen communication frameworks.
Future-Proofing Payments
This event once again proved that Symcor isn't just a service provider — we're a stability partner for Canada's financial ecosystem. When the unexpected happens, we deliver continuity, accuracy, and confidence. As a trusted partner delivering mission-critical financial and data services, Symcor helps financial institutions safeguard payments, avoid disruption, and build long-term confidence.
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