Peoples Group taps Feedzai ahead of Real-Time Rail

Peoples Group has partnered with Feedzai to modernise its fraud monitoring systems ahead of Canada's Real-Time Rail payments rollout.

The Canadian financial services provider will add Feedzai's risk-scoring technology to its transaction framework as it prepares for a payments environment in which transfers clear and settle within seconds, at any hour.

Peoples Group plays a central role in Canada's fintech and challenger banking market, providing licensing, compliance frameworks and sponsorship services to other financial businesses. That gives it a direct interest in strengthening defences before the launch of the new real-time payments system.

Under Canada's Real-Time Rail model, payment processing will shift to an always-on structure, removing the settlement delays banks and other institutions have often used to spot and stop suspicious activity before funds move. The change has heightened industry concern about authorised push payment fraud and identity scams, both of which can exploit the speed of instant transfers.

The rollout will take place in phases. The first stage will focus on real-time transaction fraud monitoring and alert management, allowing the group to meet compliance requirements tied to the new rail before extending the system to additional payment types and broader financial crime controls.

The work will include Feedzai IQ Score, a fraud risk-scoring product introduced earlier this year. Feedzai's wider RiskOps suite will also be used across the platform.

The decision reflects broader concerns about consumer trust in faster payments. Payments Canada has found that 49% of Canadians view real-time payments as appealing, while 53% say fraud concerns affect their shopping habits.

Those figures highlight the balance facing financial institutions and infrastructure providers as they prepare for instant payments. Faster settlement can make everyday transactions more convenient, but it also reduces the time available for manual checks and intervention.

For Peoples Group, the investment is also linked to its role as a service provider to fintech companies and other partners that depend on its banking and compliance infrastructure. Any gaps in monitoring or controls could have implications beyond its own customer base, because connected firms will rely on its systems to support real-time transactions.

Phased rollout

The project is designed to address those pressures by building automated fraud decisioning into the payment flow itself. By scoring risk at the point of transaction, the group aims to identify suspicious activity without slowing legitimate payments more than necessary.

Feedzai said its tools draw on machine learning and the analysis of large volumes of financial events. Peoples Group did not disclose financial terms of the partnership.

The announcement also underlines how fraud technology suppliers are positioning themselves around payment modernisation programmes, particularly as regulators and financial institutions place greater emphasis on real-time fraud prevention. In markets where instant payments are already established, banks have faced a rise in scams that rely on social engineering and rapid fund movement.

Canadian institutions are preparing for similar risks as domestic infrastructure changes. Because Real-Time Rail will operate continuously, fraud teams will need monitoring systems that can respond around the clock rather than rely on delayed review windows.

David Raju, President and Chief Executive Officer of Peoples Group, said the changes were part of a broader response to a shifting payments landscape. "Canada's financial landscape is changing rapidly, and we are evolving with purpose," Raju said.

Nuno Sebastiao, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Feedzai, said the partnership would support the group's network as the new payments system comes online.

"Peoples Group operates at the intersection of technology and capital, acting as a trusted collaborator that helps transform bold ideas into scalable, market-ready solutions," Sebastiao said.

"We are proud to support their network and integrate fraud prevention technologies from across our RiskOps platform, helping them secure the velocity of the Real-Time Rail and expand access to financial services safely and sustainably," he added.