A handful of Canadian FinTech firms are among the first batch of registered payment service providers (PSPs) revealed by the Bank of Canada this week.

“For payments nerds, this is huge.”

The designation means these companies are now subject to new rules and reporting regulations under the Retail Payments Activities Act (RPAA). It also opens the door to accessing payment rails, the infrastructure that allows money transfers, without having to go through banks. Industry leaders say this is a key step toward leveling the playing field for non-banks to compete.

“I’m pretty pumped about it,” said Saud Aziz, co-founder of business banking platform Venn (formerly Vault), one of the approved registrants.

In the past, Aziz explained, FinTech companies have had to partner with existing financial

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