GLOBAL PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEISO 20022 / SWIFT / SEPA / MT / MX
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A Lynx wire payment (Canada's RTGS)

A high-value Canadian dollar wire clears and settles one payment at a time across Lynx — central-bank money moves at the Bank of Canada with real-time finality, and the payment is irrevocable.

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Contributor Shubham Mathure

STEP 1 / 5MESSAGE

Bank Alfa submits the Lynx wire payment

Bank Alfa (sending bank) → Lynx (Payments Canada) · FI to FI customer credit transfer (pacs.008)

The sending bank submits a high-value wire to Lynx as an ISO 20022 message, so rich remittance data travels with the payment. Nothing has settled yet — this is the instruction.

Step 1 of 5: Bank Alfa submits the Lynx wire payment

  1. 01Message
    Bank Alfa submits the Lynx wire paymentBank Alfa (sending bank) → Lynx (Payments Canada) · FI to FI customer credit transfer (pacs.008)
  2. 02Clearing obligation
    Lynx checks the settlement balanceLynx (Payments Canada) → Bank of Canada (settlement)
  3. 03Settlement
    The Bank of Canada settles the paymentBank of Canada (settlement) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
  4. 04Message
    Nordbank is told the payment is finalLynx (Payments Canada) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
  5. 05Posting
    Nordbank books the fundsNordbank (receiving bank)
MESSAGECLEARING OBLIGATIONSETTLEMENTPOSTING
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
  1. 01Message
    Bank Alfa submits the Lynx wire paymentBank Alfa (sending bank) → Lynx (Payments Canada) · FI to FI customer credit transfer (pacs.008)

    The sending bank submits a high-value wire to Lynx as an ISO 20022 message, so rich remittance data travels with the payment. Nothing has settled yet — this is the instruction.

  2. 02Clearing obligation
    Lynx checks the settlement balanceLynx (Payments Canada) → Bank of Canada (settlement)

    Lynx clears the individual payment by checking that Bank Alfa holds enough settlement balance at the Bank of Canada to cover it. An RTGS system will not create money it does not have.

    In an RTGS, each payment clears on its own — there is no netting cycle to wait for before settlement.

  3. 03Settlement
    The Bank of Canada settles the paymentBank of Canada (settlement) → Nordbank (receiving bank)

    Immediately after the payment clears, the Bank of Canada moves central-bank money from Bank Alfa to Nordbank, one payment at a time. Settlement is real-time and final — the wire is irrevocable.

    • DR Bank Alfa's settlement account at the Bank of Canada — CAD 900,000.00
    • CR Nordbank's settlement account at the Bank of Canada — CAD 900,000.00
  4. 04Message
    Nordbank is told the payment is finalLynx (Payments Canada) → Nordbank (receiving bank)

    Lynx confirms to the receiving bank that the payment has settled with finality in central-bank money, with the ISO 20022 details of the payment it now holds.

  5. 05Posting
    Nordbank books the fundsNordbank (receiving bank)

    Because the interbank leg already settled with finality, Nordbank can credit its customer's account without waiting for anything else to clear.

    • CR Beneficiary's account at Nordbank — CAD 900,000.00

What this simplifies: One payment settling gross. Real RTGS operation depends on intraday liquidity, payment queues, and cut-off times across the whole day.

LEARN THE CONCEPTS BEHIND THIS FLOW

Sources for this flow2
  1. Official requirement

    Lynx (high-value payment system) ↗ — Payments Canada

    Describes Lynx, Canadas high-value payment system operated by Payments Canada: a real-time gross settlement system in which settlement occurs immediately after the clearing of each individual payment, transferring central bank money between participants with real-time settlement finality; wire payments are fast and irrevocable, and Lynx supports the ISO 20022 messaging standard. · Checked 2026-07-14

    Lynx is Canadas RTGS wire system, overseen by the Bank of Canada, settling in central bank money with finality.

  2. Simplified educational illustration

    Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal

    This site's own simplified teaching models. · Checked 2026-07-12

    What this simplifies: Fictional banks and a single high-value wire; real Lynx operation involves many participants, intraday liquidity management, and queue handling not shown here.

    Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.