Grey Registers as Payment Service Provider in Canada

Grey is now registered as a payment service provider in Canada under the RPAA, building on its Interac integration for faster CAD bank transfers.

In Short

Grey has registered as a payment service provider in Canada.
The registration is under Canada’s Retail Payment Activities Act, also known as the RPAA.
It follows Grey’s Interac integration, which supports instant CAD transfers to Canadian bank accounts.

What Happened

Grey, a cross-border payments platform backed by Y Combinator, has been registered as a payment service provider in Canada. This is done under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA), Canada’s framework for supervising payments companies.

A payment service provider, or PSP, is a company that moves money for customers. It can handle functions like receiving funds, sending funds, and processing electronic transfers. Registration under a PSP regime usually means the firm must meet specific compliance rules, such as risk controls and reporting, depending on what activities it performs.

The move builds on Grey’s earlier integration with Interac. Interac is a Canadian interbank network, similar to a shared rail that lets banks move money between each other. Through the integration, Grey users can send Canadian Dollars directly to Canadian bank accounts.

Grey was founded in 2020 by Joseph Femi Aghedo and Idorenyin Obong. The company positions itself around multi-currency accounts, including dollars, pounds, and euros, and says it enables transfers to more than 170 destinations.

Why It Matters

For African founders, freelancers, and businesses paid from Canada, compliance status can matter as much as product features. Being on the right side of local regulation can reduce sudden account closures and de-risk partnerships with banks and payment networks.

It also speaks to a growing Africa to Canada corridor. Canada’s trade with Africa has expanded in recent years, but cross-border payments on that corridor can still involve multiple intermediary banks. That often leads to slower settlement, higher foreign exchange costs, and less transparency on fees.

If Grey can combine regulated access in Canada with direct rails like Interac, it may improve delivery speed and clarity for users sending money into Canada, and for African customers receiving CAD-denominated payments from Canadian clients.