The decision by Canadian banks to buy CertaPay, a peer-to-peer electronic money transfer service, will deprive American banks of the opportunity to use
a shared, online, real-time payment network, says Boston-based Forrester Research. CertaPay’s plans to enter the U.S. have been cancelled.

The U.S. needs an industry-wide system., says Forrester. But Canadian banks still have work to do if they hope to capitalize on its strengths. They can use CertaPay to help retain small business customers, introduce new products, and to push online
bill payments. The banks should charge the receiver of an email payment, rather than senders, Forrester recommends.

Forrester also supports the CertaPay’s plans to introduce a small business directory, which would allow small businesses to invoice and receive electronic payments. The service should be pushed
to small businesses, only 25% of which use online bill payment, compared to 52% of consumers.