PayStand, a B2B payments company powered by blockchain, is launching in Canada.

A press release on Tuesday (June 12) said PayStand is introducing its Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution to the Canadian market. As part of its geographic expansion, PayStand said it developed an entirely new infrastructure for domestic corporate payments in the country.

"Today's commercial payments infrastructure in Canada is built on many layers of outdated technology and processes that are needlessly complex and time-consuming, not to mention error-prone and labor-intensive," said PayStand CEO and Founder Jeremy Almond in the statement. "PayStand has built a unique infrastructure capable of natively supporting Canadian electronics funds transfer (EFT) and card payment technology, essentially transforming and modernizing the entire payments lifecycle for businesses, no matter the manner of payment."

According to the company, B2B EFT payments make up more than one-third of Canada's domestic payments volume. Transactions via EFT can be made via bank-to-bank transfer, wire or check – and today, the firm noted, the process is plagued by manual processes and high fees.

The company's launch in Canada is part of PayStand's global push to digitize B2B payments, it said.

Last year, PayStand announced new funding from LEAP Global Partners, though did not reveal how much it raised. In an effort to combat fraud, the company introduced blockchain-powered payment certification and notarization in 2016.

“As the world becomes more digitally driven, it only seemed logical to document financial transactions with a more convenient, secure method,” Almond said at the time. “By using the blockchain, we’re giving businesses the opportunity to eliminate human error.”

Canada's payments industry is in the midst of updates and overhauls. Last year, Payments Canada announced it is working with Accenture to lead Modernization, its multi-year initiative to transform the nation's payments infrastructure. The initiative, Payments Canada's Executive Director, Modernization and CIO Jan Pilbauer said at the time, is "multifaceted, requiring a high level of engagement from players across the industry."

The initiative focuses on faster payments and the development of a new core clearing and settlement system, as well as adoption of the ISO 20022 payments messaging standard.