Thank you, Chair.

Good afternoon, honourable members. Thank you for inviting RBC to appear this afternoon in front of the committee.

My name is Ramesh Siromani. I'm the executive vice-president for the cards, payments and transformation businesses at RBC.

We at RBC are guided by our purpose to help clients thrive and communities prosper. We live our purpose each day by offering trusted advice to help clients make informed financial decisions, while driving positive change in the places where we work and live.

We are focused on offering a wide range of everyday banking, financing and investment products to meet the needs of our clients at every stage of their lives. Canadian customers are at the heart of our business, and it's our priority to offer value, convenience, choice and information to help clients determine the products and services that are right for them.

Our payments business is no different. As you would have heard from the Canadian Bankers Association earlier this month, Canadians like having access to a range of payment products, including credit cards, which offer a secure payment option with liability protection and other features such as insurance, purchase security and warranties.

We offer a broad range of payment options to clients, along with tools and advice to help them select the right product for their needs. Canada has a well-developed payment system, with credit cards playing an important role. Whether clients are looking to earn cash back on everyday spending, collect reward points, or enjoy student life affordably, RBC offers credit card options for all of those needs and more. Once clients have selected the appropriate card, we offer a wide range of resources online and in our branches to help them manage their cards responsibly.

We provide those tools and alerts to help clients manage their credit cards, ensuring that they feel secure, aware and well connected to their finances. RBC has a process to help clients understand the implications and options associated with any lending product, and we proactively reach out to clients to discuss options through our digital channels, emails, letters, our contact centre and branches.

RBC is proud to offer value to all Canadians through Avion Rewards, regardless of where they bank. Avion Rewards operates as a loyalty and customer engagement platform that provides members with the flexibility to shop, save, earn and redeem on everyday items.

The program provides many benefits, including strategic partnerships with leading brands in Canada such as Petro-Canada, Metro, Rexall, DoorDash and others that provide RBC credit and debit cardholders more value on their everyday purchases, like instant savings on gas.

Similarly, we offer a variety of solutions to our merchant partners. By providing more choice and convenience in credit products to clients, we help drive success for merchants, who derive great value from credit card payments including guaranteed payment, access to the online marketplace, efficiencies compared to cash or cheques, and at the most basic level, not having to run a store credit system.

Finally, we have seen an increase in fraud and scams in Canada, which has affected all industries. Safeguarding the security of our systems and the confidentiality of our clients' information is always our top priority. As a trusted financial institution, we have an important role to play in prevention, education and ensuring our client's safety. We know fraudsters are getting increasingly sophisticated, and we continue to make substantial investments in our security measures and technology. We also regularly educate our clients about best practices, like staying aware of fraud scams and protecting passwords and email accounts.

RBC has a long track record of innovation in payments. Through industry efforts, Canadian merchants and customers enjoy a low-cost to no-cost debit network for purchases and Interac e-transfers, with those being the leading money movement capabilities globally.

RBC has delivered numerous client experiences in innovations like tap, pay with points, and installment payment plans, offering more choice, convenience and security to the client. Canada has a strong, secure and efficient payment system, and RBC continues to invest and innovate to ensure it continues.

We remain committed to providing value, choice and convenience to clients and merchants, while providing education and advice around financial literacy, fraud and the responsible use of credit.

Thank you, members, for inviting me to speak today. I welcome any questions you may have.