Dext launches payments in Canada for QuickBooks & Xero

Dext has launched Dext Payments in Canada for users of QuickBooks Online and Xero, marking the product's first expansion outside the UK.

The tool lets businesses and advisers manage supplier invoice and employee expense payments within Dext. Canadian customers in beta processed more than USD $2 million through the system before the full launch.

Available across Canada, including Quebec, the product links document capture, invoice processing, approvals and payment execution in a single workflow designed to reduce reliance on separate accounts payable systems.

The Canadian launch also introduces multi-currency support, allowing users to pay suppliers in currencies other than the Canadian dollar from within the platform. At launch, the service supports Electronic Funds Transfer, Bill Pay and Interac, with Electronic Funds Transfer Pre-Authorized Debit to follow.

The move builds on a product first introduced in the UK earlier this year, where businesses have processed more than GBP £16 million through the platform since launch.

Sabby Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Dext, said the launch reflects the company's broader growth plans beyond its home market.

"Canada is a significant market for Dext, and launching Payments here is an important step in our growth beyond the UK," Gill said.

"We've seen how much time and control UK businesses and their advisers have gained by bringing payments into Dext, and Canadian businesses are dealing with the same disconnected processes, on top of some of the slowest payment times tracked anywhere. Payments gives them one trusted place to manage it all," he said.

How it works

Invoices are uploaded into the platform, where key details are extracted automatically before being sent to the ledger. Users can then import invoices awaiting payment from QuickBooks Online and Xero, prepare individual or batch payment runs, route them for approval and submit payments without leaving the software.

Dext developed the Canadian version with input from local firms and businesses. Stephen Edginton, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Dext, said the market shows the need for a country-specific approach to payment infrastructure.

"We see Canada as a proof point for where Payments is headed: infrastructure that adapts to how a market actually pays, rather than a one-size-fits-all product. Native support for EFT, Bill Pay and Interac is just the beginning. We're already building towards virtual cards and spend cards, giving Canadian businesses more flexibility over how they pay," Edginton said.

Security and regulation

Dext said the payments service is regulated through its partnership with Airwallex. Airwallex holds an Electronic Money Institution licence and is registered in Canada with FINTRAC as a money services business, with additional registration through Revenu Québec for customers based in Quebec.

The product also includes Strong Customer Authentication, fraud protections and transaction audit trails.

Practise demand

Dext is positioning the launch to both businesses and accounting and bookkeeping practices. It said practices can use the tool to manage client payment workflows more consistently, spend less time seeking approvals and gain a clearer view of payment activity.

One early user in Ontario described the impact on accounts payable processes during testing.

"Payments helps us streamline our accounts payable process by keeping bills, approvals and payments within one connected workflow. We've now processed more than 178 successful payments, covering 660 distinct bills. It reduces manual steps, saves time and improves visibility over each payment. Dext gives us a more efficient, paperless process with a clear approval trail, which strengthens our internal controls and makes it easier for the finance team to track what's been approved and paid," said Melissa Jackson, Accountant at Oxford Milkway in Woodstock, ON.

Dext says it is used by more than 12,000 accounting and bookkeeping firms and 700,000 businesses worldwide, and processes more than 350 million documents each year.