Cash-In-Hand Payments 

Cash-in-Hand employee payments are still very much legit in Canada as a conventional employee payment method provided it is reported economic activity where the employer makes deductions such as tax, EI & CPP but Under The Table employee cash payments which contributes to the underground economy or is defined as unreported economic activity is generally not synonymous with the black market which involves sale of illegal goods but can at times partially contribute to black market activity so yes in the sense of partial contribution & no in the sense of not synonymous with black market activity, but Under The Table employee payments are definitely an illegal method of employee payment in Canada associated with tax evasion which can incur severe legal consequences for employees which includes a prison sentence. But legit Cash-in-Hand employee payments which comes under reported economic activity is a conventional method of employee payment so cash in this sense legally remains king in Canada. 

Traditional Payment Systems

In 1970s America banks across the United States came together to seek ways of improving payment systems due to the growing volume of paper checks which was a mutual concern. The answer was an electronic payment network between banks and the ACH was birthed. 

ACH (Automated Clearing House) managed by Nacha in the United States is the network used by payroll for ACH transfers recurring payments made by organizations to employee bank accounts are generally ACH Direct Deposits. The problem with ACH is cut-off times to make transactions for the day because when cut-off times are missed this adds to ACH transfer time. 

Transfer time is dependent on the financial institution, generally there is a 1-2 business days margin but payments can take up to 4 working days for completion.

In Canada Direct Deposit transactions are processed via the Electronic Funds Transfer system, processed through the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) which is operated by Payments Canada used by payroll departments, it can take 1-3 days for a bank to verify funds are available delays can occur due to public holidays and weekends banks holding payment which could be due to suspected suspicious account activity or  the payment is sent by Direct Deposit to the employee's account but the payment is still "pending".

Direct Deposits are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks such as phishing or fraud 

The Impact of DeFi 

Web 3 has paved the way to avoid & eliminate the need for intermediaries enabling payments to be processed instantly where payment is sent & funds instantly credited to the recipient's account, for instance payment can be sent from Toronto & instantly credited to an account in Singapore at just the touch of a button versus being subjected to the delays associated with Direct Deposits. 

How does Web 3 solve the bank holding payment when payment has been sent by payroll through Direct Deposit? The answer is through cryptography which creates secure payments. 

In the United States ACH is renowned for their limited use for international transfers, it is possible to make an ACH international transfer but it's not widespread, Stablecoins provide the solution proficiently assisting cross-border international payments cost-effectively.

HOW DOES WEB 3 RESOLVE THE CANADIAN UNDER THE TABLE CASH-IN-HAND UNDERGROUND ECONOMY ISSUE?

Web 3 payments are secured through cryptography & recorded on a distributed ledger which creates transparent transactions minimizing the risk of fraud & manipulation. Each transaction is verifiable making unauthorized transaction modifications virtually an impossibility.