Products & Services

Interac Direct Payment

Interac Direct Payment gives you instant access to your money when you’re at the merchant. It’s a simple and convenient way to pay for things without carrying cash, and when you don’t want to owe later with credit. At participating locations you can even get cashback with your purchase.

Coming soon, a contactless enhancement of Interac Direct Payment that will provide you with a fast and convenient way to pay for everyday purchases. It's called Interac Flash.

Your Interac chip debit card will continue to carry out chip debit transactions, as it does today, but the functionality of the debit card has been enhanced to provide you with the ability to carry out contactless transactions that do not require the card to be inserted into the terminal or a PIN to be entered.

Simply flash your Interac debit card in front of the reader and your purchase will automatically be debited from your bank account. If your purchase is above the set dollar limit, you will be asked to insert the card and enter the PIN to conduct a regular chip debit transaction.

In-market transactions are happening now and more information about Interac Flash will be available in the coming months.

At the Point-of-Sale (POS):

The merchant or vendor enters your sale amount into the POS terminal. Once you swipe your card in the card reader, follow the prompts on the screen.

In a matter of seconds your debit request is passed through the Inter-Member Network where your card, Personal Identification Number (PIN) and required funds for purchase are verified by your financial institution.

Upon conclusion of a successful transaction the merchant or vendor will then hand you a debit receipt for your records.

Refunds

As with purchases made by any other payment method, refunds and exchanges are a matter of merchant policy. Refunds can be processed through the POS service using Interac Direct Payment, providing the cardholder who made the purchase is present to authorize the refund transaction.

Cashback

Make a purchase using your debit card and receive cash from your account, all in one transaction. Merchants who offer the Interac Direct Payment service have the option of offering "cashback", allowing you to request additional cash to be debited from your account on top of your purchase.

For example, you make a purchase for $15 and tell the merchant you want an additional $40 from your account. You receive your $15 purchase along with the $40 in cash, for a total transaction amount of $55.

Use your debit card in the U.S.

You can use your debit card at more than 1.5 million retailers located in the U.S. At participating locations you can even get cash back.

The following financial institutions are currently participating in the Cross Border Debit service:

• ATB Financial
• Desjardins
• National Bank of Canada
• RBC Royal Bank
• Scotiabank
• TD Canada Trust

Cross Border Debit is offered through a partnership between Acxsys Corporation and NYCE Corporation, a leading US debit network.

Interac Direct Payment fees

Transaction charges

Interac Association does not set or collect fees from you. However, financial institutions often charge a transaction fee for making a debit on your account. Financial legislation regulates the setting and notice of these fees.

Surcharges

Interac Association does not set or regulate surcharge fees. Interac Association members may choose to apply a surcharge for transactions made using Interac services. A surcharge is a fee charged to you by the member responsible for the IDP terminal.

If a surcharge fee applies, it is in addition to any transaction fee charges you may pay your financial institution for using the Interac services.

Interac Association maintains strict rules to ensure that surcharges are properly disclosed on the PIN pad. You’re always presented with a screen indicating the surcharge fee amount. The transaction will only proceed if you accept the disclosed surcharge amount.

Find more detailed information concerning Interac Association members.