Products & Services
"Canadian consumers are among the highest users of debit worldwide"
Open your doors to debit card-carrying consumers
Consumers look for the Interac logo because they value the convenience and simplicity of being able to make purchases without having to carry cash. In the competitive world of commerce the simplest transaction will always close the sale - and for Canadians it’s Interac.
How Interac Direct Payment (IDP) works
IDP depends on the Interac Inter-Member Network to route transactions. The Inter-Member Network is not a single network, but rather a "distributed architecture" that sends data through high-speed telecommunications lines between members.
At the Point-of-Sale
Ring up the sale and enter the purchase amount into your Point-of-Sale terminal. The card is swiped in the terminal card reader and your customer is prompted to:
- Okay the transaction amount
- Select the account that is to be debited
- Enter their Personal Identification Number
- Provide a final okay to send the transaction request for approval
- Upon completion of a successful purchase, your customer takes their debit card and the transaction receipt.
IDP purchases are passed through the Interac Network where the cardholder's financial institution verifies their PIN and funds before the approval is returned to the POS. Transfer of funds to your business account then occurs. For specific details please contact your Acquirer.
Refunds
Refunds and exchanges are a matter of merchant policy. However, refunds can be processed through the Interac Direct Payment service, providing the cardholder is present to authorize the refund transaction.
Cashback
When you offer the Interac Direct Payment service you have the option of offering a courtesy service to your customers known as "cashback". That is, a service offered to retail customers whereby an extra amount of cash is added to the total purchase price of a debit card transaction.
For example, a customer makes a purchase for $15 and requests an additional $40 cashback. If you choose to offer this service, you would add $40 to the $15 purchase amount for a total of $55, and give your customer $40 cashback.
It is entirely up to individual merchants to decide if they wish to offer this option.
Merchant Fees
As a not-for-profit organization, Interac Association does not directly charge fees to customers and merchants. The Interac Association members who offer Interac services to merchants may charge fees for the use of the service. Fees vary from merchant to merchant depending on individual contracts. According to a recent Bank of Canada study, on average, merchants pay 12 cents for every debit card transaction. Additional information regarding merchant acceptance and costs can be found directly in the study at http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/res/dp/2008/dp08-12.html
Interac Association however, does charge your merchant service provider a fee to be a member of the INTERAC network. Effective November 1, 2009, there were changes to Interac Association's member fee for the INTERAC Direct Payment service. For more information, please click here.
IDP surcharge fees
Interac Association members may choose to apply a surcharge for transactions made using Interac services. A surcharge is a fee charged by the member responsible for the IDP terminal.
Interac Association maintains strict rules to ensure that surcharges are properly disclosed on the PIN pad screen. Customers are allowed to cancel the purchase transaction with no charge if they do not agree to pay the surcharge fee.