Search

Canada Interac e-Transfer Guide

Interac e-Transfer provides a convenient and efficient method for sending and receiving money directly between Canadian banks through online banking. It is compatible with over 250 financial institutions across Canada. Please find participating financial institutions here.

This guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the following topics:

How to make transfers with Interac e-Transfer?

To send money with Interac e-Transfer, please refer to the following steps:

Step 1: Select Interac e-Transfer as your transfer method
Step 2: Enter the recipient’s email address or phone number

  • If the recipient's email address is registered for Autodeposit, funds will be automatically deposited into your recipient’s bank account. Learn more about Autodeposit here.
  • If the recipient’s email address is not registered for Autodeposit, or you entered the recipient's phone number, you need to define a security question and answer which the recipient must answer correctly to receive the funds.

Step 3: Provide recipient’s name, address, and other additional information
Step 4: Click “create” to make the transfers

Important: Make sure to share the security question and answer with your recipient in order for funds to be deposited successfully.

Security question and answer

The security question and answer serves as an additional security measure to ensure only the sender's intended recipient can receive the payments. The sender may communicate the answer to the security question to the recipient by phone or in person, but for security purposes, the answer to the security question should never be sent in an email or text message.

Tips:

  • Security question answers are not case sensitive (e.g. “R” and “r” are both recognised as correct)
  • Security question answers cannot contain special characters, such as “@”, “&”, etc.

How does my recipient receive the funds?

Once your transfer has been sent from Airwallex, your recipient will receive a notification from Interac via email or SMS, depending on whether email address or phone number is entered.

Next step:

  • If your recipient’s email is registered for Autodeposit, funds will be automatically deposited into their bank account;
  • Otherwise, they can follow the instructions to login to their online bank account and enter the security answer to deposit the money.

Sample email notification and Interac instructions

How to use my Global Accounts to receive deposits via Interac e-Transfer?

Each Airwallex Global Account in Canada supports CAD local collection via Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit. Autodeposit allows registered users to receive incoming deposits via Interac e-Transfer directly into their Airwallex balance without the need to answer security questions. Currently, Interac e-Transfer deposits can only be received with Autodeposit set up.

Upon creating a Global Account, you will be prompted to register your email address for Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit. You will then receive an email from Interac to confirm the registration within 24 hours before payers can make Interac e-Transfers to your Global Account using this email address. You can also register your email address under the Global Account detail page.

image3.png image4.png

Sample Interac Autodeposit registration email

Alternatively, you can choose to use the pre-registered Airwallex-email address specifically for the Global Account under the detail page. This email address is also automatically assigned upon Global Account creation. Payers can then make Interac e-Transfers to your Global Account by inputting the registered email address in their banking app. Due to regulatory limitations between our banking partner & the Interac network, Airwallex (Canada) International will appear as the recipient name. Once the transfer is made, funds will be settled in your Airwallex wallet within minutes.

image5.png

Considerations with Interac Autodeposit

Relationship between Email & Global Account

An email address can only be connected to one Global Account at any point in time.

Key Points to Note:

  • Previous Connections: If your email address is already linked to another bank account for Autodeposit, the existing connection will be unlinked and updated to your Global Account.
  • Future Use: If you register an email address already linked to your Global Account to another bank account, it will be unlinked from the Global Account. Airwallex will not be notified of such changes and will continue displaying the latest email provided by you.
  • Unlinking Your Email: If you wish to unlink your email address from the Global Account, update the Interac e-Transfer email address to the Airwallex-generated email. This change will be reflected in your Global Account.

24-Hour Autodeposit Registration Expiry Window

If you are registering your email address to a Global Account, you will need to check your inbox and confirm Autodeposit registration within 24 hours to start receiving funds through your Global Account. Any funds sent to your email before you complete the email registration will not reach your Global Account.

Deposits sent via unregistered emails: If an email is not registered for Autodeposit, a notification will be sent to that email address requiring further action within 7 days to complete the deposit. You will not be able to deposit into your Global Account using this method. Please register for Autodeposit to deposit into your Global Account.

 

To Resend the Registration Email: If the registration link expires, you can resend the Autodeposit registration email by updating it to the same address. This can be done under the Global Account Detail page. This action will trigger a resend of the Autodeposit registration email. Please wait up to 15 minutes for the email to arrive. Avoid repeating this action to prevent errors with the Interac network.

Interac e-Transfer Transaction limits

Interac supports e-Transfer transactions up to 25,000 CAD. As an Airwallex customer, you can create and receive Interac e-Transfer transactions up to 25,000 CAD. However for incoming deposits, please note that the remitting bank may impose lower limits on the payer.