Interac delivering faster payment capabilities through real-time digital money transfers

The Interac e-Transfer® platform processed more than $44 billion in transaction value in 2015

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Today, Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation ("Interac") released data demonstrating the growing use of Interac e-Transfer, as the organization continues to evolve the platform to meet new and emerging user needs. With more than 105 million transactions processed in 2015, reflecting a value of more than $44 billion, Interac e-Transfer has established itself as Canada's leading digital money transfer service.

More recently, in August 2016, over 13.5 million Interac e-Transfer transactions were sent, totaling over $5.6 billion, with a gross daily average of $181.8 million transferred. These figures represent the highest monthly and daily recorded values since the Interac e-Transfer service was first introduced to Canadians in 2002.

"Where other countries have been slow or have failed to address real-time payment needs, working with our financial institution partners, we have been growing and investing in the Interac e-Transfer platform using state-of-the-art, scalable technology," said Mark O'Connell, President and CEO, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. "The Interac e-Transfer platform is setting the standard for how Canadians choose to send and receive money digitally, and exemplifies how we are leading secure, real-time money movement innovation in Canada." 

Interac e-Transfer is a digital money transfer service for person-to-person (P2P), person-to-business (P2B), business-to-person (B2P) and business-to-business (B2B) transactions. More than 13.5 million online bank accounts are connected to the Interac e-Transfer platform to send money securely and efficiently from one bank account to another. On average, more than 436,000 transactions are sent per day, with more than 958,000 on peak days. Over 50 per cent of transfer notifications are now received instantly allowing for immediate access to funds once deposited through online banking. Currently, 65 per cent of funds are deposited using a mobile device.

"Interac e-Transfer has become a national service that is relied on daily to exchange funds," said Avinash Chidambaram, Vice President, Product and Platform Development, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. "Consumers and businesses find tremendous value in the Interac e-Transfer platform as it integrates seamlessly into financial institutions' core banking functionality and is accessible to nearly all Canadians who bank online."

This announcement comes on the heels of a series of new Interac product announcements, including the introduction of the Interac e-Transfer Bulk Disbursement service, the Interac Token Service Provider (TSP) platform, Interac with Apple Pay, and international licensing capabilities. These new innovative payment solutions provide the market with fast and secure ways to pay, and are examples of world-class solutions being implemented in Canada.  New enhancements to the Interac e-Transfer platform are also planned for 2017 to meet growing demand for increased functionality.

Interac e-Transfer Bulk Disbursement, the commercial enhancement of Interac e-Transfer, was recently launched to answer the needs of businesses and organizations seeking a secure, cost-efficient alternative to cheques, prepaid cards or cash disbursements. Multiple payments, such as insurance claims, payroll, tax rebates, or disaster relief disbursements, can be sent through an automated file transfer process and in a single upload – without the need for the recipients' personal financial information. The service was designed to simplify the management of payments for business banking clients like Brock University.

"Student preferences are evolving with technology and Brock University is committed to providing services to our students that exceed their expectations," said Josh Tonnos, Director, Accounting and Treasury, Brock University. "With the Interac e-Transfer Bulk Disbursement service, students can simply and securely deposit their refunds using their financial institution's online banking platform and funds are available immediately."

About the Interac e-Transfer platform

Interac e-Transfer, a digital money transfer platform, is the fastest and safest way for Canadians to transfer money directly from one bank account to another. Every day, Interac e-Transfer and Interac e-Transfer Bulk Disbursement are relied upon to send and receive money securely, conveniently and efficiently via person-to-person (P2P), person-to-business (P2B), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-person (B2P) transactions.

Users can access the platform through a participating financial institution's online or mobile banking application to send money to anyone with an email address or mobile phone number and a bank account in Canada – without requiring any personal financial information. Transferred funds remain secure with financial institutions, which settle with each other through Payments Canada on advice from Interac. More than 250 financial institutions offer access to Interac e-Transfer.

The Interac e-Transfer platform offers unique capabilities, such as 24/7/365 availability, real-time payment notifications, analytics, and reporting. All users are protected with multiple layers of security including encryption technology, financial institution authentication and proprietary risk management making it one of the most secure P2P solutions globally.

For more information and an infographic, visit interac.ca/fasterpayments.

About Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation
Interac is Canada's leading payments brand and is chosen an average of 16 million times daily to pay and exchange money. Together, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation operate an economical, world-class debit payments system with broad-based acceptance, 24/7/365 reliability, security, and efficiency. For more than 30 years, Interac has facilitated secure financial transactions through the development of innovative and convenient digital debit and money transfer solutions. Interac is a leader in the prevention and detection of fraud with one of the lowest rates of fraud globally. Visit interac.ca and follow us @interac for more information.

SOURCE Interac Association

Image with caption: "Interac delivering faster payment capabilities through real-time digital money transfers (CNW Group/Interac Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160922_C2619_PHOTO_EN_779539.jpg

Press contact: Teri Murphy, Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation, 416 869-7171, [email protected]