Interac Flash™ on the menu at Extreme Brandz

Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito and Purblendz to accept Interac Flash contactless debit

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Interac Association announced today that Extreme Brandz has committed to accept Interac Flash at its 300-plus restaurants across Canada. At participating Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito and Purblendz locations, guests will soon be able to purchase their food faster than ever before by using Canada's first contactless debit technology, Interac Flash.

"Operators of successful Quick Service Restaurants like Extreme Brandz rely on speed, convenience and security when facilitating transactions at the point of sale," said Mark O'Connell, President and CEO, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. "We're delighted that Extreme Brandz values Interac Flash as a payment solution to help fulfill this need."

"We're thrilled to be able to offer our customers the speed, convenience and security of Interac Flash," said Mark Cunningham, Vice President, Extreme Brandz. "Part of our commitment to providing an enjoyable restaurant experience is ease and speed of service when ordering menu items, either at the front counter or at the drive-thru. Interac Flash helps us fulfill that commitment."

Starting this month, Interac Flash will be accepted at participating Extreme Pita and Mucho Burrito locations with rollout to be completed by June 2013. The deployment will be managed by Moneris Solutions, one of Canada's largest payment card processors.

"We are excited to add Extreme Brandz to the growing list of Moneris enabled Interac Flash merchants," said Malcolm Fowler, Vice President Marketing, Moneris Solutions. "Ease of use and cost efficiency for our customers is always a focus for Moneris - innovative payment solutions like Interac Flash help deliver both."

About Interac Flash

Interac Flash gives cardholders the choice to pay for smaller value items faster than ever before by simply holding their card at a contactless point-of-sale reader that supports Interac Flash.

Interac Flash uses EMV technology and the existing chip debit infrastructure, which protects it from fraud tactics such as copying and "electronic pick-pocketing". It offers strong consumer protections and unique security features, including the fact that the card never leaves the user's hand. Leveraging the trusted Interac brand, cardholders are also protected from unauthorized transactions under the Interac Zero Liability Policy* and merchants continue to receive the benefits of economical, secure and non-refutable transactions associated with PIN-based Interac Debit.

Interac Flash enabled debit cards are already being issued by Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank and TD Canada Trust and an increasing number of merchants are signing up to provide the service to their customers.

Visit www.interacflash.ca for more information.

About Interac Association
A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is responsible for the development and operations of the Interac network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access their money through Interac Cash at 60,000 Automated Banking Machines and Interac Debit at 766,000 point-of-sale terminals across Canada. Interac Flash, a secure contactless enhancement of Interac Debit allows Canadians to pay for items instantly with their Interac chip debit card at a reader that supports Interac Flash.

Interac Association was founded in 1984 and is comprised of a diverse membership that includes banks, trust companies, credit unions, caisses populaires, merchants, and technology and payment related companies.

Other related services offered by Acxsys Corporation, whose shareholders are the architects of the Interac network, include: Interac Online, for secure online payments made directly from a bank account; Interac e-Transfer^TM, for the transfer of money from one person's bank account to another person's bank account using an email address or mobile phone number**; and international services, which provide Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at nearly 2 million U.S. retailers, and PULSE, Discover, Diners Club International and UnionPay cardholders access to ABMs in Canada.

About Extreme Brandz
Extreme Brandz is a leading Canadian quick service restaurant franchisor of Extreme Pita, Purblendz and Mucho Burrito. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the company was created by brothers Alex and Mark Rechichi in 1997 with the opening of an Extreme Pita location in Waterloo, Canada. In addition to ranking in Entrepreneur magazine's list of top restaurant franchises in 2011, Extreme Brandz won the 2011 Company of the Year Pinnacle Award. Today there are over 300 locations of the three brands across Canada. For more information, visit www.extremebrandz.com.

Interac, Interac Flash and Interac e-Transfer are trade-marks of Interac Inc. Used under license.

* All Interac cardholders are protected from losses resulting from circumstances beyond their control under the Interac Zero Liability Policy.  See your financial institution for details.

**The Interac e-Transfer service, for secure person-to-person payments, is currently available to customers of over 90 banks and credit unions including BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, President's Choice Financial, National Bank, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust among others. Central 1, through participating credit unions, offers the option of using mobile phone numbers, in addition to email, to notify Interac e-Transfer recipients. Money never travels by email or text message. More information about the Interac e- Transfer service and a complete list of participating banks and credit unions can be found at www.interac.ca.

SOURCE: Interac Association

Teri Murphy
Interac Association / Acxsys Corporation
[email protected]
416-869-7171