Interac E-Transfer®

Etransfer


What is Interac e-Transfer®?

Interac e-Transfer® is used to send, request and receive money in minutes*. Anyone with an email address or mobile phone number and an account at a participating Canadian credit union or bank can use the service without sharing any personal financial information. The process is simple, convenient and secure and provides a great alternative to cheques and cash.


Benefits

  • Send and receive money directly from and to your existing bank account.
  • There's no need to share personal or financial information, allowing you to keep your address, phone number and account information private.
  • A security question protects your transfer from being deposited by unintended recipients.
  • Email carries the notification, so no need to get stamps or to find a mailbox.

Ways To Use

With Interac e-Transfer® you can:

  •     Send money to children at college
  •     Send gifts to friends or family
  •     Pay your rent electronically
  •     Pay for items purchased online or at garage sales
  •     Settle a bill with a friend
  •     And much, much more...the possibilities are endless.



How do I access Interac e-Transfer®? Expand/Collapse

Sign in to online banking, Mobile Web and the Mobile App. Once logged in, simply select Transfers from the navigation menu to access Interac e-Transfer®.

Are there limits for Interac e-Transfer®? Expand/Collapse

Yes, the authorized Interac e-Transfer® limits are as follows.

Per 24 Hour Period Per 7 Day Period Per 30 day Period
$10,000
($3,000 per transfer)		 $10,000 $20,000

How secure is Interac e-Transfer®? Expand/Collapse

Interac e-Transfer® is one of the safest digital money transfer services in the world. When the service is used, the money is transferred using established and secure banking procedures that financial institutions have used for years to settle cheques, bank machine deposits and withdrawals. Money never travels by email or text - these are simply used to notify you that money was sent or requested, as well as provide instructions to deposit.

What is an intercepted e-Transfer? Expand/Collapse

This occurs when a legitimate customer sends an e-Transfer to someone they know. Criminals seize the opportunity to deposit the funds to a mule account before the intended recipient has the chance. The interception is not caused by a vulnerability in MemberDirect® or the Interac e-Transfer® product, but rather because the recipient’s email account was accessed by a criminal; known as email account compromise. Once in that account, criminals can "see" the notification from Interac and use the deposit link to redirect funds into a different account by answering the security question.

How do I protect myself from email account compromise? Expand/Collapse

There are several ways to protect your email account from being compromised. You should:

• Use two-factor authentication for e-mail; most email providers have this feature.

• Select a strong password for your email account and change it regularly.

• Do not use the same password across various accounts.

• Be cautious not to click on any phishing links and ensure that you are only transacting with trusted websites, vendors and people.

How do I use Interac e-Transfer® safely? Expand/Collapse

When using Interac e-Transfer®, you should:

• Register for Autodeposit. This will make sending money on the e-Transfer service more secure, as any transactions that are flagged for auto-deposit will be deposited without sending an email to the recipient.

• Select a question and answer that is not easy for a third party to guess and cannot easily be found on social media. If the notification is intercepted, it will be harder for a criminal to answer and steal the funds.

• Not communicate the answer to the security question via email or text.

• Immediately notify your credit union if you sense anything suspicious about your transaction.

How long does it take for an Interac e-Transfer® to process? Expand/Collapse

With Interac e-Transfer® you can send up to $3,000 per transfer to someone instantly if you have previously sent them funds before. If there isn't a pre-existing Interac e-Transfer® relationship the maximum instant transfer amount is $250, anything higher will take 30 minutes for the receiving party to get notified. 



What is Autodeposit / Request Funds?


Autodeposit allows members to receive real time deposits of incoming e-Transfer transactions automatically into designated accounts. Members will register their email address(es) with Interac via online banking and then all subsequent 'Send Money' e-Transfers will be deposited immediately without the need to answer a security question.





Request Funds allows members to request money from a contact in their e-Transfer recipient list. Members will pre-select the account to which the funds will be deposited if/when the request is fulfilled. When a request is fulfilled, the funds are immediately withdrawn from the recipient and deposited into the initiators account with a received notification.