Send & receive money with Interac e-Transfer (2024)

FAQs

How to receive Interac e-Transfer in USA? ›

How to Receive an Interac e-Transfer: If you are set up for auto deposit the money will go directly into your account. If not, you will receive a link via text message or email. Click through the link, answer the security question and choose which bank account you want to deposit the funds into.

Interac e-Transfer is not available in the United States but it is possible to send money from a Canadian bank to the U.S. via Interac's partnership with MasterCard and Western Union.

You can receive an Interac e-Transfer by email or SMS text message. To deposit the money, select the link in the email or text message notification you receive from Interac and follow the instructions.

Interac Debit is made to be a simple, secure, and easy way to pay for your everyday purchases, and is accepted across Canada and approximately 2 million retailers in the United States.

For instance, Interac e-Transfer is the Canadian equivalent to Zelle, providing instant person-to-person transfers via bank and credit unions. As of 2023, Interac e-Transfer has 250 participating banks and credit unions. (It lists Desjardin Group, a federation of 213 credit unions, as a single entity).

Interac e-Transfers are one of the quickest ways to send money to another person or to yourself, with funds typically arriving in under 30 minutes. Money sent through e-Transfers are available immediately, unlike EFTs, which can be subject to a hold period.

All you need to send or receive an e-transfer is an account with a participating bank or credit union, online account access, and an email address or mobile phone number.

Is there any risk with e-transfer? ›

Interac e-Transfer users are protected by multiple layers of security, making the service one of the most secure money transfer services globally. When you send money using Interac e-Transfer, your money doesn't actually travel by email or text message – just the notifications and deposit instructions.

The use of the security question and answer acts as an additional security measure to validate that only the sender's intended recipient can collect the Interac e-Transfer(s). The sender sets the question when they send the transfer. The question is something only the intended recipient can answer.

Sending money internationally with Interac e-Transfer involves you initiating a payment via your online banking, which is then sent to your recipient for collection in cash at a Western Union location near to them.

Zelle is not currently available in Canada. According to its website, to use the Zelle payment platform, “the sender and recipient's bank account must be based in the U.S.” When sending money via Zelle to a mobile phone number, it must be registered in the U.S.

For PayPal, the only way to load your balance is from a bank account. With the others, you can also do Interac e-Transfers and get direct deposits.