Interac e‑Transfer access for payment service providers

What changed for PSPs in September 2025?

Interac e-Transfer access for PSPs opened up on September 16, 2025. That day, Interac broadened who can join Interac e-Transfer as a Participant to include qualifying payment service providers (PSPs). Interac says the Bank of Canada approved the change.

The timing follows the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA), which Interac notes came into force on September 8, 2025. Under the RPAA, payment service providers operating in Canada register with the Bank of Canada. Interac e-Transfer itself is designated and overseen by the Bank of Canada as a prominent payment system.

Joining is one route. The other is a payment provider that already offers e-Transfer. We give PSPs and money services businesses Interac e-Transfer for business in a payment wallet, so this guide covers both.

Who qualifies for Interac e-Transfer access?

Interac says a PSP can apply for Participant status when it is:

• registered with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider under the RPAA
• registered with FINTRAC as a money services business
• able to meet Interac's technical and operational requirements
• ready for Interac's compliance and due diligence review

Interac's list of eligible institutions also covers banks, credit unions and their centrals. It includes foreign banks with a full-service branch in Canada, foreign life insurance companies and trustees of qualified trusts. Investment dealers regulated by CIRO qualify when they're also registered with FINTRAC as money services businesses.

Both registrations come first. Our guides to FINTRAC MSB registration and RPAA registration cover them step by step.

How do you apply to join Interac e-Transfer?

1. Register with FINTRACRegister as a money services business, if you haven't already. Then check your entry on the FINTRAC MSB registry.
2. Register with the Bank of CanadaRegister as a payment service provider under the RPAA. Interac asks for both registrations.
3. Contact InteracEmail Interac's new applicants team at newapplicants@interac.ca for information or to apply.
4. Go through Interac's reviewInterac checks your compliance and runs its due diligence. It says the review usually takes about 3 to 6 months.
5. Connect and testAfter approval, connecting can take up to 18 months, depending on how you connect and the resources you have.

Together, the review and the connection can take up to about 2 years. Plan your launch around that.

Direct, indirect or through another Participant?

Interac describes three ways a PSP can use e-Transfer:

Interac says PSPs that already use e-Transfer don't have to become Participants. Their current access continues.

Joining makes sense when e-Transfer is the core of your product. It also means taking on Interac's review, fees and connection work yourself.

What does Interac charge Participants?

Interac tells applicants to expect onboarding fees, monthly fees and transaction fees. It publishes its wholesale fees for financial institutions. Here are the main ones, as listed on October 23, 2026:

Interac says financial institutions pay these wholesale fees, and that it doesn't charge them to end customers. Ask Interac which ones apply to your route, then add your own costs for systems, security and compliance staff.

Is Payments Canada membership the same thing?

No. Payments Canada runs Lynx, Canada's high-value payment system, and the retail batch payment system. It's also building the Real-Time Rail. Since September 2025, payment service providers as defined in the RPAA can be eligible for Payments Canada membership.

Payments Canada says membership doesn't guarantee access to its systems. Direct participation needs a settlement account with the Bank of Canada. Interac e-Transfer is a separate service, with its own Participant rules and its own application.

Should your PSP join Interac or use a provider?

Joining suits a PSP whose product runs on e-Transfer at high volume. It needs the budget and the time for Interac's review and connection. You control the integration and deal with Interac directly.

A provider suits a PSP that needs e-Transfer sooner or is still building volume. It also suits one that wants EFT, wires and a crypto ramp in the same place. You can still apply to Interac later.

What e-Transfer looks like with Invincible Pay

A registered PSP or MSB gets a payment wallet with its own deposit details. Send up to $25,000 per transfer, with no daily limit. Your customers' payments are capped only by their own banks. We don't pause incoming payments.

You don't connect to Interac yourself. Your platform sends e-Transfer requests and Bulk e-Transfer payouts through our API, and a webhook tells it when each payment lands. Auto-deposit and Secure e-Transfer come with the wallet. See our API for fintechs and PSPs.

Our pricing is published, so you can set it beside Interac's fees above.