How does Interac work for online payments?
Interac Debit online runs through phone wallets. A shopper whose bank or credit union takes part adds their Interac debit card to Apple Pay or Google Pay. At checkout they choose Apple Pay or Google Pay, select Interac Debit as the payment method and confirm with a fingerprint, passcode or facial recognition. Interac says the card number is replaced by a random token, is not stored on the device or on servers, and that every transaction requires authentication. Shoppers can set Interac Debit as their default card in either wallet.
Merchants need a provider that accepts it. In February 2026 Interac announced that Stripe could offer Interac Debit for online and in-app purchases through participating digital wallets. Before that, Stripe merchants could only take Interac Debit in person. Stripe connects to the Interac network through FIS Everlink, and the announcement says the option is open to any Canadian merchant using Stripe for online sales.
The older bank login route has gone. Interac Online let a shopper choose their bank at checkout, sign in to online banking and approve the payment. The Police Credit Union told members that Interac would decommission Interac Online with all credit unions on 31 May 2024, because fewer merchants were accepting it and more widely accepted options were available.
Its successor is Interac Direct. Interac describes it as a new online payment option, available through the Konek gateway, that lets shoppers pay from a chequing, savings or line of credit account at a participating bank. The shopper selects Konek at checkout, signs in through their bank, gives consent and picks the account. Interac Direct supports one-time payments, split shipments, recurring and pre-authorised payments, reversals and refunds. Interac says it is currently live with participating merchants, and its business page lists Konek onboarding as coming soon.
Where and how do shoppers use Interac?
Interac is used only in Canada, in CAD. Interac says Canadians use its products more than 20 million times a day on average. Debit is a large part of everyday spending: Payments Canada reported that debit cards made up 30% of all payment volume in 2024, next to credit cards at 33%.
Interac e-Transfer is the other part of the network. It moves money between bank accounts by email, phone number or account details. For merchants, Interac e-Transfer Business Request Money lets a business request and collect a payment from its website, app, a QR code or an invoice, with instant deposits. Interac lists BMO, CIBC, DC Bank, Peoples Trust and Scotiabank as offering it so far. Interac e-Transfer for Business also sends payments of up to CAD 25,000 per transaction and up to 10,000 payments at a time, and more than 250 financial institutions offer it.
What rules and costs should merchants know?
Chargeback exposure is lower than on credit cards. Interac says Interac Direct carries no risk of costly chargebacks, and it describes Interac e-Transfer bulk receivables as guaranteed funds with no chargebacks. Interac Debit in a wallet still depends on the shopper’s bank offering it, and Interac publishes a lookup for shoppers to check.
Surcharges follow different rules from credit. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says merchants may add a surcharge to credit card payments, except in Quebec, with a cap of 2.4% under the payment networks’ requirements. For debit, it tells merchants to ask their payment processor, noting that some networks do not allow surcharges.
Costs and settlement depend on the acquirer or provider that connects the merchant to Interac. Interac’s business pages describe Interac Direct and Business Request Money as lower cost alternatives to cards but do not publish a single price.
How would Omno handle Interac?
- One checkout: Interac Debit would be offered inside Apple Pay and Google Pay in the Omno hosted checkout, next to cards, other wallets, local methods and crypto. Merchants with their own payment screens would use Direct Links on their own buttons.
- Routing rules: A rule would send Interac Debit wallet payments in CAD only to connected providers that accept Interac in Apple Pay and Google Pay. Omno connects through those providers; it is not an acquirer and does not hold funds.
- Cascading: In the hosted checkout, if that provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment would move to the next provider in the rule that also accepts Interac, until one accepts.
- Status: The final result would reach the merchant by webhook.
What should merchants plan for?
Check your provider first. Interac Debit online needs an acquirer or provider that accepts it inside Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Keep cards on the page. Not every bank offers Interac Debit in wallets, and Interac Direct is still rolling out through Konek.
Do not plan around Interac Online. It has been decommissioned, so shoppers who want to pay from their bank account need Interac Debit in a wallet, Interac Direct where available or Interac e-Transfer.
Price debit separately from credit. Surcharge rules for credit cards do not carry over to debit.