Interac e-Transfer^®

Interac e-Transfer is a fast, secure and convenient way to send money to anyone in Canada using online banking. The participating bank or credit union transfers the funds using established and secure banking procedures. Transfers are almost instant, but can take up to 30 minutes depending on the bank or credit union.

The sender needs your email address or mobile phone number. You’ll receive a notification by email or text when an Interac e-Transfer has been sent to you.

From your computer or smartphone, open the email or text message and follow the simple, user-friendly instructions that will direct you to your financial institution’s online banking. Once there, you can deposit the funds into the account of your choice after correctly answering the security question set by the sender.

Sending an Interac e-Transfer via online banking:

1. Log in to online banking.
2. Select Transfers in the menu on the left, go to Interac e-Transfer, then select Send Money.
3. Set up your profile by filling out the fields as indicated.
4. Click on Add New Contact. Enter the name and email address or mobile phone number of the person who you will be sending the money to. Once you have added these details, they will be stored on the Contacts list, you will not have to enter in the same information again.
5. Create a security question and answer that only the sender and receiver will know. The receiver will have to enter the answer to the security question in order to access the e-Transfer. If it’s a friend, for example, the question might be: “What is the name of your dog?”. For security reasons, the message field which enables you to leave a note for your recipient, must not contain the answer to your security question.
6. Select your recipient from the dropdown list on the Send via Interac e-Transfer page. Indicate the amount you’d like to send and select Continue.
7. Review the details of your e-Transfer. Your account will be debited the amount you have sent once you click Confirm.

Sending an Interac e-Transfer via mobile banking:

1. Log in to the mobile app.
2. Select Interac e-Transfer from the main page.
3. Choose the account you wish to send money from by tapping Select Account.
4. Choose the recipient of your e-Transfer by tapping Select Contact.
5. Select Add Contacts. Enter the name and email address or mobile telephone number of the person who you will be sending the money to. Once you have added these details, they will be stored on the Contacts list, you will not have to enter in the same information again.
6. Create a security question and answer that only the sender and receiver will know. The receiver will have to enter the answer to the security question in order to access the e-Transfer. If it’s a friend, for example, the question might be: “What is the name of your dog?”. For security reasons, the message field which enables you to leave a note for your recipient, must not contain the answer to your security question.
7. Indicate the amount you’d like to send and select Continue.
8. Review the details of your Interac e-Transfer. Your account will be debited the amount you have sent once you select Confirm.

No, you cannot. Interac e-Transfers can only be used to transfer Canadian funds to anyone with an email and a Canadian bank account. To send funds to someone in another country, you will need to send a wire.

Our premium chequing plans come with a range of free e-Transfers. The number of free transactions depends on which plan you have. Please see below for e-Transfer transaction limits.

For personal accounts:

For business accounts:

If you send an Interac e-Transfer and there is a fee (some of our chequing accounts include a number of free transactions), you will be charged immediately upon sending it. If you cancel the transaction while it is pending or the recipient declines it, you will not be refunded the fee.

If you cancel a pending Request Money e-Transfer, you will not be charged the fee.

Autodeposit is a feature within the Interac e-Transfer service that enables users to save time when accepting an Interac e-Transfer. It is enabled by registering your email address with Interac and allows you to receive funds directly into an assigned account without the need to select your financial institution or answer a security question.

When sending an Interac e-Transfer, the sender is made aware in online banking that you are registered for Autodeposit.

Yes. Autodeposit has the same security as is standard with the Interac e-Transfer service. Interac e-Transfer is one of the safest digital money transfer services in the world.

When you send or request money using Interac e-Transfer, the money is transferred through the established and secure banking procedures that financial institutions have used for years to settle cheques, ATM 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.

Registering for Autodeposit via online banking:

• Log in to online banking.
• In the left-hand menu, select Transfers and choose Autodeposit.
• Fill in the Autodeposit registration form and select Register.
• You will receive a verification email to confirm your email address and Autodeposit registration. Open this email and select Confirm Registration.

Registering for Autodeposit via mobile banking:

• Log in to FirstOntario’s mobile banking app.
• From the home screen or menu select Interac e-Transfer®.
• At the top of the Send money screen, select Settings.
• On the Settings screen, select Autodeposit.
• On the Autodeposit screen, select Add Email.
• Fill out the form to set up an Autodeposit to your email address and tap Update.
• You will receive a verification email to confirm your email address and Autodeposit registration, open this email and select Confirm Registration.

If you set up your profile with both your email and mobile phone number, you will receive a notification by email or text every time you receive funds through the Autodeposit feature, letting you know money has been deposited into your account.

The notification will also include the details associated with the transfer, who it was from, and any messages from the sender.

When you send money to an individual who has registered for Autodeposit, the recipient’s name and the legal name of the individual will be displayed to ensure the funds are being sent to the correct individual.

Interac e-Transfer transactions can only be cancelled if they haven’t already been deposited. If there was a fee charged when the e-Transfer was sent, it will not be reimbursed.

To cancel an Interac e-Transfer transaction, whether the e-Transfer was sent or requested, go into your online banking/mobile banking application and locate the Pending list. If the transaction is listed on the pending list, you will have the option to cancel it.

You can change an existing Autodeposit in online banking by going to the Autodeposit screen to view all current Autodeposits. Next to an existing Autodeposit, you will see two icons — a pen and a trash can. Select the pen icon to edit an Autodeposit and the trash can icon to delete.

Request Money is a feature within the Interac e-Transfer service that allows you to request money via online banking. Money can be requested by sending an email or text message to any individual or business in Canada. When the request is fulfilled, you will receive a notification once the funds are deposited into the selected account.

1. Log in to online banking.
2. In the left-hand menu, go to Transfers.
3. Select Interac e-Transfer® then choose Request Money.
4. Then follow the instructions to complete the form to request funds.

The number of free transactions depends on which account you have. If there is a $1.50 service fee applied to a Request Money transaction, it will be applied to the funds being deposited. For example, if you send a request for $50, when the recipient accepts the request, $48.50 will be deposited into your account.

Yes, there are limits related to the Request Money feature. These incoming limits are rolling* limits and are the same as the e-Transfer limits.

Limits on incoming e-Transfers:

*Rolling limits are calculated by the day and time the e-Transfer is sent. For example, if the first transaction is sent at 11:30 a.m., the “day” is calculated on the 24-hour rolling period, which will end at 11:29 a.m. the next day.

Yes, you can cancel a Request Money you have initiated by viewing the Pending list. To access this list, log in to online banking:

1. In the left-hand menu go to Transfers.
2. Select Interac e-Transfer, then choose Send Money.
3. On the Send Interac e-Transfer page, select Pending to view your list of pending transfers.
4. If the money request is listed here, you will have two options listed on the right: Resend Notice which allows you to trigger a notification to the recipient and Cancel which allows you to cancel the transfer. You cannot edit a pending transfer. You must cancel it and then re-create it.

If the transfer has been completed, it will not appear in the Pending list and can no longer be cancelled.

A Request Money notification is valid for 60 days from the date it is requested. However, the expiry date can be extended by another 60 days if you resend the notification to the recipient.

Yes, outstanding requests have automated reminder notifications that are sent to your contact. You also have the ability to manually re-notify the contact, as a reminder.

Once the request for money has been fulfilled, you will receive a notification that the funds are available in your account.

If you send a Request Money notification to someone whose financial institution does not have the Request Money feature implemented, that person will not be able to accept the request. They will have to decline the request. They can then follow up by sending you an e-Transfer in the amount you had requested.

Yes, you are able to opt out of receiving requests from a particular requestor, or the service completely, by selecting the opt-out option on the request notification email.