Interac e-Transfer

Initialize Interac e-Transfer payments for Canadian transactions

Overview

Interac e-Transfer enables secure money transfers between Canadian bank accounts. This endpoint supports both incoming (receiving) and outgoing (sending) transfers.

Endpoint

POST /payment-sessions

Common Requirements

Canadian-Specific Validation:

• Valid Canadian phone number (+1 format)
• Canadian postal code format
• Province/territory codes (e.g., ON, BC, AB)
• Canadian bank account required

 Incoming Payments (CAD via Interac Auto-Deposit)

Incoming Payments (CAD via Interac Auto-Deposit) 

CAD direct deposits via Interac Auto-Deposit streamline the payment process, ensuring that incoming funds are quickly and securely credited to your account, enhancing both convenience and financial management.

Auto-deposit is enabled using the merchant’s registered email. Once we receive the merchant’s registered email, we configure it for Interac Auto-Deposit.

Test incoming CAD deposits in Production, as deposits are real-time.

Confirming Deposits

To confirm incoming deposits, listen for webhooks.

Example webhook payload (successful CAD deposit):

{

  "checksum": "",

  "data": {

    "amount": 10000,

    "callback_urls": {},

    "cancellation_reason": null,

    "channel_reference": "",

    "collection_mode": null,

    "correlation_id": "",

    "currency": "NGN",

    "customer": {

      "account_id": "",

      "billing_address": {

        "city": "",

        "country": "NG",

        "line1": "",

        "state": "",

        "zip_code": ""

      },

      "email": "",

      "first_name": "",

      "id": "",

      "last_name": "",

      "phone_number": "",

      "type": ""

    },

    "date": "",

    "description": "",

    "fee": null,

    "id": "",

    "merchant": {

      "address": {

        "city": "",

        "country": "NG",

        "line1": "",

        "line2": null,

        "state": "",

        "zip_code": ""

      },

      "email": "",

      "id": "",

      "mcc": "",

      "name": "",

      "phone": ""

    },

    "order": {

      "identifier": "",

      "items": [

        {

          "name": "Transfer",

          "type": "digital"

        }

      ]

    }

    "mode": "live",

    "order": {

      "identifier": "",

      "items": [

        {

          "name": "Transfer",

          "type": "digital"

        }

      ]

    },

    "payer": {

      "account_name": null,

      "account_number": null,

      "bank_name": ""

    },

    "payment_method": {

      "account_numner": "",

      "account_name": "",

      "bank_code": "",

      "bank_name": "",

      "currency": "",

      "id": "",

      "type": "bank_account"

    },

    "provider_id": "",

    "redirect_url": null,

    "reference": "",

    "status": "success|failed",

    "transaction_id": "",

    "type": "payin|payout"

  },

  "event": "payment.session.succeeded|payment.session.failed"




}

Developer tasks:

• Provide the merchant’s registered email so it can be enabled for auto-deposit.
• Implement an endpoint on your server to receive POST requests from Juicyway.
• Verify the checksum for authenticity.
• Use status (success) + type (payin) to confirm the CAD deposit.
• Update your internal systems (balances, invoices, etc.).

Incoming via Interac link

Overview

Capture an Interac e-Transfer payment by generating a secure payment link that your customer can use to complete the transfer. This endpoint supports incoming (receiving) payments through Canada’s Interac e-Transfer system.

Interac e-Transfer is only available for Canadian dollar (CAD) transactions and requires both the sender and recipient to have Canadian bank accounts.

Endpoint

POST /payment-sessions/{payment_id}

Capture Flow

1. Initialize Payment

   First create a payment session with payment initialization

2. Generate Transfer Link

   Capture the payment to generate an Interac e-Transfer link

3. Customer Transfer

   Customer completes the transfer through their online banking

4. Auto-Deposit

   Funds are automatically deposited if enabled, or require security answer

Response Object

{
  "data": {
    "auth_type": null,
    "expires_at": "2024-04-09T01:11:30.239705Z",
    "links": {
      "redirect_url": "https://gateway-web.fit.interac.ca/reqPayment/eml/CA1MRz75R4Hy"
    },
    "message": "Waiting for payment",
    "payment": {
      "amount": 100000,  // Amount in cents
      "currency": "CAD",
      "status": "pending",
      "payment_method": {
        "type": "interac"
      },
      "customer": {
        "first_name": "John",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "email": "[e-mail]",
        "phone_number": "[phone]",
        "billing_address": {
          "line1": "123 Main St",
          "line2": "Unit 4B",
          "city": "Toronto",
          "state": "ON",
          "country": "CA",
          "zip_code": "M5V 2T6"
        }
      },
      "description": "Invoice payment",
      "reference": "inv_20240322_123",
      "order": {
        "identifier": "ORD12345",
        "items": [
          {
            "name": "Professional Services",
            "type": "service"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Important Response Fields

links.redirect_url · string · required

Interac e-Transfer payment link to share with customer

• Valid for payment session duration
• Unique per transaction
• Must be accessed within expires_at time

expires_at · string · required

ISO 8601 timestamp when the payment session expires

• Default: 1 hours from creation
• Customer must complete transfer before this time

Outgoing transfers

Outgoing Transfers

Use this flow when sending payments to recipients through Interac e-Transfer.

Additional Parameters for Outgoing Transfers

payment_method · object · required

Show Payment Method

beneficiary_type · string · required

One of: “personal”, “business”

first_name · string · required

Recipient’s first name

last_name · string · required

Recipient’s last name

email · string · required

Recipient’s Interac-registered email

phone_number · string

Recipient’s phone number (optional)

question · string · required

Security question for the transfer

answer · string · required

Answer to the security question

Example Request (Outgoing)

{
  "customer": {
    "first_name": "John",
    "last_name": "Doe",
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "phone_number": "[phone]",
    "billing_address": {
      "line1": "123 Main St",
      "line2": "Unit 4B",
      "city": "Toronto",
      "state": "ON",
      "country": "CA",
      "zip_code": "M5V 2T6"
    },
    "ip_address": "127.0.0.1"
  },
  "description": "Expense reimbursement",
  "currency": "CAD",
  "amount": 100000,
  "direction": "outgoing",
  "payment_method": {
    "type": "interac",
    "beneficiary_type": "personal",
    "first_name": "Jane",
    "last_name": "Smith",
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "phone_number": "[phone]",
    "question": "What is our project code",
    "answer": "ALPHA123"
  },
  "reference": "exp_20240322_456",
  "order": {
      "identifier": "EXP12345",
      "items": [
        {
          "name": "Travel Reimbursement",
          "type": "expense"
        }
      ]
  },
}

Link email to customer

Linking Multiple Emails

In situations where a user has multiple email addresses, we typically advise applying restrictions. However, when necessary, you can link a secondary email (Email 2) to the primary registered email (Email 1) using the endpoint below.

Endpoint:

POST /customers/:id/register_emails

Request Body:

{

  "emails": [

    "[e-mail]",   // primary registered email (Email 1)

    "[e-mail]"    // additional linked email (Email 2)

  ]

}

Validation Rules

Amount Validation

• Minimum: CAD 100.00 (10000 cents)
• Maximum: CAD 10,000.00 (1000000 cents)
• Must be in Canadian Dollars (CAD)
• Must be a positive integer in cents

Phone Number Validation

• Must begin with +1
• Must be 11 digits total (+1 plus 10-digit number)
• Area code must be valid for Canada

Postal Code Validation

• Must follow Canadian format: “A1A 1A1”
• Letter-number-letter number-letter-number
• First letter cannot be D, F, I, O, Q, U, W, Z

Security Question

• Required for outgoing transfers
• Question must be 10-100 characters
• Answer must be 3-50 characters
• Cannot contain sensitive information

Error Handling

invalid_province · error

Invalid Canadian province/territory code provided.

• Must be one of: AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT

invalid_postal_code · error

Invalid Canadian postal code format.

• Must match pattern: A1A 1A1

invalid_phone · error

Invalid Canadian phone number.

• Must start with +1
• Must be a valid area code

amount_limit_exceeded · error

Transfer amount exceeds limits.

• Check minimum/maximum allowed amounts

Processing Times

• Incoming transfers: Usually processed within 15-30 minutes
• Outgoing transfers: Usually processed within 30-60 minutes
• Cutoff times may apply based on recipient’s bank

Need Help?

For support with Interac e-Transfer integration:

• Check our Error Handling Guide
• Contact Support