Interac Debit

interac debit

What Is Interac Debit?

Interac Debit Payment is Canada’s primary debit card network and a great low-cost payment solutions for merchants in Canada.

The Interac network is Canada’s only domestically run, coast-to-coast debit system, handling approximately 54 per cent of all card payment transactions in Canada at point-of-sale. Interac Debit is low-cost, has no chargebacks and offers peace of mind of real-time, secure payments.

Over 80% of card-present retail transactions and 50% of sales volume are performed over the Interac network. This accounts for over 160 billion dollars in transaction volume each year. First Data retail and restaurant merchants using in-store terminals are automatically eligible to accept debit transactions.

How Much Does Interac Debit Cost?

For example, when a customer pays with Debit, a merchant typically pays 5 or 6 cents per transaction to its payment processor – a single flat fee, regardless of retail purchase price. From that amount, the Interac Association receives a fee of $0.006362. In comparison, if the person chooses credit, the merchant typically pays from 1.5% to 3% of the item’s retail cost for interchange alone, not including other possible processing fees. As a result, on a $100 purchase, based on current rates, a merchant pays between $1.50 and $3.00 for the interchange on a credit card transaction, but only a flat fee of $0.06 for an Debit transaction.

Interac Flash – Tap & Pay

Interac Debit now supports NFC (Tap & Pay) transactions through their Flash program. Although initially a free feature, Interac now charges an extra 2¢ to Convenience Stores and Fast-Food businesses, and an extra 3.5¢ per transaction to other industry types for using this service. Canada First passes this fee increase to our clients at cost without any additional markups on top of your standard transaction rate. Flash is an optional feature with all of the payment processing terminals, simply contact us to turn it off or on.

interac debit

With Canada First You’ll:

  • Get The Latest In Payment Technology: Canada First offers the most up-to-date payment options including Interac Debit. Collect payments in your office, through your website and on-the-go. Your merchant account can be used anywhere, anytime.

    If your hardware or software POS is already integrated with a different processor or you want it to be integrated, our semi-integrated solution can be adapted to almost every system.


  • Accept Payments Securely: Never handle sensitive credit card information again. Interac Debit is Secure. Cardholders can enter their own information through your secure payment page, and we handle the rest.

  • Access Easy To Use Reporting And Reconciliation Tools: Organize transactions, monitor payments and view reporting all in one easy-to-use dashboard.

  • Link Payments and Donations To Your Website: Link payments to your website in order to easily accept member dues, event registration fees, donations and more! Also compatible with most major POS providers.

interac debit

Let's Work Together

Get in touch and ask us for a quote or ask a question about what solution is best for your business. Call us at 888-616-6967 or click to send an email. We’re here to help.