How to Send and Receive Interac e-Transfers

Interac e-Transfers are great if you’re looking for a quick way to transfer funds from one Canadian chequing account or savings account to another. Interac e-Transfers allow you to send and receive money within a few minutes. They’re safe thanks to security features like adding a security question to the transfer that the receiver will need to provide. This means that even if you mistakenly sent the money to the wrong recipient, they couldn’t collect the funds.  

What is Interac e-Transfer?

Interac e-Transfer is a fast, secure way to electronically transfer funds to another Canadian bank account – either yours or someone else’s. You have to be able to access your online banking. The transactions are usually instant or take just a few minutes to complete. The recipient will receive an email that you’ve sent them money and it’s easy for them to accept the transfer. 

They just need to know the answer to the security question that you’ve asked. This is one of the features that make it fail-proof. Interac e-Transfer has pretty much replaced writing cheques or paying someone with cash. The process is faster, convenient, and more secure. You can transfer funds from your desktop computer or mobile device at any time.

But this system only supports transferring money to Canadian bank account holders. If you’re looking to transfer money to an international bank, there are other solutions like e-wallets or bank wire transfers. This is exclusively for transferring money within Canada in a safe, fast manner.

How do Interac e-Transfers work?

It’s incredibly simple for Canadians to use e-Transfers, whether you’re sending or receiving. The Interac Cooperation was developed by the largest banks in the country. It’s possible to use this service if both parties hold a Canadian bank account. 

The security question ensures a secure transfer while other security features are also in place. Funds are put directly into the recipient’s bank account. If someone is expecting money, they have the option to initiate a request with the Request Money feature in any Canadian online banking platform. There are about 250 financial institutions that utilize Interac e-Transfers.

e-Transfer limits

In most cases, Interac e-Transfers are free of charge for both parties involved. This makes them the cheapest and often most popular means of sending and receiving money. The one downside is that there are limits on how much money you can transfer at one time as well as cumulatively within a specific period of time.

The amount you can transfer will vary from bank to bank. There are daily, weekly, and monthly limits for sending money via Interac e-Transfers. Limits typically range from $1,000 per transaction to $30,000 per month. Not every bank imposes receiving limits, but the ones that do generally cap it around $25,000 per incoming transfer.

Also, customers at the same bank may have different limits depending on the account they have. The limit is higher for those with business accounts compared to personal chequing accounts. If you want to have higher limits, you can make a request through your bank.

Interac e-Transfer limits are also based on whether you are the sender or the recipient. There are receiving, sending, and requesting features to accommodate you. If you have a receiving limit of $2,500 and someone sends you $3,000, the remaining $500 will be in your account.

What is an Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit and how do you get it?

Autodeposit is a convenient way to receive funds directly without going through the fuss of answering security questions. The recipient just needs to register their email address with Interac to automatically get funds in their account. When a sender is giving someone money via Interac e-Transfer, they are notified a that the recipient is registered for Autodeposit.

How to set up an automatic e-Transfer deposit

• Log into your online banking or the mobile app.
• Look for Autodeposit in the Interac e-Transfer section. 
• Register your email address and link to the account.
• Go to your email to find the confirmation message sent to you from your bank. 
• Click on “complete registration.”

Once you’ve registered, you don’t need to log in to online banking or answer a security question to receive your e-Transfers. When someone sends you money, funds are deposited into your account without you having to do anything.

Interac e-Transfer fees

There is no fee to receive an Interac e-Transfer if you have an account at the same bank. Some banks offer an unlimited amount of free transfers for business and personal accounts, while others put a cap on the number of e-Transfers you can send per month.

If your bank has a limit on how many free transfers you can do, you may need to pay a fee per e-Transfer that exceeds the monthly limit.  The fee is minimal and may be anywhere from $0.50 to $1.50, depending on the financial institution. We’ll go over the fees for each individual bank if there are any. 

How to send Interac e-Transfer

It’s very simple to send an e-Transfer to someone. You go to your online banking and then click on the e-Transfers button. If you already have the recipient in your list of people, you can just click on them. If they’re not on your list, you add them. You will need their name and email address or phone number.

Once you have the recipient information and have selected them, you put in the amount you want to send. Add the security question when applicable and confirm the transaction. Make sure you send the answer to the security question to the person receiving your e-Transfer. 

Receiving an Interac e-Transfer

When the sender completes the transfer, you’ll receive a notification. You can click on the link in the phone or email notification. There will be a list of banks. Choose the bank you’re with and you’ll be redirected to your online banking. 

First, you’ll have to answer the security question, which you’ll get from the sender. If you’ve registered for auto-deposit already, you can skip these steps as the amount will go into your account directly. There’s no need for a security question. 

Can You Cancel an Interac e-Transfer?

The Interac e-transfer process is simple and fast. Start by logging into your online banking account and navigating to the transaction page. Next, click on the Interac e-Transfer and choose the transaction you want to cancel. You will notice an option to cancel the transaction, and the location of the button varies based on the UI of your online banking provider. 

Note that most Interac e-transfers are sent within a few minutes of initiating the process. Therefore, you have a limited amount of time to cancel the transfer. 

Are Interac e-Transfers Safe?

Yes, Interac e-transfers are completely safe because the transfer process includes a security question the recipient must answer. For example, the sender may ask a question such as “what is their favourite animal?”, and designate the answer as “dog”. 

Consequently, the sender has to share the answer with the recipient so that they can receive the money. This prevents fraudulent transactions from going through where the recipient gets funds from unknown senders. 

Different Canadian banks’ Interac e-Transfer fees & limits

Every bank in Canada offers Interac e-Transfers as it’s a convenient way to send and receive money. You only need a chequing account. Their fees and limits may vary. Here’s a list of the main banks in Canada, their fees and limits. 

RBC

There is no cost when it comes to sending an Interac e-Transfer with RBC. The transfer limits will depend on how much you spend with your client card each day. To know how much your limits are, go to your online banking and click on “Daily Transaction Limit”. This is found in your account section and you’re free to edit limits that suit you. 

CIBC

Select bank accounts allow you to make Interac transfers without paying a fee. However, if you have a basic plan, it’s $1.50 per transaction while free to receive money. If the sender wishes to stop the transaction and wants to cancel, there is a $3.50 fee.

There is no minimum limit amount of money when sending an e-transfer. There are limits to how much can be sent including:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $30,000 per 30-day period

If you’re sending someone a request, the maximum limit you can ask for per transaction is $10,000. However, you can request up to 200 money transfers at a time.

BMO

BMO offers free Interac e-Transfer transactions with any of their Everyday Bank plans. This is also the case for those with any Canadian chequing or Premium Rate Savings accounts.

The receiving and sending limits differ and are as follows:

Sender limits

• $0.01 to $3,000 per 24-hour period depending on senders debit card limit
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

TD Canada

When you send an Interac e-Transfer from your personal TD account, it’s free with most account options. However, there are fees when you use Send Money or Request Money with the basic account plans. It costs $0.50 when you send less than a $100, and $1.00 for anything over $100. While most business accounts offer free e-Transfers, the basic plans have a $1.50 fee for all e-Transfers.

Interac e-Transfer comes with sending limits, including:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Scotiabank

At Scotiabank, there’s a $1.00 fee for sending an e-Transfer and the limits will depend on the account you hold. However, they are quite strict with their $2,500 limit for those with basic and everyday accounts. However, the maximum any Scotia account holder can send via e-Transfer is $25,000.

If you’re a Scotiabank client, the best thing to do is go to your Accounts page and click on “Fastcash account setting & ScotiaCard limits.” Here, you’ll see exactly what your personal e-Transfer limit is for the account you hold. For business account users, your limit is $10,000.

National Bank of Canada

While you’ll have free e-Transfers monthly with the National Bank of Canada, they’re not unlimited unless you have the top-tier bank account. For example, if you have the Minimalist Account, you get 12 free transactions per month. Should you exceed the number of transactions included in your package or offer, you pay an additional $1.25 for each e-Transfer you make in the month. Here is the breakdown.

• You can send up to $4,000 in a 24-hour period.
• The weekly limitation is $25,000 per week.
• The maximum per transaction you can receive is $25,000.

Laurentian Bank

Each e-Transfer you send comes with a $1 fee with Laurentian Bank. The recipient doesn’t have any fees to accept the money. The maximum daily amount that can be transferred is $10,000 with a maximum amount of $3,000 per individual transaction. 

Interac e-Transfer limits at Laurentian Bank are as follows:

• $3,000 per transaction
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Tangerine

There’s no cost when you’re sending or receiving an e-Transfer at Tangerine. They have set up daily, weekly, and monthly transaction limits that include the following:

Sending limits:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Receiving limits:

• $10,000 per 24-hour period
• $70,000 per 7-day period
• $300,000 per 30-day period

EQ Bank

If you’re an EQ client, sending e-Transfers is free. However, your other bank may charge a fee for sending. Here is the breakdown.

Sending limits:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Receiving limits :

• Up to $25,000 per transaction

Simplii Financial

Simplii Financial lets you send and receive an Interac e-Transfer for free. If the sender wants to cancel the transaction, it costs $3.50. The Request Money feature has a limit of $10,000 with no minimum. 

Sending limits include:

• $0.01 minimum amount per transfer
• $3,000 per 24-period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $30,000 per 30-day period

Manulife

If you have a Manulife One account, e-transfers are free. With other accounts, you only get three free e-transfers per month and after that, they charge $1 per transaction. The minimum transfer limit is $10. There are maximum daily, weekly, and monthly limits as follows:

Sending limits:

• $10 minimum transfer amount
• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Receiving limits:

• $25,000 per individual incoming e-Transfer

Desjardins

If you have a monthly plan with Desjardins, Interac e-Transfers are free. If you exceed the transactions in your plan, It’s $1 per transaction.

They offer a higher-than-average limit for personal banking at $5,000 in a 24-hour period. Unfortunately, this is the limit across the board for everyone, and Desjardins will not allow you to increase this limit. You can receive up to $25,000 per transfer as well. If you have a business account, you can send up to $10,000 in a 24-hour period.

Vancity

While there are free e-Transfers available on select accounts, an e-Transfer costs $0.90 if it’s not covered within your account features. The following are personal sending and receiving limits.

Sending limits

• $3,000 per-transfer limit
• $10,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

The maximum amount you can receive in one transaction is $25,000.

Alterna Bank

For personal accounts, the fees for sending and receiving Interac e-Transfers depend on the type of account you have and whether or not eTransfers are included in your account package. If e-Transfers are not included in your package or exceed the maximum number of monthly transactions, you’ll be charged $0.80 per e-Transfer. With either a business or community account, senders are charged $1.25 for every Interac e-Transfer. 

Personal account limits:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day limit
• Receive up to $25,000 in a single transaction

Business account limits:

• $10,000 per 24-hour period
• $70,000 per 7-day period
• $300,000 per 30-day period
• Receive up to $25,000 in a single transaction

Canadian Western Bank

The Canadian Western Bank offers the basic limits you’ll find at most other Canadian banks. The sending limits are as follows:

• Daily transaction limit: $3,000
• Daily and weekly transaction limit: $10,000
• Monthly transaction limit: $20,000

Furthermore, we could not find the information for the receiving limits, but they are likely to be around $25,000. This is the receiving limit for most other Canadian banks similar to CWB. 

ATB (Alberta Treasury Branch)

The ATB sending and receiving transfer limits are typically what you’ll see at other Canadian banks in the Interac e-transfer network. They are as follows:

• $5,000 per transfer
• $5,000 24-hour period
• $35,000 per 7-day period
• $150,000 per 30-day period

Furthermore, the ATB Interac e-transfer receiving limit is $25,000. 

Meridian

Meridian Credit Union does not disclose its e-Transfer limits. It simply states that it has the right to impose and change limits at any time without notice.  

Coast Capital Savings

Coast Capital Savings provides average sending limits, and they are:

• $3,000 per transfer & per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Whereas to receive funds with Coast Capital Savings, the following limits apply:

• $10,000 per transfer & per 24-hour period
• $70,000 per 7-day period
• $300,000 per 30-day peroid

Motusbank

Motus Interac e-transfer limits are inline with what you can expect from other financial institutions in Canada. Here are the sending limits:

• $3,000 per 24-hour period
• $10,000 per 7-day period
• $20,000 per 30-day period

Also, the receiving limits are $25,000 per transaction and there is no limit to the number of transactions you can receive per day. It’s a good option for sending money to friends and family since there are no fees.