Interac Logo

Interac Association is a Canadian organization linking enterprises that have proprietary networks so that they may communicate with each other for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions. The Association was founded in 1984 by five financial institutions. As of December, 2004 there are over 90 member organizations. In Canada, the word Interac is often used as an eponym for debit card. Image File history File links Interac Logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Interac Logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A computer network is a system for communication between computers. ... A financial transaction involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals. ... This page is about the year 1984. ... A financial institution acts as an agent that provides financial services for its clients. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, whose name has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... A debit card is an ISO 7810 card which physically resembles a credit card, and, like a credit card, is used as an alternative to cash when making purchases. ...

Services

Interac Association is the organization responsible for the development of a national network of two shared electronic financial services:

Interac Direct Payment

• Interac Direct Payment (IDP): Canada's national debit service for purchasing of goods and services. Customers enter their personal identification number (PIN) and the amount paid is deducted from either their chequing or savings accounts. Since its national launch in 1994, Interac Direct Payment has become so widespread that, since 2001, more transactions in Canada were completed using debit cards than cash. Beginning in 2004, IDP purchases could also be made in the United States at merchants on the NYCE network. IDP is similar in nature to the EFTPOS systems in use in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

IDP purchases can be made at all retailers participating in the program, regardless of the financial institution issuing the debit card being used, and normally no fees are charged for using the program. Banks may levy a charge for withdrawing funds from the account used to fund the purchase, but these fees are not associated with Interac Direct Payment itself. Some retailers charge a nominal fee (often $0.25) for Direct Payments (presumably to cover the expense of having the appropriate equipment and any transaction charges), but they are in the minority. There are just under 550,000 IDP terminals in use throughout Canada, and 124 billion Canadian dollars worth of transactions took place in 2004. link title Debit is an accounting and bookkeeping term that comes from the Latin word debere which means to owe. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NYCE based in Montvale NJ developed a ATM network that allows card holders to make purchases with retailers with NYCE access using point of sale devices or POS and related ATMs in the United States. ... This article may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer. ... . This coin features a red-coloured poppy embedded in the centre of a maple leaf above a banner reading Remember - Souvenir. The mint claims that this is the first colour coin in circulation in the world. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Interac Direct Payment is a PIN-based system where the information entered on the PIN pad is encrypted and verified at a central server, rather than being stored on the card itself. Because of this, it is significantly more secure than traditional signature or card-based transactions. Despite these security features, there are ongoing fraud concerns, particularly when debit cards are duped or skimmed - a compromised automated teller machine or point-of-sale terminal will record the account information contained in the magnetic strip of the card, allowing for duplicate cards to be created at a later time. The owner of the card is then unknowingly video taped or observed entering their PIN, allowing a criminal to use duplicate cards to make fraudulent purchases. Outdoor ATMs may be free-standing, like this kiosk, or built into the side of banks or other buildings. ...

Shared Cash Dispensing

• Shared Cash Dispensing (SCD): cash withdrawals from any ABM not belonging to a cardholder's financial institution. This Canada-specific service is similar to international systems like PLUS or Cirrus. Virtually every ABM in Canada is on the Interac system.

Cash usually refers to money in the form of currency, such as bills or coins. ... Outdoor ATMs may be free-standing, like this kiosk, or built into the side of banks or other buildings. ... Addition is one of the basic operations of arithmetic. ... Cirrus Network allows MasterCard users or bank cards with access to MasterCards to be able access Automated Teller Machines (ATM) or Automated Banking Machines (ABM) with their cards. ...

E-mail Money Transfer

You can use e-mail to transfer money between banks offering that Interac service.

Services not offered on the Interac network

It is currently not possible to transfer money internationally (except to the US) using the Interac network; however, most Canadian ABM cards are also linked to the Plus Network or Cirrus Network, or other networks with more global reach. Plus Network allows VISA and bank cards with Plus access to ATM or ABM network world-wide. ... Cirrus Network allows MasterCard users or bank cards with access to MasterCards to be able access Automated Teller Machines (ATM) or Automated Banking Machines (ABM) with their cards. ...

External link

• Interac website