Interac e-Transfer: The Ultimate Money Transfer Review On Safety, Rates, Reviews, and Service

Interac is a major Canadian financial services company offering a variety of products to businesses and individuals. One of their main offerings, Interac e-Transfer, allows consumers and businesses to send, request, and receive money with speed and convenience — both within Canada and abroad through a partnership with MasterCard and Western Union.

Take a look at our in-depth review of Interac's international e-Transfer service below. For an overview of Interac e-Transfers and what they're used for more generally, take a look at our informative guide here.

What Monito Likes About Interac e-Transfer

• A fast and convenient way to transfer money internationally;
• The beneficiary can pick their money up in cash.

What Monito Dislikes About Interac e-Transfer

• No transparent exchange rates;
• Western Union rates average 3 percent worse than competitors;
• Fees charged by Canadian banks for this service are higher than average;
• Only available if you bank with specific institutions in Canada;
• No options to send money to the beneficiary’s bank account.

Credibility & Security

Sending money internationally through Interac e-Transfer and Western Union is safe and secure, with both your bank and Western Union using established banking procedures to keep your money safe.

Security measures include encryption technology, confidential user IDs and passwords and transfer tracking. 

Service & Coverage

Interac e-Transfer provides international money transfer services to Canadian residents and citizens who have a Canadian currency account and internet banking with the following financial service businesses: BMO Bank of Montreal, Education Credit Union, Energy Credit Union, First Calgary Financial, Libro Credit Union, Summerland Credit Union, and Tandia Credit Union.

What Is Interac e-Transfer and How Good Is the Service?

When it comes to using e-Transfers to send money internationally, Interac's partnership with Western Union will give you access to a very large network of nearly 500,000 Western Union agent locations around the world.

Unfortunately, both the fees charged by these financial services and the hidden exchange rate fees offered by Western Union will often mean that you’ll have to pay a lot more to send money overseas than if you were to use a specialist money transfer service to get the job done. (While we’ve included all the details below, be sure to check out our comparison engine to easily and quickly compare the best money transfer services out there).

High fees aside, international e-Transfers with Interac partly make up for their costs by offering a vast reach, allowing you (in most cases) to send money to more than 200 countries and territories around the world. What's more, you can also make an international currency exchange through your online banking and Interac at any time of the day or night.

Depending on your circumstances, your international money transfer may also benefit from the following:

• Pick up by the beneficiary within 30 minutes;
• Tracking and tracing features through your online banking service.

Requirements To Send Money With Interac e-Transfer

If you want to send money internationally through the Interac e-Transfer service, you'll first need to have the following:

• A bank account at one of the following Canadian financial institutions, i.e. BMO Bank of Montreal, Education Credit Union, Energy Credit Union, First Calgary Financial, Libro Credit Union, Summerland Credit Union, and Tandia Credit Union (Interac plans to add more banks and credit unions to its network in the future);
• Access to online and/or mobile banking.

Is Interac e-Transfer a Good Way to Send Money From Canada?

Keep in mind that Western Union will typically pay out funds to the beneficiary in cash and normally in their local currency. In most cases, Western Union won’t charge any additional fees to the beneficiary. 

What's more, once the transfer has been sent, you'll be able to review your online banking history for previous transfers, review previous transactions and MTCNs, change the beneficiary’s name and initiate a refund if the beneficiary hasn’t picked up their funds. (Note here however that Interac e-Transfers cannot be reversed once the beneficiary has picked up their money, you would need to get a refund directly from the beneficiary).

In some cases, Interac says that funds may be delayed or services unavailable based on certain transaction conditions, including the amount sent, destination country, currency availability, regulatory issues, identification requirements, agent location hours, differences in time zones or other factors. 

Who is Interac e-Transfer for?

We'd recommend that you be mindful of the fact that international Interac e-transfers are only available through logging into your financial services provider in Canada. If you’re outside Canada, for example in the U.S., you cannot use this service. Additionally, if you don’t bank with a service that Interac e-Transfer supports, you won’t be able to use the service either. 

Interac e-Transfer Fees and Exchange Rates

When sending money abroad with Interac e-Transfer, you may need to pay fees on every transfer you make. These fees will be charged by your financial institution and can be broken up into the following two categories:

#1 Interac e-Transfer Fees

While Interac itself doesn’t charge you a fee directly for using the international transfer service, you'll instead, you be charged by your bank or credit union. Many of the banks and credit unions that we researched quoted a similar fixed fee of around C$9 per transaction, plus one percent of the transfer amount

This means that if you’re sending C$1,000 internationally, you can expect to pay a fee of C$19.

#2 Interac e-Transfer Exchange Rates

The second fee you can expect to pay when sending abroad with Interac e-Transfer would be an exchange rate margin, a hidden fee that's charged when a currency exchange provider charges a slightly poorer exchange rate than the one at which banks trade, thereby making a healthy profit in the process.

Because Interac does not list international exchange rates on their website, we’ve used Western Union's hidden exchange rate margin fees in this article when referencing transfer amounts from Canada to other countries using Interac e-Transfer.

Floriane Vita on Unsplash

Example: Sending C$1,000 To the US

If you were to send C$1,000 Canadian dollars to the US using an international e-Transfer, you can expect overpay by C$20, based on our analysis of the fees:

• The base, interbank exchange rate, which is the best exchange rate you could get would mean the beneficiary would receive US$0.759 USD for every C$1*;
• If you’re transferring C$1,000 at the best exchange rate, the beneficiary would get C$758.75;
• Western Union offers an exchange rate of US$0.736 for every C$1;
• If you’re transferring C$1,000 at Western Union’s exchange rate, the beneficiary would get US$736;
• This means the beneficiary would get around three percent less due to Western Union’s markup on the exchange rate.

*Exchange rates correct as of mid-September 2019

What Are Interac e-Transfer Limits For Sending Money Internationally?

In addition to the costs, you'll also have limits imposed on the maximum amount that you can send internationally, depending on Western Union limits and limits set by your financial institution. Western Union limits are: “a maximum of C$999.99 per 24 hours, C$2,999.97 per seven days or C$6,999.93 per 30 days. Western Union Money Transfers must be a minimum of C$10.00 and must be sent from a Canadian dollar account.”

From reviewing other financial service businesses, these are relatively common transfer limit amounts. 

Customer Satisfaction

The Interac e-Transfer international service is designed to be fast and easy to use, allowing you to access everything you need from your online banking provider and pay directly online. The interface is available in English and French, with the Interac e-Transfer service being available through certain financial providers that may have other language options.

Speed

Once you’ve entered the beneficiary’s details and paid for the transfer, the money could be available to your beneficiary within 30 minutes. Some transfers do take longer depending on the country you’re sending to, amounts, currency and some other factors. You will be kept up-to-date on your money transfer, including when the beneficiary gets the funds.

Customer Support: Contacting Interac e-Transfer

If you make an international money transfer through your financial institution, your first contact point should be your bank or credit union. If you don’t get the support you need there, you can contact Interac as follows:

• Fill out the Interac e-Transfer Customer Support Form
• Email Interac at: etransfer_support@interac.ca 
• Call Interac at: 1-888-238-6433

Interac Offices

Interac is located at:

Royal Bank Plaza, North Tower
200 Bay Street, Suite 2400
P.O. Box 45, Toronto, ON M5J 2J1

You can find Western Union agent locations via Western Union’s website.

How To Send Money With Interac e-Transfer

Here’s how to use Interac’s international e-Transfer service:

1. Visit your banking website and log into online banking;
2. Go to the “Western Union money transfers via Interac e-Transfer” section;
3. Fill in the required information, the amount you’re sending, where you’re sending it, and details of the beneficiary;
4. Confirm and pay for your transfer and you’ll get a Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN);
5. Contact the beneficiary and let them know what the MTCN is;
6. The beneficiary should then visit a Western Union agent location;
7. Provide the MTCN with valid identification, typically a government-issued ID, passport or driver's license;
8. They can then get access to their funds, which will typically be paid out in cash;

According to Interac’s website, “A test question may be required for some or all money transfers received in certain international destinations, and in those destinations, the recipient may be required to provide either valid identification or the correct answer to the test question, or both, to receive the funds.”

Interac e-Transfer Mobile Applications

Interac does not currently provide mobile applications, although its services do interact with Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. You may be able to access the Interac e-transfer service through a mobile application offered by your banking provider.

Additional Perks and Services From Interac e-Transfer

In addition to Interac international transfers for consumers, the e-Transfer service can also be used as follows:

• For the direct transfer of funds between domestic bank accounts within Canada
• For small businesses wishing to transfer funds

Interac also provides a range of other services to Canadian individuals and businesses including digital payments, debit cards, ABM withdrawals and other solutions. 

Is Interac e-Transfer Right For You?

You have plenty of options for sending money overseas from Canada and many of those options will be less expensive than the Interac e-Transfer service. Here’s a quick comparison of how much the beneficiary will get if you’re sending C$1,000 to the United States, taking into account fees and exchange rates.

• Interac e-Transfer via Western Union: Beneficiary gets US$722.02
• With RemitBee, your beneficiary will get US$750.12, US$28 more than with Interac
• With TransferWise, your beneficiary will get US$746.73, US$25 more than with Interac
• With Transfast, your beneficiary will get US$746.22, US$24 more than with Interac
• With WorldRemit, your beneficiary will get US$744.24, US$22 more than with Interac

*Quotes correct as of mid-September 2019

Be sure to check out our comparison engine to find the best deal for sending money overseas: