Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation (“Interac”), Canada’s domestic debit network, is pleased to announce the participation of additional financial institutions offering Apple Pay to Interac debit cardholders.  Interac debit cardholders from BMO Financial Group, Scotiabank and TD can now use Apple Pay on supported Apple devices to make easy, secure and private contactless debit transactions when shopping at hundreds of thousands of merchants coast-to-coast. Today’s announcement follows last month’s launch of Apple Pay for Interac debit cards issued by CIBC and RBC.

“Today’s announcement brings mobile payments to the mainstream, with Canada’s five largest financial institutions now offering Apple Pay to Interac debit cardholders,” said Mark O’Connell, President and CEO, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. “With Canadians using Interac Debit more than any other payment card combined, the rollout of Interac on Apple Pay addresses the consumer demand for innovative payment solutions that enable Canadians to make purchases using their own money.” 

“We’ve heard from Interac debit cardholders across Canada who are eager to use Interac with Apple Pay,” said Avinash Chidambaram, VP, Product and Platform Development, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. “With today’s announcement marking the widespread availability of Apple Pay for Interac debit cardholders, we’re excited that even more Canadians will be able to experience the convenience and simplicity of making an Interac debit transaction using their iPhone or Apple Watch.”  

The rollout of Apple Pay for Interac debit cardholders follows the introduction of a number of new offerings by the Interac brand, such as Interac e-Transfer bulk disbursements and the Interac Token Service Provider (TSP). New solutions, leveraging the Interac TSP, are planned for the future. For example, Canadians will soon be able to use Interac for payments within merchant applications that use Apple Pay, meaning they can make In-App digital debit transactions securely and conveniently. 

Security 

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay, so when used with a payment card, the actual card numbers are not stored on the supported Apple device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element of the supported Apple device. 

Each Apple Pay transaction is also validated with a unique token (a dynamic security code). For Interac debit cardholders, this validation process occurs using theInterac TSP.  The Interac TSP service was developed in collaboration with IBM, a world leader in mobile and cloud computing, Bell ID, a global provider of tokenization software for mobile payments, and Everlink, a leading provider of integrated payment solutions and services. Since Apple Pay transactions using Interacare backed by the Interac brand, consumers are further protected from fraud with transaction limits and zero customer liability.

Availability

Apple Pay is available to all active Interac debit cards issued by BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank and TD. Your debit card does not have to be an Interac Flash® enabled card. In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. You will first need to add your debit card to the Apple Wallet to make mobile transactions.

Interac can be used with Apple Pay to buy goods and services across Canada in the hundreds of thousands of Canadian stores that already accept contactless payments. Just look for the contactless symbol on the payment terminal at checkout.