Interac e-Transfers®

Sending (or, even better, receiving!) money is a breeze with Interac e-Transfers®!

You can send (or receive) Interac e-Transfers® through Sunova GO Web or Sunova GO. There is a $1.50 non-refundable fee for sending an Interac e-Transfer® (unless included in your account package). Sunova does not charge a fee to receive an Interac e-Transfer®.

frequently asked questions

What is an Interac e-Transfer®?

An Interac e-Transfer® allows members to transfer money from Sunova GO Web and Sunova GO to any other person who has an email address and an account at a participating Canadian credit union or bank.

Is it secure?

Yes! Interac e-Transfers® are very secure. The money is not sent by email or text message; only the notification travels over the internet to advise the recipient that the transfer has been initiated and to give instructions on how to deposit the money. The funds remain safely at the financial institution and are transferred through existing payment networks that have been used for years to settle cheques and for bank machine deposits and withdrawals.

The system’s built-in security features include:

• Confidential login issued by your financial institution.
• The latest encryption technology.
• Security question to ensure only the intended recipient can access the money being transferred.
• Option to register your email address for Autodeposit

What is Autodeposit?

Autodeposit allows you to send and receive e-Transfers without having to answer a security question. It gives you peace of mind, knowing someone can’t intercept the transfer and guess your question.

How much does it cost to send or receive an Interac e-Transfer®?

There will be a non-refundable $1.50 charge for this service (unless included in your account package), which is withdrawn from your account at the time you complete the transaction.

See account package details here.

Sunova does not charge a fee to receive an Interac e-Transfer®, but other financial institutions may.

Can I request money from someone using Interac e-Transfer®?

Yes! If someone owes you money, you can send him or her a request for the funds using Interac e-Transfer^®. The recipient will receive a notification and if they accept, the money will be automatically deposited into your account.

How long does an Interac e-Transfer® take?

When you send an Interac e-Transfer®, the funds are withdrawn from your account immediately. The amount of time it takes for a recipient to receive an Interac e-Transfer® to his or her email address depends on internet connectivity, including the recipient’s email system. It can take up to 30 minutes or longer for an Interac e-Transfer® to arrive.

Who can I send an Interac e-Transfer® to?

Interac e-Transfers® allow you to securely send money to anyone with an email address or mobile phone number and a Canadian deposit account.

Please note: If the recipient’s financial institution does not yet offer Interac e-Transfer® services, or if they don’t bank online, he or she can still receive Interac e-Transfers®. In the notice the recipient gets when they are sent an Interac e-Transfer®, there is a link to the CertaPay website. By registering with CertaPay and providing banking information, he or she can receive the e-Transfer. The deposit usually takes four to six business days to process and a fee will be deducted from the deposit amount.

Are there limits on the amounts I can send and receive?

Yes, please see the list below:

Is there a minimum amount required to send an Interac e-Transfer®?

Nope! There is no minimum amount required.

Can I make an Interac e-Transfer® from my phone?

You sure can! Download Sunova GO and transfer as often as you like!

Can I cancel an Interac e-Transfer® once I send it?

You can cancel an Interac e-Transfer® in Sunova GO Web or Sunova GO if the recipient has not deposited the money. The money will be re-deposited into your account.

How long does a recipient of an Interac e-Transfer® have to deposit the money?

A recipient has 30 days to deposit the money. After 60 days, the money will be automatically re-deposited to your account. It can take up to seven business days after the 60 day expiry period for the money to be re-deposited to your account. (Please note that you can cancel an e-Transfer anytime.)

Can the recipient decline the transfer?

A recipient can decline to deposit an Interac e-Transfer®. In this case, Interact e-Transfer® will email the sender that the recipient declined the deposit. They can then follow the instructions in the email to deposit the money back into his or her account.

Funds may become unclaimed due to the following scenarios:

• The recipient declines the transfer
• The recipient responds incorrectly to the security question
• The recipient ignores the transfer notification

If my Interac e-Transfer^® was not accepted, how can I reclaim the funds?

An Interac e-Transfer^® will expire after 30 days if the recipient does not claim it. If this happens, Interac will email you to let you know that the funds were not claimed.

To reclaim your funds, login to Sunova GO Web* and follow these steps:

1. Navigate to ‘transfer funds’ from the dashboard. Then, select ‘Interac e-Transfers’ from the transfer menu.
2. Agree to the Interac e-Transfer agreement.
3. Select the account you initiated the original transfer from.
4. Click ‘checkout’.
5. Under transfers, select ‘View / Resend / Cancel Pending Transfers’. You will see a list of pending transfers.
6. You may either ‘resend notice’ or ‘cancel’ the transfer. As soon as you cancel the transfer, the initial withdrawal will be reversed.

*Please note, at this time you may only reclaim funds through Sunova GO Web, not Sunova GO (the app)

I received an ‘invalid error message’ when sending an Interac e-Transfer®, what does that mean?

Using invalid characters in the comment field box may produce an invalid error message. These characters include: – , & , _, #, % and various ‘brackets’. To avoid getting this error message, please don’t include these in the comment field box when sending an Interac e-Transfer®.

Can personal accounts with two or more signatures use the Interac e-Transfer® feature?

This service is not available for any personal accounts that require two or more signatures to perform transactions.

Can I send an Interac e-Transfer® from a branch?

For security reasons, you can only send money by email via Sunova’s online banking portal, Sunova GO Web, and from our app, Sunova GO.

Can I deposit an Interac e-Transfer® into a bank account in another country?

No, you will not be able to deposit your Interac e-Transfer® to a foreign bank account. This service is currently only available to those who bank at a participating Canadian financial institution with a Canadian currency account. If you have received an Interac e-Transfer® but do not have a Canadian bank account, ask your sender to cancel the transfer. Once the transfer is cancelled, the funds will be re-deposited in the sender’s account. If you cannot contact the sender, the transfer will automatically expire after about 30 days and the sender will receive a notification to redeposit the funds.

What should I use for my security question?

Each time you set up an Interac e-Transfer® recipient, you’ll be prompted to create a unique security question and answer for that recipient – this question will accompany any e-transfer you send to this recipient as a security measure. The recipient will need to know the answer before he or she can access the money you’ve sent. The best way to communicate the answer to the recipient is by phone or in-person.

The security answer must follow these guidelines:

• Must be one word.
• No blank spaces.
• Must be between 6 – 25 characters.
• Must not contain special characters (i.e. $, #, @, &, etc.).
• The answer is not case sensitive and both letters and numbers are accepted.
• If the answer is a date, the format is dd-mm-yyyy (i.e. 22-03-2011).

What happens if the recipient answers the security question incorrectly?

The sender will receive an email or text message advising that the recipient answered the security question incorrectly. The notification will contain instructions for reclaiming and depositing the money.