Interac® Debit on Samsung Pay now available in Canada

TORONTO, November 2017 – Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation (“Interac”) announced that Interac Debit on Samsung* Pay is now available in Canada, bringing the convenience, security and privacy of contactless transactions to customers with debit cards issued by participating financial institutions and who use supported Samsung devices. Today’s announcement means consumers with debit cards issued by ATB Financial, CIBC and Scotiabank that have a Galaxy A5, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S8 and S8+, and Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy Note5, can now use Interac Debit on Samsung Pay to pay for purchases at hundreds of thousands of merchant locations in Canada, wherever Interac Flash payments are accepted.

“Interac Debit continues to be the most-used payment method in Canada, and by making it available through Samsung Pay, we’re ensuring that even more Canadians will be able to use it to make mobile payments directly from their bank account,” said Mark O’Connell, President and CEO, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. “This is part of our ongoing commitment to offer Canadians a broad range of fast and secure payment options, including the convenience of paying with their mobile device.” 

The launch of Interac Debit on Samsung Pay is the latest innovation from Interac, working in partnership with technology companies and financial institutions, to provide consumers and merchants with payment solutions and exceptional user experiences in an increasingly digital world. 

“We’re happy to expand our Samsung Pay offering to Interac Debit customers throughout Canada and offer them a seamless mobile payment solution that is simple, safe and convenient,” said Paul Brannen, COO and Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Canada

Security

Interac is a world-class debit payment network with one of the lowest rates of fraud globally in debit or credit. All Interac mobile solutions use multiple layers of security, including encryption, passcode verification and transaction limits, in addition to offering consumer protections through Interac Zero Liability policy**.

When a cardholder adds Interac Debit on Samsung Pay to their device, a Virtual Account Number is created which is unique to that device and different from the physical card number. The virtual card number is used to make purchases using Samsung Pay, with all transactions going through the Interac Token Service Provider (TSP), a proprietary token platform that generates a sequence of numbers valid for a single transaction only.

For additional security, each Interac Debit purchase using Samsung Pay is protected by Samsung’s device unlock, which requires the user’s fingerprint, iris or PIN to authenticate a purchase.

Availability

Interac Debit on Samsung Pay is available to all active debit cards issued by ATB Financial, CIBC and Scotiabank*, including cards that are not Interac Flash enabled, through the Galaxy A5, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S8 and S8+, and Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy Note5 devices. Consumers can use Interac Debit on Samsung Pay at hundreds of thousands of merchant locations across Canada where contactless payments are accepted. Just look for the contactless symbol on the payment terminal at checkout..

Convenience

The Samsung Pay app is available to download exclusively in the Samsung Galaxy Apps Store. To use Interac Debit on Samsung Pay to make a purchase, just swipe-up from the home button on a supported Samsung device or open the Samsung Pay app from the home screen. Then select the card by swiping left or right, use a fingerprint, iris or four-digit PIN for authentication, and hold the back of the device near the contactless terminal at checkout. Interac Debit on Samsung Pay transactions will appear on a customer’s bank statement the same way as any Interac Flash payments currently appear.

About Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation

Together, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation operate an economical, world-class debit payments system with broad-based acceptance, 24/7/365 reliability, security, and efficiency. The organization is Canada’s leading payments brand and is chosen an average of 16 million times daily to pay and exchange money. For more than 30 years, it has facilitated secure financial transactions through the development of innovative and convenient digital debit and money transfer solutions. A leader in the prevention and detection of fraud, the organization has one of the lowest rates of fraud globally. Visit interac.ca or follow us @INTERAC.