Interac Fees for Canadian Online Casino Payments

Usage Fees for Interac Casino Deposits

As an online casino goer making a deposit or requesting a withdrawal via Interac Debit for Online Payments (i.e. Interac Online), you’ll never be charged a fee – at least, not by Interac you won’t. Any fees incurred for such transactions will only be charged by your financial institution, as a way to make up for the fees Interac is charging them.

If you visit the Interac.ca website and look up the fee schedule for Interac Debit, Interac Debit for Online Payments, or even Inter E-Transfers, you’ll find all fees are charged to “Acquirers” and/or “financial Institutions” (FIs).

A statement on the Interac website describes the “Acquirer Service Fee”:

“Acquirers pay a flat fee to Interac Corp. for each completed transaction based on the customer’s purchase amount and merchant sector. The fee charged to Acquirers is a wholesale rate.”

Acquirers are the companies that are receiving a payment. If you make an Interac deposit with Royal Vegas Canada, then Royal Vegas Canada becomes the acquirer, responsible for paying the fee. The amount of that fee will depend on the type of Interac payment being made.

Fees for Interac Online Payments (Most Common)

When an online casino promotes Interac Online deposits (Interac Debit for Online Payments), every deposit the casino accepts will cost them (not you) somewhere between $0.115 and $0.465. The actual amount depends on the acquirer’s Tier level (business size) and the size of the payment being accepted.

According to Interac’s current fee schedule (as of June 2023), the acquirer will pay:

• $0.115 to Tier 1 Businesses (Small Business) for a transaction of up to $35
• $0.265 to Tier 2 Businesses (Large Business) for a transaction of up to $35
• $0.465 to All Businesses for a transaction of $35.01+

Interac E-Transfer Fees

An Interac E-Transfer is a different type of payment that takes place between the sender’s and recipient’s banks or credit unions. Once more, we find that Interac does not charge a fee to either account holder. It is the Financial Institutions (FIs) that are responsible for any fees.

Interac’s description of FI Service Fees states:

“Financial institutions (FIs) pay a flat fee to Interac Corp. that is based on tiered transaction volume for each Interac e-Transfer they send on behalf of their customers. The fee charged to FIs is a wholesale rate.”

This section of Interac’s fee schedule goes on to state that FIs “may” charge an Account/Transaction Fee to their customers for using the Interac E-Transfer service.

“Financial institutions (FIs) may charge their customers a fee for sending an Interac e-Transfer. Depending on the banking package, these could be free at your financial institution.”

The truth is, it’s very likely that you’ll be charged by your bank for initiating and/or receiving an Interac eTransfer. Certain types of bank/credit union accounts may waive the fees for these payments, or waive the fee for a certain number of Interac E Transfers each month; (e.g. ‘the first five are free, but after that, you’ll pay…’).

TD Bank, for instance, charges their basic banking members $0.50 for every Interac E-Transfer of up to $100, and $1.00 for every transfer over $100. You’ll have to check with your financial institution to see what fees, if any, you are responsible for.

What about Mobile Wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay?

You won’t be charged any fees for making an Interac Debit payment through a mobile wallet. Companies like Apple Pay and Google Pay incur small fees for transactions linked to Interac Debit cards. However, both Apple Pay and Google Pay make that money back. They charge a small fee to the merchants that accept their payment methods. As such, you – the customer – will never pay a fee to make a purchase or online casino deposit with Apple Pay or Google Pay. 

International Processing Fee for Offshore Casinos

If the online casino you’re playing at happens to be based outside of Canada (as so many of them are), the operator must also pay 150 BPS. If you aren’t sure what that means, don’t feel bad. I didn’t have a clue about it either! I did some investigating, and it turns out “BPS” stands for “Basis Points”.

According to Investopedia:

“Basis points (BPS) refers to a common unit of measure for interest rates and other percentages in finance. One basis point is equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%, or 0.0001, and is used to denote the percentage change in a financial instrument…”

By this definition, Interac charges international online casinos an annual rate of 150 BPS, or 1.5%, on the total of all transactions. For example, let’s assume a casino takes in $100,000 in Interac deposits over the course of the year. The casino would have to pay a 1.5% fee, or BPS, of $1,500.

Casinos Do Not Pass Interac Fees on to Customers

Unlike financial institutions, online casinos will not pass the bill on to you. Interac makes sure that the fees are so small that it’s worth it for gaming sites to absorb them. Online casinos get their money’s worth by requiring players to deposit a minimum amount with each transaction. The standard minimum is $10; an amount that costs the casino just $0.115. That’s easily low enough that the RTP on their games will ensure they’re making a long-term profit from their collective player base.

The BPS fee has the potential to hurt their bottom line, but it won’t. Every member of the casino would have to play games with an RTP of 1% or below, employing perfect strategy at all times, to destroy the operator’s profit. As we all know, slot machines are the overwhelming favorite of online casino goers. They come with an average RTP of 96%-97%. So again, their bottom line is perfectly safe.

What About My Bank – Will it Charge Me?

Most likely, yes. Banks and credit unions despise monetary responsibility. They will take every opportunity to pass fees on to their customers. If Interac charges them $1, the financial institution will charge the customer at least that much. They may even up the charge to $2, turning a profit in the process.

The good news – Interac casino deposits do not come with any charges that could be passed your way. They are always free, and instantaneous.

The bad news – Withdrawals almost always incur a fee. Whether you’re requesting your money via Interac or not, if the transfer is going straight to your bank, you can expect to pay something for it. Be sure to check with your financial institution to see what fees you may be responsible for.