How to move money between your accounts with Interac e-Transfer

If you have accounts with multiple banks, you might often need to move funds between them. In Canada, Interac e-Transfer makes this easy. This guide will explore how to use Interac for fast and secure electronic money transfers between your Canadian bank accounts. We’ll also look at an alternative — Wise, which lets you send money both within Canada and abroad in over 40 currencies.

Can you e-Transfer to yourself from different banks?

You can send Interac e-Transfers between your accounts at different banks, as long as they’re Canadian bank accounts¹.

Is it possible to send an Interac e-Transfer to yourself?

Your bank may have limitations on using Interac e-Transfers, such as limits on how much money you can send and receive. For accounts where you’ve set up Autodeposit, you can also only register one email address or mobile number per account².

Which banks in Canada support this?

Over 300 financial institutions in Canada are part of the Interac network³, so you likely won’t have problems using it with your bank. To learn more about limitiations, you should check your bank’s individual policies.

How to transfer money between accounts with Interac

To send money with Interac, you’ll need a bank account with a participating financial institution in Canada, plus access to your financial institution’s online banking¹.

Your recipient should also have a Canadian bank account with a financial institution that offers Interac e-Transfers — to send money to them, you’ll need their email address and/or phone number¹.

Once you’re ready to make your transfer, follow these steps¹:

1. Sign in to your financial institution’s online banking.
2. Navigate to the Interac e-Transfer service.
3. Select the account you want to send money from.
4. Choose your recipient — if you’re sending money to them for the first time, you’ll need to manually enter their name, email address and/or mobile number.
5. If your recipient isn’t registered for Autodeposit, set up a security question for them to answer when they receive the transfer. Make sure the answer to the question isn’t obvious and isn’t written in the transfer memo field.
6. Enter the amount you want to send.
7. Follow the instructions given and verify the transfer details before sending.

When sending an Interac e-Transfer, you should be aware that deposits can’t be reversed once accepted⁴ — make sure you only send money to people you know and trust, or take necessary precautions if the recipient is someone you don’t know.

Are there fees for sending yourself an Interac e-Transfer?

Banks typically charge a fee to send Interac e-Transfers, but you might be able to send them for free depending on what type of account you have. Here’s an overview of the fees associated with Interac e-Transfers for the top Canadian banks.

Interac e-Transfer fees for personal accounts

What are the limitations of using Interac e-Transfer?

While Interac e-Transfers are useful for sending money within Canada, you typically can’t use them to send money abroad. Your bank may also have additional limits on how you can use Interac.

Transfer limits and restrictions

Banks set their own limits on how much money you can send with Interac. Here’s a look at some of them:

• RBC: up to $10,000 per day¹⁰, depending on your card limits⁵
• TD: up to $3,000 per transfer or per 24 hours, up to $10,000 per 7 days, and up to $20,000 per 30 days⁶
• CIBC: up to $3,000 per 24 hours, $10,000 per 7 days, and $30,000 per 30 days¹¹
• BMO: up to $2,000 per transfer or per 24 hours, up to $4,000 in pending transactions, and up to $7,500 per 30 days¹²
• Scotiabank: varies per customer¹³

No international Interac transfers

Canadian banks don’t allow international transfers using Interac, except for National Bank¹⁴. Other banks typically offer their own electronic international transfer services.

What to do if your bank doesn’t allow e-Transfers to yourself

If your bank doesn’t let you send e-Transfers to yourself or you need to send money to any foreign bank accounts you have, you can look into other options for transferring funds.

Wise as an alternative for moving money between accounts internationally

You can use Interac to add money to your Wise account. Wise lets you make seamless transfers between banks in over 40 currencies, whether you’re moving money domestically or internationally. You can also set up accounts in 22 currencies¹⁵, which means you’ll get foreign bank details without needing to open a bank account abroad.

Plus, when you exchange currency with Wise, you exchange it at the mid-market rate — that’s the value naturally determined by the market, with no hidden markups or fees.

Final tips for transferring between your own accounts

When using Interac e-Transfers, you should make sure to monitor transfer limits — keep in mind that they may vary depending on your bank. If you’re transferring money between your accounts on a regular basis, you can also check if your bank allows you to set up recurring transfers, to ensure your funds are always in the right place when you need them.

Sources:

1. 1. Interac | How to Send Money with Interac e-Transfer
   2. RBC | What is Autodeposit and how do I register?
   3. Interac | About Interac Corp.
   4. Interac | Frequently Asked Questions
   5. RBC | Help - Interac e-Transfer
   6. TD | What are the fees and limits to send or request money using INTERAC e-Transfer?
   7. CIBC | Service fees
   8. BMO
   9. Scotiabank | Day-to-Day Banking Companion Booklet
   10. RBC | Interac e-Transfer
   11. CIBC | How to send and receive money with Interac e-Transfer at CIBC
   12. BMO | Account Transfer Limits
   13. Scotiabank | What’s my Interac e-Transfer limit?
   14. Interac | National Bank Launches International Transfer by Mastercard and Interac
   15. Wise | Accounts