Apple Pay Network Expands with Interac in Canada

Interac cardholders from BMO, Scotiabank, and TD can access Apple Pay on supported devices to make private contactless transactions.

Interac, Canada’s domestic debit network, has welcomed the participation of additional financial institutions offering Apple Pay. Cardholders from BMO, Scotiabank, and TD can now access the platform on supported devices to make secure and private contactless transactions.

The move increases convenience for shoppers at hundreds of thousands of merchants coast-to-coast. The announcement follows last month’s launch of Apple Pay for Interac debit cards issued by CIBC and RBC and the recent debut of offerings like the Interac e-Transfer bulk disbursements and Token Service Provider.

Meanwhile, new solutions leveraging the TSP are planned for the future. For example, Canadians will soon be able to use Interac for payments within merchant applications which use Apple Pay, meaning they can make In-App digital debit transactions securely and conveniently.

“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,” said Avinash Chidambaram, VP, Product and Platform Development at Interac.

In terms of security, when used with a payment card, the actual card numbers are not stored on the supported device or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and stored in the Secure Element of the supported Apple device.

Each transaction is also validated with a dynamic security code. The service was developed in collaboration with IBM, Bell ID, a global specialist in tokenisation software for mobile payments, and Everlink, a provider of integrated payment solutions and services.

In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch. A user will first need to add the debit card in question to the Apple Wallet to make mobile transactions. Beyond that, he or she has to just look for the contactless symbol on the payment terminal at checkout.

Apple is a winner of the 2015-2016 World Branding Awards under the Mobile Phones (Global) category. The brand also dominated in said segment the year (2014-2015) before.