EFT and Interac Payments - CAD

Nium supports local CAD payouts to Canada through two domestic payment rails:

EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) for same-day batch processing to Canadian bank accounts.
Interac e-Transfer for near real-time payouts to bank accounts enabled for auto-deposit.

Use EFT when you need broad bank account coverage and same-day settlement on business days.

Use Interac when you need faster delivery and the beneficiary can receive Interac transfers through auto-deposit.

Payment method details

The following table shows the values for each CAD payout rail.

Attribute	Interac	EFT
Payout method	`LOCAL`	`LOCAL`
Payout rail	`ca_interac`	`ca_eft` or blank
Routing code type	`BANK Code` `TRANSIT NUMBER`	`BANK Code` `TRANSIT NUMBER`
Delivery time	15 to 60 minutes	Same day
Availability	7 days a week	Business days only
Operating hours / cutoff	05:00 to 22:30 ET	18:00 ET
Transaction limit	CAD 0.01 to CAD 25,000	CAD 0.01 to CAD 99,000,000
Beneficiary coverage	Canadian bank accounts enabled for Interac auto-deposit	Canadian bank accounts that support EFT
Narrative	`remitter.name` and `customerComments` appear on the beneficiary statement	Not supported

EFT payments are processed in clearing batches during the business day.

All times below are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Window	Cutoff time	Funds available to Beneficiary
First window	04:00	11:30
Second window	13:00	18:30
Third window	18:00	23:00

If a payout is submitted before the applicable cutoff, funds are typically credited on the same business day.

CAD payouts follow the standard remittance lifecycle with additional Canada-specific status updates.

Step	Status	Description	Step type
1	SCHEDULED AWAITING_FUNDS CANCELLED EXPIRED FAILED INITIATED RFI_REQUESTED RFI_RESPONDED COMPLIANCE_COMPLETED REJECTED PG_PROCESSING	Standard payout lifecycle statuses. For definitions, see Track Payouts.	Generic
2	`SENT_TO_BANK`	EFT payouts are submitted to EFT clearing. Interac payouts are submitted to the Interac network.	Country-specific
3	`PAID`	For EFT, the payment has been successfully submitted to EFT clearing and is expected to complete based on the batch credit schedule. For Interac, the beneficiary has been credited, typically within 15 to 60 minutes.	Country-specific
4	`RETURN`	The payout was returned by the receiving bank or payment network, for example due to invalid account details, a closed account, or limit restrictions. Returns are typically received within 2 to 7 days.	Country-specific

For more information, see Payout Lifecycle.

note

For CAD EFT payouts, PAID can include the sub-statuses PROCESSED_BY_CLEARING and DEEMED_PAID. For more information, see Track Payouts.

The beneficiary structure is the same for EFT and Interac. The only rail-specific field is payoutRail.

Beneficiary field	Inline beneficiary field	Description
`payoutMethod`	`paymentAccount.payoutMethod`	Must be `LOCAL`.
`payoutRail`	`payoutRail`	Use `ca_interac` for Interac payouts. For EFT, this can be `ca_eft` or omitted.
`beneficiaryName`	`beneficiary.name`	Must match the beneficiary bank account name.
`beneficiaryAccountNumber`	`paymentAccount.accountNumber`	Canadian bank account number.
`beneficiaryBankCode`	`paymentAccount.bankCode`	3-digit bank code that identifies the bank.
`routingCodeType`	`paymentAccount.routingCode.type`	Must be `TRANSIT NUMBER`.
`routingCodeValue`	`paymentAccount.routingCode.value`	5-digit transit number that identifies the branch.
`beneficiaryCountryCode`	`beneficiary.addresses.countryCode`	Must be `CA`.
`beneficiaryAccountType`	`beneficiary.accountType`	Indicates whether the beneficiary is an individual or corporate entity.
`beneficiaryAddress`	`beneficiary.addresses.line1`	Required only for clients onboarded with the Nium Canada or Australia entity.

For more information, see Customer Onboarding

The following ISO return codes are commonly associated with CAD payouts to Canada.

ISO code	ISO definition	Reason	Resolution
`AC03`	InvalidCreditorAccountNumber	The beneficiary account number is invalid or does not exist at the receiving bank.	Verify the account number, bank code, and transit number with the beneficiary.
`AC04`	ClosedAccount	The beneficiary bank account is closed and cannot receive payments.	Confirm updated account details with the beneficiary before retrying the payout.