What is Interac debit?
Interac is Canada’s own debit network. When a customer pays with their bank card and taps, or inserts it and enters a PIN, the sale usually runs on Interac.
To take Interac debit, you need an acquirer. Interac describes this as “a payment processor so you can accept payments online, in store, or on the go.”
There are three layers of fees. Only one of them is a fee you pay.
| Fee | Who pays whom | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Switch fee | Banks and processors pay Interac | $0.013985 per chip, PIN or tap sale. Rising to $0.014438 on Nov. 1, 2026 |
| Interchange | Your processor pays your customer’s bank | Tap: a few cents per sale (table below). Chip and PIN: Interac’s page says set at zero |
| Processor fee | You pay your processor | Set by your contract |
Interac’s fee page says the switch fee “is the only fee charged by Interac Corp. in connection with Interac Debit transactions.” It also says the processor fee “varies depending on individual contracts that merchants have” with their processors.
Flat fee versus percentage
Here is the part that matters for your bill. Processors charge for Interac debit in different ways. Two published examples, as listed on the day we checked:
- Helcim shows two figures for tap. Its pricing page (helcim.com/pricing) lists Interac debit at 9 cents a sale, or 12 cents for tap. Its fee disclosure page (legal.helcim.com/ca/fee-disclosures) lists 9.0 cents for chip and PIN and 12.5 cents for tap (“Flash (NFC/Tap)”) at Tier 1, its lowest volume tier. The table below uses the pricing page figure.
- Square Canada lists in-person debit at 0.75% + 7 cents a sale.
Other processors have their own rates. Some only quote them on request.
A flat fee stays the same whatever the sale. A percentage grows with the sale. Neither is right or wrong. It depends on what your sales look like.
How a flat fee compares with a percentage, by sale size
Here is the arithmetic, using the two published rates above for a tap sale. These are each provider’s processor fees only, as listed on the day we checked. Monthly fees, if any, are not included.
| Sale | Flat 12 cents (Helcim pricing page, tap) | 0.75% + 7 cents (Square Canada, debit) |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.12 | $0.11 |
| $10 | $0.12 | $0.15 |
| $40 | $0.12 | $0.37 |
| $100 | $0.12 | $0.82 |
| $250 | $0.12 | $1.95 |
The two lines cross between $5 and $10. Below that, the percentage comes out smaller. Above it, the flat fee does. Your own result depends on your average sale.
Interac makes a related point on its own business page: “With a small average sale amount, Interac Debit and credit can often have similar fees.”
Interac Flash and contactless
Tap sales on Interac are often labelled Interac Flash. TD’s April 2026 rate sheet lists Interac’s tap interchange as “Interac Flash Rates”, and TD’s sample statement uses the same name.
Interac charges a flat interchange on each tap sale. The amount depends on the size of the sale and the type of business:
| Sale amount | Tier | Who | Per sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01 to $100 | Tier 1 | Low-ticket businesses in listed categories, such as fast food, convenience stores, bakeries, taxis, car washes and parking | $0.020 |
| $0.01 to $100 | Tier 2 | Businesses with at least 20 million Interac tap sales in the previous calendar year | $0.025 |
| $0.01 to $100 | Tier 3 | All other businesses | $0.035 |
| $100.01 to $250 | Tier 4 | All businesses | $0.055 |
The grocery and convenience stores page shows which tiers those stores fall in.
Your processor pays this to your customer’s bank. Whether it shows up on your statement depends on your pricing. On an interchange plus plan you may see it as its own line. On a flat plan it is inside the rate.
The tap limit. Interac says tap limits are set by each customer’s bank and are typically $250. Above that, the customer inserts the card and enters a PIN.
Online Interac debit
Interac debit also works online through Apple Pay and Google Pay. The interchange there is a percentage, not a flat amount. Interac’s default tier is 0.60% per sale, capped at $1.80 on sales of $300. Larger businesses in some categories get 0.575% or 0.55%.
Surcharges
Interac’s fee page sets out the rules for in-person debit:
- Merchants may not add a surcharge for Interac debit themselves.
- A surcharge can only be applied by your acquirer and must be printed on the transaction record.
- It is capped at $0.25.
- The customer must be told and must be able to cancel at no cost.
For online Interac debit through Apple Pay and Google Pay, Interac says no surcharge is allowed at all.
Where to go from here
A statement’s debit section shows the number of debit sales and their total, which give the average sale. Each processor charges either a flat amount or a percentage for debit. The table above shows how much that difference matters at each sale size.
For how card networks price everything else, read What Is Interchange?. For more on taking cards in Canada, see card processing in Canada. Want a partner to review your statement? We will put you in touch. Start the free statement review.