Yes, banks can and do hold Interac e-Transfer funds, although they are generally designed for near-instant, real-time, or 30-minute processing. Holds may be placed for security reasons (e.g., fraud investigation, first-time transfers), or if the transaction is suspected to be fraudulent. While Autodeposit can speed up the process, banks still retain the right to hold funds to comply with security regulations.
c) When an Interac e-Transfer transaction is sent to you, the sending financial institution will hold the funds for you until you either deposit the transferred funds, the Interac e-Transfer transaction is cancelled, or the Interac e-Transfer transaction expires.
If you need to move larger amounts of money, however, your options are either an EFT or Mobile Cheque Deposit, but a hold period applies to both.
Sending money through Interac e-Transfer† is as simple as sending an email . Funds are received instantly in most cases, but in some cases can take up to 30 minutes.
If you're waiting in vain for an Interac e-Transfer to go through, there could be a few reasons behind the delay. First off, the speed of a transfer can vary based on your bank. If they're closed for the day or their servers are slower than usual, it might take longer for that e-Transfer to get processed.
If you were expecting an Interac e-Transfer but didn't receive it, check your spam folders or contact the sender to make sure they have the correct email address. If the sender uses an email that you've registered for Autodeposit, the transfer is processed immediately and cannot be reversed.
Transferring money between banks can take one to five business days, depending on the banks involved and the transfer method you choose. Bank transfers are a way to get money to someone else without using physical cash.
The receiving bank is still processing the money
But some banks are slower than others — they might take up to 1 working day for them to release the money. So your money's safely on its way, but the recipient bank is still processing it. Your recipient can ask their bank to speed this up.
While e-transfers are a common way for people to send and receive money, these digital transactions are also targeted and used by scammers to steal money. E-transfers are favoured by scammers because they're difficult to recover. Once they've been deposited, e-transfers cannot be reversed, even when fraud is involved.
When we process an instruction after the cut-off times, on public holidays, and when there is more than 1 public holiday back-to-back, it can take up to 3 business days for us to process a transaction and for you to receive the money into your account.
Please be aware Interac does not hold funds and is unable to trace funds. Issues affecting the Interac e-Transfer service must be reported to your financial institution for investigation and resolution, as your bank account and relationship is held by them.
In many cases, a hold will resolve itself after the standard waiting period of two to five business days. In other instances, you may have to contact your financial institution to pre-approve what they might believe to be a suspicious purchase or ask them to lift a hold you believe was placed in error.
First-time and some other transfers may be held for 24 hours though as a security measure. Your account balance and available balance will be updated immediately in NetBank once you make the transfer.
Once fraudsters have access to your email account, they're able to see the notifications and links for your e-Transfer transactions. Fraudsters can either guess the correct security answer, use previous answers or check for emails containing the security question and answer to redirect the funds into their accounts.
You should immediately report any unauthorized transaction to your financial institution. If you took the necessary steps to protect your PIN, you should get your money back. You're not responsible for losses that result from circumstances beyond your control, which include: technical problems.
Common reasons why payment reversals occur include:
If money is transferred but not received, it's usually delayed, not lost; check details for errors (name, account number), contact your bank/provider immediately for a trace (SWIFT for international), check processing times, and be aware that wrong info can block funds, but providers often help correct issues quickly before release.
Double check the account numbers before you send a transfer.
You could lose your money if you mistakenly provide wrong account or routing numbers. If the money does not go to the account you intended, you may not be able to get it back.
If transfers take longer than expected, delays can result from factors such as the timing of the transfer, destination, currencies involved, security checks, or bank holidays. Common causes include: Bank Cut-off Times and Time Zone Difference.
It can take up to 30 minutes for your recipient to receive the Interac e-Transfer, including accounts registered for autodeposit.
A payment hold means a temporary delay in making funds available after a transaction. The money is still in process — not lost or denied. This is not the same as a failed transaction, which doesn't go through at all. Instead, it's a delay while the system checks that everything is correct.
What are the Common Reasons for Delays in Bank Transfers?