DCPayments adds Interac e-Transfer to Canadian checkout

DCPayments has added Interac e-Transfer Business Request Money to its online checkout service for Canadian merchants, letting them offer the bank-based payment method alongside credit cards.

The rollout brings Interac e-Transfer into the checkout flow instead of requiring customers to complete a separate payment after placing an order. Buyers can choose the option at checkout and approve the payment through a participating financial institution without leaving the merchant's purchase journey.

The feature is available through DCPayments' transaction acquiring service and targets merchants looking for an alternative to card payments, particularly for higher-value purchases. It connects the payment request, transaction status, and order confirmation in one process, reducing the need for businesses to manually match incoming transfers with orders.

Interac e-Transfer is already widely used in Canada, with more than 1.6 billion transactions processed last year. By extending that familiarity into online commerce, DCPayments is offering merchants another payment option as businesses weigh the cost of card acceptance and the operational burden of payment reconciliation.

Checkout shift

In a typical Interac e-Transfer transaction for a business, a merchant provides an email address and payment instructions, then staff reconcile the incoming transfer against an order. DCPayments has built a different flow that keeps the payment process inside checkout and links customer approval directly to the purchase.

The system uses technology DCPayments previously deployed for wallet-funding transactions. As a result, the new option is built on an existing payment framework rather than as a standalone product, allowing merchants already using DCPayments to add the service through its acquiring setup.

The commercial case rests largely on cost and settlement. Merchants can use the option as an additional payment method or steer customers toward it for larger transactions, where percentage-based card fees can weigh more heavily on margins.

Payments are completed and settled in near real time to a merchant's DCPayments wallet, including outside standard business hours. By contrast, card transactions are commonly settled no earlier than the next business day.

Merchant use cases

DCPayments identified Professional Services firms, contractors, home-services businesses, education providers, and online retailers with higher average transaction values as likely users. Those sectors often handle larger bills or invoiced purchases, making payment fees and cash timing more material to day-to-day operations.

Another selling point is the absence of chargebacks on the Interac e-Transfer Business Request Money flow described by DCPayments. That could appeal to merchants that face disputes and the costs tied to them when accepting cards, especially in categories where fulfilment and proof of delivery can become contentious.

DCPayments also argued that adding another familiar payment option could help merchants reduce checkout abandonment among customers who do not want to use a credit card. In Canada, Interac e-Transfer has become a common way for consumers to move money directly from bank accounts, and that existing behaviour may support take-up when presented at checkout.

"Many Canadian businesses already see the value of account-based payments, but the experience often sits outside their normal checkout process," said Pamela Draper, President of DCPayments.

She said the new setup is intended to bring that payment behaviour into a standard eCommerce environment. "Bringing Interac e-Transfer Business Request Money into checkout gives merchants a more efficient way to accept payments while offering customers a familiar and convenient way to pay," Draper said.

Payments landscape

The move reflects broader competition in online payments as providers look beyond cards and digital wallets to account-to-account methods. For merchants, the appeal is often lower transaction costs, faster access to funds, and simpler reconciliation. Consumers, meanwhile, are offered a route that relies on online banking authentication rather than card entry.

DCPayments is part of Digital Commerce Group, a Calgary-based financial technology group that also includes Digital Commerce Bank and Pateno. The group has operated in payments for more than 25 years and focuses on card issuing, domestic real-time payments, and digital wallet services.

The launch is another example of Canadian payments companies trying to embed bank-based payment methods more directly into eCommerce infrastructure. For merchants already accepting Interac e-Transfer outside checkout, the main change is that the payment request, transaction status, and customer order remain connected throughout the process.