How Long Does an e-Transfer Take? (2025)

Financial JournalistChristopher Liew, CFA
Christopher Liew is a CFA Charterholder and has held several roles in the finance industry. He’s worked as an investment wholesaler at Sentry and CI Financial, a financial advisor at RBC, and an energy trader at Enmax. He is Alberta-based while he’s in Canada, but spends much of his time working and living in other countries. Christopher speaks English and studied accounting and finance at the University of Alberta. He is one of the founders of Wealth Awesome where he has written articles and created videos for our subscriber base of over 20,000 Canadian investors.

Expertises: finance, investment, stocks, retirement, canada
How Long Does an e-Transfer Take
 

Looking to transfer money quickly to someone you know? e-Transfers are the way to go.

But exactly how long does an e-transfer take?

Let’s answer this and more below.

How Long Do E-Transfers Take?

How Long Does An E-Transfer Take Infographics

According to Interac, e-Transfers are mostly instantaneous, though they might sometimes take up to 30 minutes.

Several factors can determine if an e-Transfer you initiate or receive will be instantaneous or will take 30 minutes or more.

These factors include:

  • The bank or credit union you use to execute the e-Transfer and its fraud detection system
  • The bank or credit union used by the recipient to receive the funds 
  • The amount you are sending since a higher amount sometimes triggers more stringent scrutiny
  • Whether the bank or credit union you are sending e-Transfer from executes each transfer request separately or in batches
  • The recipient’s auto-deposit feature
  • Whether it’s a first-time transfer  

The most critical variable in determining how long an e-Transfer take is usually the financial institution you sent it from.

For instance, e-Transfers initiated with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are almost always instantaneous. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and Bank of Montreal (BMO) e-Transfers also tend to be instant in most cases.  On the other hand, the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) tend to be relatively slower.

The amount is also an essential factor. If you are sending smaller amounts, like under $100, the e-Transfer might be instantaneous. Most banks and credit unions also have an undisclosed threshold amount, which, when exceeded, may be delayed, and, when met, might be instantaneous.

In credit unions, Tangerine offers two types of Interac e-Transfers. One is usually instant, but it costs a small fee. The free one, meanwhile, might take up to three days to process.

Despite the fast transactions, however, some financial institutions officially stated that there are also instances that it might take several hours for an e-Transfer to complete. In fact, quite a few cases involved e-Transfers taking as much as 24 hours. 

If you have an account with RBC, TD, or even BMO, chances are high that all of the e-Transfers you send will be instantaneous, regardless of the amount. But if you are using other financial institutions, your e-Transfers might take 30 minutes or more.

Another variable in the equation is Interac’s own system, but there is nothing you can do about that. 

What Is an e-Transfer and How Does It Work?

An Interac e-Transfer is a fast and convenient way to send money online between bank accounts or credit union accounts. Money can easily be transferred between from your online banking portal.

According to Payments Canada, cash accounted for 18.4% of the financial transactions in 2019 and only 0.9% of the total value of transactions.

Even though it has its limitations, such as the amount you can transfer, many people prefer e-Transfer over Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for one reason: it saves you a lot of time. Another benefit is that you don’t have to exchange banking details to execute the transfer. 

For Interac e-Transfers, Interac becomes an intermediary in transferring funds between one Canadian bank account or credit union account and another.  It leverages two communication endpoints: email and phone.

If you wish to execute an e-Transfer to someone, the first step is to initiate a request with the financial institution you have an account. The intended recipient will then get an email and/or a text message providing them with the link that will allow them to deposit the money into their preferred bank account or credit union.

Interac e-Transfers come with a security question that the recipient will have to answer to complete the transfer. The answer is either something you and the recipient both know or something you can communicate to them, preferably using a channel other than email or a text message for security reasons.

Why Would an e-Transfer Be Pending? When Does It Expire?

Apart from delayed or slow e-Transfers, pending e-Transfers can be another source of frustration. There are a few reasons it might happen:

  • You have put a landline number instead of a mobile number in the contact details. It’s usually not an issue if you have also provided the correct email address of the recipient, but if you haven’t, your e-Transfer will not execute, and you’ll receive a notification.
  • You provided incorrect contact information or didn’t send in a valid security question. 
  • The financial institution of the recipient has flagged the e-Transfer as suspicious. 
  • The recipient has an auto-deposit feature, and their financial institution is still processing the request. Cases like this might take 24 hours.

There might be another reason, though, why your e-Transfer is pending. You can see the status of your e-Transfers with your online bank account.

Once the e-Transfer is processed and available for the recipient, the expiration clock starts to tick. Interac e-Transfers expire after 30 days, and if the recipient hasn’t accepted the transfer by then, you will have two options. You can either resend the transfer or cancel it and get your money back.

Tracking Your e-Transfer

The thing with an instantaneous money transfer, especially if the recipient has turned auto-deposits on, is that it will go through right away. So you won’t have to track the payment.

Still, the information regarding the status of your e-Transfer (i.e., whether it has been processed, whether it’s been received but waiting, or whether it’s still pending) will be available on your online bank account.  

How Can You Stop or Cancel an e-Transfer Before It Goes Through?

Once a recipient has received the e-Transfer, there is no way to get it back. That’s what makes it such an attractive target for financial fraudsters.

However, up until the e-Transfer has gone through, you can cancel it by logging into your bank or credit union account.

But if the recipient has the auto-deposit feature turned on, and your financial institution doesn’t delay processing your payment, it would be virtually impossible to cancel an e-Transfer.

Is an e-Transfer Safe? What Can You Do to Make It Safer?

Is an e-Transfer Safe? What Can You Do to Make It Safer?

Yes. An e-Transfer is protected using the same protocols as any other transfer between two financial institutions.

In a way, it’s relatively safer compared to regular transfer because you don’t have to expose your bank account information for an e-Transfer. However, since it’s executed using email, the safety of e-Transfers is tied quite tightly to the safety of your email. 

There are a few things you can do to both send and receive e-Transfers safely: 

  • Choose a strong security question. Otherwise, if your recipient’s email has been hacked, and you’ve sent a security question, the answer to which can easily be found on the recipient’s social media accounts or email history, your transfer will fall into the wrong hands.
  • If you have to send the answer, choose a channel that’s different from email and even SMS. You can call them, tell them in person, use a messenger, or use a different email address.
  • Don’t turn the auto-deposit feature on. Auto-deposits can be secure until a hacked email account is used to connect a different bank account (the hacker’s) to receive the funds. 
  • Make your emails as secure as possible. You can use a password manager to set and update complex passwords to your email or use two-factor authentication to make it nearly impossible for hackers to get into your email account.

Interac e-Transfer vs Wire Transfer: What’s The Difference?

A wire transfer is a method of transferring funds electronically either within Canada or across international borders.

These transfers can be made through banks, credit unions, and other providers like Western Union. There are two primary types: domestic (within Canada) and international.

While domestic transfers can arrive in as little as a day, international transfers can take up to five days and often come with higher fees.

Interac e-Transfers, on the other hand, are primarily used within Canada, allowing businesses and individuals to transfer money between accounts.

Unlike wire transfers, which rely on bank account details, Interac e-Transfers use the recipient’s email address or phone number for identification (similar to how Zelle works in the US).

The main benefit of Interac e-Transfers is that they’re very quick and funds can usually be sent or received within 30 minutes. The only drawback is that Interac imposes transfer limits, which means it’s not a good choice for those who need to send a larger sum of money.

Here’s a quick table outlining the key differences between Interac e-Transfers and traditional wire transfers:

Interac e-TransferBank Wire Transfer
Money is instantly transferred (typically within 30 minutes or less)Domestic wire transfers may be processed within one business day, intl. wire transfer may take several days
Transactions are confirmed using the recipients phone number or email addressTransactions are confirmed using the recipient’s bank account and routing numbers
Interac imposes transaction limits on how much can be transferred within a day or a single transactionThere are no transaction limits for bank wires
Interact is used for transfers between CanadiansBank wire transfers may be domestic or international
Interac e-Transfers have very low feesWire transfers can come with higher fees (especially intl. transfers)

Apps To Transfer Money Between Banks In Canada

Transferring money through Interac is safe, secure, and fast, which is why the platform has become so popular. However, there are several other apps that Canadians can use to send money to each other.

1. Wise

Wise (formerly Transferwise) is my go-to platform for transferring money internationally. When you open a Wise account, it’s essentially a multi-currency bank account that allows you to hold money in over 40 currencies, including CAD, USD, EUR, JPY, and others.

You can link your Wise account to your Canadian bank account and easily transfer money between the two. The best part is that the fees are incredibly low. Depending on where I am transferring my money, I typically pay around $10 in fees to transfer $1,000, which is far lower than the fees charged by PayPal or wire transfer services like Western Union.

As a digital nomad, Wise has been particularly helpful when it comes to sending and receiving money internationally.

When I do freelance work globally, it’s not uncommon for me to get paid in foreign currencies. I simply ask them to send the money to my Wise multi-currency account, where I can then convert it to CAD and send it to my Canadian bank account.

You can read my full review of Wise here.

2. PayPal

PayPal has over 435 million users worldwide, making it one of the largest money transfer services on the globe. While it’s known for being secure, it’s also developed a reputation for charging hefty transfer fees and can often be unreliable.

For instance, many users complain about transfers getting held up for days at a time when they’re supposed to be instant.

It’s also not uncommon for small businesses, vendors, and even personal accounts to have their accounts suddenly shut down for no reason and have their account funds held for months before being released.

I have a PayPal account that I use periodically, but it’s definitely not my go-to.

3. Wealthsimple Cash

Wealthsimple is one of Canada’s top fintech companies and offers a number of services, including:

  • Trading and investing
  • Automated robo-investing
  • Cryptocurrency exchange

The platform also allows Wealthsimple users to easily transfer money between each other for free through the Wealthsimple Cash feature.

Conclusion

The answer to “how long does an e-Transfer take?” depends upon numerous factors, most prominently, the bank or credit union used to initiate the transfer and the amount you want to send. It’s safe as long as you’ve taken appropriate security measures.

I hope this article has demystified some of your questions regarding e-Transfers. If your experience has been different, share your e-Transfer times with us in the comments. This will help us reassess our take on how long an e-Transfer takes.

Not sure how much you can transfer? Read more about Interact e-transfer limits here.

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