EFT and Interac e-Transfer

Q: Which has the higher limit?

An EFT uses a ten-digit amount field. Your bank sets the limit available to your business. Interac says an e-Transfer for Business can be up to $25,000, depending on your financial institution and account type. An amount above that limit goes by EFT or wire.

Use EFT for scheduled payments and collections to known accounts. Use Interac e-Transfer for one-off payments up to $25,000 when you have the recipient's email address.

Updated November 3, 2026

What EFT Rails does

EFT Rails lets your business send a payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or by Interac e-Transfer, with the method chosen for each payment. An e-Transfer to a counterparty needs their email address. An e-Transfer that EFT Rails receives is final and available without a hold because it cannot be taken back. When a customer sends an e-Transfer independently, with no payment behind it, EFT Rails shows an arrival with the message they typed. The API reference documents the payment API.

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What each one is

Both services move money between Canadian bank accounts, but they address and schedule payments differently. One works from banking details and payment dates. The other can work from contact details and delivers throughout the day.

An EFT payment is a dated instruction to credit or debit a known account. The sender assigns its Due Date, which is when the money is to reach the payee's account for a credit or leave the payor's account for a debit.¹ Banks exchange EFT files on business days, the working days when these exchanges run, at 09:30, 16:30 and 21:00 Eastern Time.²

The payee can use an EFT credit by the opening of business on its Due Date. At a branch that credits the same day, the money is available within 2 hours of the exchange that brought it.³ The banks settle the payment on the business day after its Due Date.⁴

EFT also collects money through a pre-authorized debit (PAD). A PAD is drawn on the payor's account under their PAD agreement, which gives the payee continuing authority that the payor can revoke.⁵

Interac e-Transfer for Business sends money through a service provided by your financial institution. Interac says a business payment can be up to $25,000, depending on the financial institution and account type, and a business can send up to 10,000 payments at a time.⁶ Interac says most payments arrive seconds after they are sent, at any hour.⁷

An e-Transfer is addressed by email address or mobile number. Interac e-Transfer for Business can also use an account number where the sender's financial institution and account type support it. Interac says implementation varies. A recipient registered for Autodeposit receives the money without a security question. Otherwise, the recipient answers a security question that you set.⁸ Your business accesses the service through its own financial institution, which sets the fees.⁹

Side by side

The practical differences are how you address the payment, when it arrives, what accompanies it and how you collect.

	EFT	Interac e-Transfer for Business
Addressing	The payee's institution and account number.¹⁰	An email address or mobile number, or an account number with e-Transfer for Business where your financial institution and account type support it. Implementation varies. Through EFT Rails, an email address. Autodeposit removes the security question for a registered recipient.⁸
Limit	The amount field has ten digits.¹⁰ Your bank sets your sending limit.	Up to $25,000 per payment, depending on your financial institution and account type.⁶
Timing	Available by the opening of business on the Due Date, or within 2 hours of the exchange at a branch that credits the same day. Settlement follows on the next business day.¹¹	Most payments arrive seconds after they are sent, at any hour.⁷
Batch	One file carries many payments and closes with totals for the value and number of its debits and credits.¹²	Up to 10,000 payments at a time.⁶
Payment data	A credit carries the sender's short name, payee's name, sender's cross reference and sundry information.¹³	It can carry data such as invoice numbers and customer IDs.¹⁴
Collecting	A PAD draws on the payor's account under their continuing but revocable PAD agreement.⁵	Send a Request Money. The money moves when the other party approves it.¹⁵
When it comes back	A payment that cannot be posted, is dishonoured or is refused returns with a reason code by the business day after the bank decides. You can correct your own error within 3 business days after settlement.¹⁶	A payment EFT Rails receives is final and available without a hold because it cannot be taken back.

The amount field is a format constraint, while your bank determines the sending limit available to your business. Read more about EFT payment limits.

Which to use

The payment's purpose determines the method. Use the Due Date and the batch file when you control the account details and the payment schedule. Use contact addressing when the payment is occasional.

Send payroll, supplier runs, rent and loan advances by EFT. The same applies to any scheduled or batched payment to a known account. The Due Date sets the payment day, and the file groups the batch.
Send a one-off payment by Interac e-Transfer to someone whose email address you have. Use the same method for a refund when you do not hold the recipient's account details.
Collect on a schedule with a pre-authorized debit. The PAD agreement supplies the authority for the debits.
Send an amount above the e-Transfer limit by EFT or wire transfer.

For another comparison involving account-to-account payments, see the Real-Time Rail and Interac e-Transfer.

Reconciliation

The payment data helps you match incoming and outgoing entries to your own records. An EFT credit carries the sender's short name in 15 characters, the payee's name in 30, the sender's cross reference in 19 and sundry information in 15.¹³ Use the cross reference and sundry information for identifiers your team can match to its ledger.

An Interac e-Transfer for Business can carry payment data such as invoice numbers and customer IDs with the money.¹⁴ An e-Transfer that a customer sends independently, with no payment behind it, appears in EFT Rails as an arrival with the message they typed. That message gives your team the customer's own reference for the arrival.

Keep these identifiers with the payment record so your team can trace a credit, investigate a return and complete EFT reconciliation.

Sources (16)

Rule F1, Definitions, "Due Date" ↩
Rule F1, Part II, "Exchange Deadlines and Periods" ↩
Rule F1, Part II, "Credit Transaction Funds Availability" ↩
Rule F1, Part V, "Settlement" ↩
Rule H1, sections 5(m) and 5(o) ↩
Interac, "Higher limits, and scalable"; Interac, "depending on your financial institution and your account type" ↩
Interac, "Payments, 24/7" ↩
Interac, "Before you start"; Interac, "Autodeposit" ↩
Interac, "Before you start"; Interac, "The fees for Interac e-Transfer are competitive" ↩
Standard 005, Section D, Type C, elements 05, 07 and 08 ↩
Rule F1, Part II, "Credit Transaction Funds Availability"; Rule F1, Part V, "Settlement" ↩
Standard 005, Section D, Type Z ↩
Standard 005, Section D, Type C, elements 11, 12, 15 and 18 ↩
Interac, "Data-rich Payments" ↩
Interac, "Business Request Money"; Interac, "To Request Money with Interac e-Transfer for Business" ↩
Rule F1, Part III, "Time Limitation for Return"; Rule F1, Part III, "Time Frames for Error Correction" ↩

Questions

What is the difference between an EFT and an e-Transfer?

An EFT is addressed using the payee's institution and account number.¹ One EFT file can carry many payments and closes with control totals for its debits and credits.² An e-Transfer is addressed by email address or mobile number, or by account number with e-Transfer for Business where the sender's financial institution and account type support it. Implementation varies. Through EFT Rails, you address it by email.³

Which is faster?

Interac says most e-Transfer payments arrive seconds after they are sent, at any hour.⁴ An EFT credit is available by the opening of business on its Due Date, or within 2 hours of the exchange that brought it at a branch that credits the same day.⁵

Which has the higher limit?

An EFT uses a ten-digit amount field.¹ Your bank sets the limit available to your business. Interac says an e-Transfer for Business can be up to $25,000, depending on your financial institution and account type.⁶ An amount above that limit goes by EFT or wire.

Can I collect money with either?

Yes. EFT collects through a PAD drawn on the payor's account under their continuing but revocable PAD agreement.⁷ With Interac e-Transfer for Business, you send a Request Money and the money moves when the other party approves it.⁸

Which should a business use for payroll?

Use EFT for payroll. It carries the Due Date you assign, so you can schedule when employees receive their pay.⁹ One file carries the full payroll batch and closes with the total value and number of its debits and credits.²

Sources (9)

Standard 005, Section D, Type C, elements 05, 07 and 08 ↩
Standard 005, Section D, Type Z ↩
Interac, "Before you start"; Interac, "Autodeposit" ↩
Interac, "Payments, 24/7" ↩
Rule F1, Part II, "Credit Transaction Funds Availability" ↩
Interac, "Higher limits, and scalable"; Interac, "depending on your financial institution and your account type" ↩
Rule H1, sections 5(m) and 5(o) ↩
Interac, "Business Request Money"; Interac, "To Request Money with Interac e-Transfer for Business" ↩
Rule F1, Definitions, "Due Date" ↩