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What to do if you are on a receiving end of Interac transfer sent to the wrong email address?
June 16, 2021
7:42 am
Alexandre
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Yet another story about someone sending money by Interac to the wrong recipient and getting response from the bank that money could not be retrieved.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-man-says-he-s-out-3-000-after-making-simple-e-transfer-mistake-1.5471590

The question I ask myself, and now this forum, what should I do if someone I don't know sends Interac transfer to me by mistake, and it gets autodeposited to my account.

I know what to do with bank to bank transfers including direct deposit, SWIFT: I'll leave money in my account and will contact my bank notifying them that I don't recognize that transaction.
Eventually, banks will figure what's up and reverse the transfer.

In no case I'll be sending money back by myself, even if I am contacted by email from the stranger who claims they transferred money to my account. There is possibility it is a scam. The most I will do is notify my bank of that email.

That all is fine, but what to do when it is incoming Interac transfer? Banks don't seem to care when it is Interac transfer, as can be seen from this article, and many other articles.

I don't want to keep someone's else money, but what is the correct way to return it?

June 16, 2021
9:50 am
lhsaid
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What I know about autodeposit is that for a given email address, you can set it up so that next time you receive another transfer it gets deposited automatically. So, if you receive a transfer from a source for the first time it can not be deposited automatically.

June 16, 2021
11:33 am
BillieBob
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lhsaid said
What I know about autodeposit is that for a given email address, you can set it up so that next time you receive another transfer it gets deposited automatically. So, if you receive a transfer from a source for the first time it can not be deposited automatically.  

That is not correct. I have received many e-transfers from first-time senders and they have all been autodeposited.

June 16, 2021
12:12 pm
Norman1
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Unfortunately, there isn't a way to "unclaim" the money so that the sender can recall the Interac e-Transfer.

It's risky to do an Interac e-Transfer back. Kidd pointed out a case where a deposited Interac e-Transfer was yanked back. Not sure how. But, there's some loophole out there!

Honest recipient could do an e-Transfer back and then see the original unexpected e-Transfer deposit yanked back afterwards.

June 16, 2021
12:55 pm
mmlt
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I use a unique email address for etransfers. Gmail has sent other's mail to me that were similar email addresses.
I would let my bank handle a mistaken etransfer.

June 17, 2021
6:08 am
Alexandre
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Norman1 said
It's risky to do an Interac e-Transfer back. Kidd pointed out a case where a deposited Interac e-Transfer was yanked back. Not sure how. But, there's some loophole out there!

Honest recipient could do an e-Transfer back and then see the original unexpected e-Transfer deposit yanked back afterwards.  

That's exactly my concern.

From the other hand, holding money that does not belong to you may be considered theft.

June 17, 2021
6:43 am
Bill
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It's not theft if you had no involvement.

All you do is send a message to the person saying they erroneously put money into your account, tell them do what you have to do, and let the money sit there. Take no action, you had nothing to do with the money coming in, let the sender and/or banks, etc figure it out.

June 17, 2021
11:39 am
KamWest
Toronto
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lhsaid said
So, if you receive a transfer from a source for the first time it can not be deposited automatically.  

I use autodeposit for one of my online stores and the only payment I accept for that store is e-transfer.

I get autodeposits from first time depositors all the time. I use Meridian CU for that business account and occasionally a bank will require the use of a password even with my auto deposit set. I am trying to figure out why that is but it only represents about 1% of my volume and since the store moves about 1.8 million each year it shows that auto deposit works.

I have never had a claim and moved to e-transfer after credit cards got too pricey. Even when the transaction was approved I would still get charge backs due to credit card theft.

June 17, 2021
11:42 am
Norman1
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You, the sender, and the banks involved will have to find some way that the sender waives his/her rights to challenge the original e-Transfer in return for you returning the funds.

After all, you are willing to return the funds. You just don't want to return the funds and see the original e-Transfer reversed afterwards somehow.

Sender can take legal action in court. Settling the court action would be safer.

The situation can be explained to the sender.

Wire transfers and direct deposits have a mechanism to correct errors. I don't think Interac e-Transfers do.

June 17, 2021
12:53 pm
Alexandre
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KamWest said

I use autodeposit for one of my online stores and the only payment I accept for that store is e-transfer.

I have never had a claim and moved to e-transfer after credit cards got too pricey. Even when the transaction was approved I would still get charge backs due to credit card theft.  

It is great to be the one who receives e-transfers: much harder if not outright impossible to reverse Interac transfer.
Unfortunately, it works both ways: as much as I or sender may want to reverse Interac transfer sent to me by mistake, we couldn't.

I get autodeposits from first time depositors all the time. I use Meridian CU for that business account and occasionally a bank will require the use of a password even with my auto deposit set. I am trying to figure out why that is ...

I can't explain, why, but I can tell you, when does it happen. Interestingly, it depends on FI from where e-transfer is originated.
Interac transfers originated from LBC Digital and from EQ bank, for example, always require recipient to enter the password.

Which means, you have people sending you e-transfers from one of those special FIs that don't support recipient auto-deposit. The issue is not on your end, not with Meridian CU.

June 17, 2021
1:27 pm
LK
British Columbia, Canada
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The Interac terms and conditions may have some info that would be helpful.
https://www.interac.ca/en/interac-e-transfer-terms-of-use/

I haven't reviewed fully but this might be relevant.

"1.6 (e) Until you have attempted to deposit the Interac e-Transfer transaction or the transaction has been automatically deposited, the sender may cancel the Interac e-Transfer transaction and you will no longer have a right to collect the Interac e-Transfer transaction. Interac may also decline to complete the Interac e-Transfer transaction because: you have supplied incorrect information; you cannot answer the sender’s question; your personal information cannot be verified; Interac or a participating financial institution suspects that you, or any other party to the transaction is involved in illegal or wrongful activity; or the Interac e-Transfer transaction exceeds a transaction limit. If the Interac e-Transfer transaction cannot be completed, we will automatically notify the sender that it must be cancelled. If the Interac e-Transfer transaction is cancelled for any of the above reasons, your sole remedy for non-payment is against the sender and you will have no claim against Interac."

"1.12 Records of Transactions:
A confirmation will be sent by electronic communication to you and the other party to the Interac e-Transfer transaction when, according to Interac’s records, an Interac e-Transfer transaction has been initiated to or declined by you; when an Interac e-Transfer transaction has been processed; or when the funds have been sent back to the financial institution of the sender. You should print or otherwise retain a copy of these communications for your own files. Interac does not guarantee the accuracy of transaction records, may not be able to reproduce such records at a later date and will not be liable for any losses caused by your failure to retain such records or your reliance on such records. If you think a confirmation or transaction record is incorrect, you must contact Interac no later than 30 (thirty) calendar days after a transaction confirmation has been sent to you; otherwise the confirmation will be deemed to be correct. Any dispute relating to records of transactions from the Interac e-Transfer service will be resolved as set out in section 1.20."

Also see the Interac FAQ page:
https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/

"I need to cancel a transfer, but the recipient has already accepted the deposit. How do I reverse an Interac e-Transfer transaction?
Unfortunately, once a deposit has been made there is no way to reverse the transaction. You’ll have to make arrangements directly with the recipient. You should only send money transfers to parties you know and trust. For most Interac e-Transfer uses (sending money to family and friends, repaying IOUs, sending money as gifts, etc.), you will know the recipient well. For uses where you may not know the recipient (e.g., online auction purchases), take the same precautions you would take when making cash purchases. For online auctions and purchases, be sure to read and follow any steps recommended by the operators of these websites to safely transact."

April 16, 2023
3:02 pm
Jimmy
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Just a quick question on etransfers. Is there a way to change the financial institution where funds are deposited with etransfers?
I set incoming etransfers to my email for auto deposit at CIBC. Now I want to change the financial institution where the funds go to, but don't know how to set it up.

April 16, 2023
3:29 pm
AltaRed
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Delete auto deposit at CIBC Online and go to your chosen alternative institution, set up e-transfers there, and if you choose, set that one to Auto Deposit.

My spouse often has to alternate between RBC and Scotia depending on the nature of the e-transfer at any given time. In her case, she does not use auto deposit..... so that when she receives the e-transfer, she can pick which FI in which to deposit it.

April 16, 2023
4:20 pm
Doug
British Columbia, Canada
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AltaRed said
Delete auto deposit at CIBC Online and go to your chosen alternative institution, set up e-transfers there, and if you choose, set that one to Auto Deposit.

My spouse often has to alternate between RBC and Scotia depending on the nature of the e-transfer at any given time. In her case, she does not use auto deposit..... so that when she receives the e-transfer, she can pick which FI in which to deposit it.  

Yeah, I don't use autodeposit, but one alternative is to use either (a) separate e-mail addresses for each financial institution, or (b) use one e-mail address with the + trick/hack, such that if your e-mail is jsmith@example.com, you might use jsmith+scotiabank@example.com for Scotiabank and jsmith+cibc@example.com for CIBC, then set up a mail filter rule to forward those messages automatically to specific folders. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

April 16, 2023
4:50 pm
Jimmy
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Thanks Alta & Doug.

May 14, 2023
2:35 pm
Winnie
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I just received this Interac transfer and answer also included in Message: Answer blue.Interac.jpg

May 14, 2023
2:53 pm
SaverJunior
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Winnie, I think what you received is a scam. There is a daily limit of $3000 for e-transfer. The amount showing in the picture is over that. NO WAY.

Do not click on the button or links in the message or your computer might be infected with virus.

May 14, 2023
2:53 pm
Norman1
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Winnie said
I just received this Interac transfer and answer also included in Message: Answer blue.…

Don't believe it. Looks like a phishing attempt; very few people can send an Interac e-Transfer over $3,000.

That "Deposit your Money" link probably isn't to Interac's web site.

May 14, 2023
4:46 pm
Winnie
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I do not want to deposit money, that someone sent by mistake.

I also do not want to click on the button just to see, if that "Deposit your Money" link is to real Interac's web site or not.

Maybe someone knows, how to see that link address without clicking? I don't want to get some virus.
If we can find out that link address, we will know, if it's a scam or just a simple mistake.

May 14, 2023
4:53 pm
Winnie
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I just discovered, how to Copy Link, it's very easy without opening.

It starts with: https://etransfer.interac.ca/RP.do?pID=%5Bremoved_for_security_reasons%5D

I did not visit that site, don't want to get some virus.

Is it a real address or scam?

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