Fees, pricing models and 2026 rules
Interac debit fees for small businesses: flat per-transaction pricing explained
How Canadian merchants pay for Interac debit, why it is usually a flat fee per transaction, when that beats credit, and what to check in a quote.
For most Canadian merchants, Interac debit is priced as a flat amount per transaction, not a percentage of the sale. The fee for a $5 muffin and a $500 repair is the same. That makes debit one of the cheapest ways to get paid on medium and large tickets and relatively more expensive, as a share of the sale, on very small ones. The exact fee depends on your processor and plan, so ask for it separately from the credit card rate; some flat-rate plans charge debit as a percentage instead, which changes the arithmetic.
This guide is part of the fees and rules section. Fees shown are illustrative.
How Interac debit differs from credit
| Interac debit | Credit card | |
|---|---|---|
| Money source | Customer's bank account | Customer's credit line |
| Typical merchant pricing | Flat fee per transaction (illustrative $0.05 to $0.20) | Percentage, often plus a per-transaction fee |
| Interchange structure | Domestic debit network pricing, not credit interchange tables | Interchange varies by card type, channel and merchant |
| Rewards on the card | Generally none | Rewards cards carry higher interchange |
| Surcharging | Not covered by the 2022 credit surcharge rules; check with your processor | Allowed outside Quebec within network rules |
Interac is Canada's domestic debit network. Many Canadian bank debit cards are co-badged with a second network (such as Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard) for online and international use. The Code of Conduct requires co-badged debit cards to show both brands equally and bars competing domestic debit applications from different networks on the same card. Your terminal routes an in-person Canadian debit payment according to the card and the networks' rules.
The arithmetic: when flat beats percentage
Take an illustrative flat debit fee of $0.10 and compare it with a percentage of 2.65%:
| Ticket | Flat $0.10 | As % of sale | 2.65% of sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4 | $0.10 | 2.50% | $0.11 |
| $20 | $0.10 | 0.50% | $0.53 |
| $75 | $0.10 | 0.13% | $1.99 |
| $400 | $0.10 | 0.03% | $10.60 |
The break-even ticket is $0.10 ÷ 2.65% ≈ $3.77. Above that, the flat fee is cheaper. For a business with an average ticket of $60 and 300 debit transactions a month, the difference is 300 × ($1.59 − $0.10) = $447 a month in this illustration. That is why the debit price matters so much in a flat-rate quote.
Contactless debit and limits
Tapped Interac debit (Interac Flash) is common in Canada. Card issuers and the network set contactless limits per transaction; above a limit, the customer inserts the card and enters a PIN. Mobile wallets can also carry Interac debit. Under the Code, when multiple cards share a wallet or device, cardholders must be able to choose which card is used for contactless payments and set their own default.
For merchants, the pricing question is whether tapped and inserted debit cost the same on your plan. Ask, and check whether online debit (Interac Online or debit via a co-badged network) is priced differently from in-person debit.
Accepting debit without credit, or credit without debit
The Code of Conduct lets you choose to accept domestic credit or domestic debit from a network without having to accept both. A business with tight margins and large tickets might accept Interac debit and only some credit cards; another might accept both. Whatever you choose, tell customers clearly before they reach the till.
What a debit-heavy business should check in a quote
- The debit fee, in cents, per transaction. Not bundled into a blended percentage.
- Whether refunds cost a fee. Some plans charge for debit refunds or reversals.
- Tapped vs inserted. Confirm both are priced the same.
- Online and co-badged debit. These may follow different pricing.
- Minimum monthly fees. A minimum can make a cheap per-transaction fee expensive in a slow month.
- Terminal capability. Make sure the terminal supports Interac contactless and PIN entry.
Use the card fee calculator with 0% and your flat debit fee to see the monthly cost, and the monthly cost estimator option for a debit-heavy mix.
Worked example: a hardware store
An illustrative hardware store processes $40,000 of card sales a month: $18,000 on Interac debit over 300 transactions (average $60) and $22,000 on credit over 350 transactions.
- Plan A (illustrative): flat 2.6% on all cards. Debit cost: $18,000 × 2.6% = $468. Credit cost: $22,000 × 2.6% = $572. Total $1,040.
- Plan B (illustrative): interchange-plus on credit at an average all-in 1.85%, debit at $0.08 per transaction, $25 fixed. Debit cost: 300 × $0.08 = $24. Credit cost: $22,000 × 1.85% = $407. Total $456.
The gap here comes almost entirely from debit. A business with mostly credit would see a much smaller gap. Run your own numbers before you decide, and read flat rate vs interchange-plus.
FAQ
Is Interac debit free for merchants?
No. Merchants pay a fee for debit through their processor, and terminal and account fees apply. It is usually lower than credit on all but the smallest tickets.
Can I charge customers a fee for paying by debit?
The 2022 credit card surcharging rules do not apply to debit. The FCAC says to check with your processor because some networks do not allow surcharging debit. In Quebec, adding a fee beyond the advertised price is not allowed. See surcharge rules.
Why does my statement show Visa or Mastercard on debit cards?
Online, or when a co-badged card is used through the other network, a debit card can be processed as Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard, which is priced differently from Interac. Ask your processor how each is priced.
Sources
- Interac — debit network information for businesses
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Code of Conduct: debit and credit choice, co-badged cards, contactless
- FCAC: Accepting card payments — surcharges, discounts and merchant rights
- Office de la protection du consommateur — Quebec pricing rules
