Interac Fees for Canadian Online Casino Payments

Complete guide to usage fees for Interac casino payments.

For the last few years, Canadian online casino enthusiasts have been able to process payments via the nation’s most secure online banking network, Interac. This payment system has since become the most popular method of choice, loved for its speed, convenience, and above all, security.

You may have heard that Interac is a free service. For customers, that is true. But it doesn’t mean that you won’t be charged any fees. It just means they won’t come from Interac. Let me explain…

Usage Fees for Interac Casino Deposits

As an online casino goer making a deposit or requesting a withdrawal via Interac, you’ll never be charged a fee – at least, not by Interac you won’t. Any fees incurred for such transactions will only be charged by your financial institution as a way to make up for the fees Interac is charging them.

If you visit the Interac.ca website and look up the fee schedule for Interac Online transfers, you’ll find there’s only one charge on the list. They call it an “Acquirer Service Fee”:

“Acquirers pay a flat-fee to Interac Corp. for each completed transaction based on the customer’s purchase amount and merchant sector. The fee charged to Acquirers is a wholesale rate…”

Acquirers are the companies that are receiving a payment. If you make an Interac deposit with Royal Vegas Canada, then Royal Vegas Canada becomes the acquirer, responsible for paying the fee. According to Interac’s current fee schedule (at time of writing), the acquirer will pay:

• $0.115 for a transaction of up to $15
• $0.265 for a transaction of $15.01 to $35
• $0.465 for a transaction of $35.01+

International Processing Fee for Offshore Casinos

If the online casino you’re playing at happens to be based outside of Canada (as most of them are), the operator must also pay 150 BPS. If you aren’t sure what that means, don’t feel bad. I didn’t have a clue about it either! I did some investigating, and it turns out “BPS” stands for “Basis Points”.

According to Investopedia:

“Basis points (BPS) refers to a common unit of measure for interest rates and other percentages in finance. One basis point is equal to 1/100th of 1%, or 0.01%, or 0.0001, and is used to denote the percentage change in a financial instrument…”

By this definition, Interac charges international online casinos an annual rate of 150 BPS, or 1.5%, on the total of all transactions. For example, if the casino takes in $100,000 in Interac deposits over the course of the year, it would pay a 1.5% fee of $1,500.

Casinos Do Not Pass Interac Fees on to Customers

Don’t worry, the online casinos will not pass the bill on to you. Interac makes sure that the fees are so small, it’s worth it for gaming sites to pay them up front. Online casinos get their money’s worth by requiring players to deposit a minimum amount with each transaction. The standard minimum is $10; an amount that costs the casino just $0.115. That’s easily low enough that the RTP on their games will ensure they’re making a long-term profit from their collective playerbase.

The BPS fee has the potential to hurt their bottom line, but it won’t. Every member of the casino would have to play games with an RTP of 1% or below, employing perfect strategy at all times, to destroy the operator’s profit. As we all know, slot machines are the overwhelming favorite of online casino goers, and they come with an average RTP of 96%-97%. So again, their bottom line is perfectly safe.

What About My Bank – Will it Charge Me?

Most likely, yes. Banks and credit unions despise monetary responsibility. They will take every opportunity to pass fees on to their customers. If Interac charges them $1, the financial institution will charge the customer at least that much. They may even up the charge to $2, turning a profit in the process.

On the bright side, Interac casino deposits do not come with any charges that could be passed your way. Withdrawals, on the other hand, almost always incur a fee. Whether you’re requesting your money via Interac or not, if the transfer is going straight to your bank, you can expect to pay for it. Be sure to check with your bank or credit union to see what fees you may be responsible for.

Related posts:

Depositor’s Directory for Debit Card Casino Payments How to use Interac to Gamble Online in Canada in 2023 Review of Paysafecard Gambling Deposits Canada Boku Direct Carrier Billing for Online Gambling in Canada 2023 CIBC Bank Account for Online Gambling Payments 2023 How to Pay for Online Gambling with RBC Bank in 2023