TORONTO, February 5, 2018 – Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation announced that they have completed a reorganization of their corporate structure resulting in an amalgamated entity called Interac Corp. Operating as a single corporate entity will give Interac Corp. the ability to better fund innovation and leverage resources, while at the same time reducing certain business, operating and legal complexities.
“This is an important milestone for Interac and a critical step in our continued success as one of Canada’s leading, economical payments providers,” says Mark O’Connell, President and CEO of Interac Corp. “Our new corporate structure will allow us to better invest in our innovation pipeline and potential, while continuing to provide the essential payment services that millions of Canadians, thousands of businesses and hundreds of financial institutions rely on every day.”
Historically, there have been two providers of different Interac-branded products and services, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. Interac Corp. brings all these products and services together into one company with a single Board of Directors comprised of the CEO, four independent directors and eight directors nominated by financial institution shareholders.
A highly competitive and rapidly-changing payments space drives the need for Interac to change its corporate structure. New and existing players and the growth of fintech are contributing to a thriving digital economy. New mobile and digital payments are demanding rapid technology changes and ongoing modernization efforts by government are further changing the landscape.
“It’s a big moment for us at Interac – in our history and for our future” says O’Connell. “I’m proud of how the industry, from our members, shareholders, regulators and stakeholders, have supported the change. I’m confident that this change will further innovation that ultimately help move Canada’s digital economy forward.”
Interac Corp. will continue its commitment as an economical payment acceptance option for merchants and consumers and an alternative to the global credit card schemes. Most importantly, Interac Corp. will be well-poised to meet Canadian consumers’ growing expectations to move their money, pay and be paid anywhere, anytime and however they want.
“Our innovations – including Interac e-Transfer and enabling mobile wallets for example – and our track record prove that we are a Canadian-made force in today’s modern digital economy,” says O’Connell. “Our company will no longer be constrained by a complex organizational structure, which means we can be more flexible, nimble and timely in how we invest in our products, partnerships and people.”
Over the past several years, Interac and its shareholders have invested heavily in leading capabilities in the contactless, mobile and digital payments space. Interac was among the first domestic networks in the world to enable mobile payment solutions. The Interac e-Transfer platform was enhanced with new features that help Canadians send, request and receive their money quickly and conveniently. Interac Corp. will be better positioned to invest to stay at the forefront of payments technology trends under the new company structure.
About Interac Corp.
As of February 2018, Interac Corp. continues the businesses formerly carried on by Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation, operating an economical, world-class debit payments system with broad-based acceptance, reliability, security, and efficiency. The organization is one of Canada’s leading payments brands and is chosen an average of 16 million times daily to pay and exchange money. For more than 30 years, Interac Corp. and its predecessors have facilitated secure financial transactions through the development of innovative and convenient debit and money transfer solutions. A leader in the prevention and detection of fraud, the organization has one of the lowest rates of fraud globally. Visit interac.ca or follow @INTERAC on Twitter. Interac Corp. has a diverse group of shareholders that includes banks, credit unions, caisses populaires, payment processors and merchants.
About Interac Association
In January 2018, Interac Association was dissolved and its former business was joined with that of Acxsys Corporation under a single company called Interac Corp.
Interac Association was established in 1984 as a cooperative venture among Canada’s major financial institutions. A single national shared network was created to give Canadians broader access to their cash from ABMs across Canada through the Interac Cash service. Interac Debit, Canada’s first national debit card service for purchases at the point-of-sale, was launched in 1994. This service was later expanded to include Interac Flash, a secure contactless enhancement that allows Canadians to pay for items instantly by holding their cards at point-of-sale readers that support Interac Flash.
About Acxsys Corporation
In January 2018, Acxsys Corporation was amalgamated to form Interac Corp. and its former business was continued, together with the former business of Interac Association, by Interac Corp.
In 1996, eight financial institutions who architected the Interac network created Acxsys Corporation to develop new business partnerships and services. Acxsys specialized in the development, operation and management of payment and other ancillary service opportunities, consulting and management services needed to operate Interac Association at cost. It then expanded its business to offer Interac e-Transfer for the transfer of money from one person’s banking account to another, Interac Online for secure online payments made directly from a banking account, mobile payments solutions, and international services which provide Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at roughly 2 million U.S. retailers, and ABM access for cash withdrawals to foreign cardholders in Canada.
