GLOBAL PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEISO 20022 / SWIFT / SEPA / MT / MX
PAYMENTSSIGNAL

The interactive academy for the standards, messages, and rails that move money.

GET IN TOUCH
INTERAC E-TRANSFER (CANADA)

Not accepted: an Interac e-Transfer that is declined or expires

Trigger: Arjun does not accept the Interac e-Transfer — he declines it or it expires before he deposits it.

Contributor Shubham Mathure

What operations sees first: The recipient never deposits the money; the transfer is returned to the sender and no interbank settlement is needed.

WHERE IS THE MONEY?

Returned to Riya — the transfer was never accepted, so Arjun never received the money.

DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?

No interbank settlement occurred for the unaccepted transfer.

WHO ACTS NEXT?

Arjun Riya resends if needed; Arjun accepts within the window (or sets up autodeposit) to receive it.

PLAY THE EXCEPTION

Trigger: After the notification, Arjun does not accept the transfer — he declines it, or the request simply expires before he acts on it.

STEP 1 / 4MESSAGE

Riya sends an e-Transfer to Arjun's email alias

Riya (sender) → Bank Alfa (sender bank)

Riya types Arjun's email address in Bank Alfa's online banking and enters CAD 200.00. She never asks for his account number — the alias is enough to address the payment.

Step 1 of 4: Riya sends an e-Transfer to Arjun's email alias

  1. 01Message
    Riya sends an e-Transfer to Arjun's email aliasRiya (sender) → Bank Alfa (sender bank)
  2. 02Message
    Interac tells Arjun money is waitingInterac e-Transfer (network) → Arjun (recipient)
  3. 03 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessing
    Interac sees the transfer was not acceptedInterac e-Transfer (network)
  4. 04 · EXCEPTION PATHPosting
    The amount is returned to RiyaBank Alfa (sender bank)
  5. OUTCOME
    Funds
    Returned to Riya — the money stayed on Bank Alfa's books throughout.
    Settlement
    No interbank settlement was needed, since the transfer was never accepted.
    Who acts next
    Arjun (recipient) — Riya can send again, or Arjun can ask her to resend to a different alias.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
  1. 01Message
    Riya sends an e-Transfer to Arjun's email aliasRiya (sender) → Bank Alfa (sender bank)

    Riya types Arjun's email address in Bank Alfa's online banking and enters CAD 200.00. She never asks for his account number — the alias is enough to address the payment.

  2. 02Message
    Interac tells Arjun money is waitingInterac e-Transfer (network) → Arjun (recipient)

    Interac e-Transfer sends a notification to Arjun at the alias Riya used. This message announces the payment and points to it; it does not itself carry any funds.

  3. 03 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessing
    Interac sees the transfer was not acceptedInterac e-Transfer (network)

    Interac e-Transfer works on a request-and-accept model: the recipient must claim the money. With no acceptance, the transfer cannot complete and Interac marks it declined or expired.

  4. 04 · EXCEPTION PATHPosting
    The amount is returned to RiyaBank Alfa (sender bank)

    Because Arjun never accepted, the CAD 200.00 that Bank Alfa was holding is released back to Riya's account and she is told the transfer did not go through.

    • RELEASE Riya's account at Bank Alfa — CAD 200.00
  5. OUTCOME
    Funds
    Returned to Riya — the money stayed on Bank Alfa's books throughout.
    Settlement
    No interbank settlement was needed, since the transfer was never accepted.
    Who acts next
    Arjun (recipient) — Riya can send again, or Arjun can ask her to resend to a different alias.

THE TIMELINE

  1. 01Riya
    Sends a CAD 200.00 Interac e-Transfer to Arjun's email alias through her online banking.
  2. 02Interac e-Transfer
    Notifies Arjun that money is waiting, addressed by his alias — the notification carries no funds.
  3. 03Arjun
    Does not accept the transfer: he declines it, or the acceptance window expires.

    Interac e-Transfer uses a request/accept model; unaccepted transfers are not completed.

  4. 04Bank Alfa (sender bank)
    Returns the held funds to Riya; because the transfer was never accepted, no interbank settlement is required for it.

Resolution: Interac e-Transfer uses a request/accept model: an unaccepted or expired transfer is returned to the sender, and no interbank settlement takes place for it.

LEARN THE CONCEPTS

Sources for this scenario2
  1. Official requirement

    Interac e-Transfer ↗ — Interac Corp. · request/accept model

    Describes Interac e-Transfer, Canadas account-to-account consumer payment service offered through participating financial institutions online banking, introduced in 2003 and addressed by an alias such as an email address or mobile number. It is a separate system from Lynx; interbank settlement between participants is handled separately from the near-instant funds availability the customer sees. · Checked 2026-07-14

    Interac e-Transfer addresses payments by email or mobile alias; the customer sees near-instant availability while interbank settlement is handled separately by the participants.

  2. Simplified educational illustration

    Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal

    This site's own simplified teaching models. · Checked 2026-07-12

    What this simplifies: Single-cycle teaching model; participant-specific handling and exact timings vary.

    Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.