On July 12, 2013, the Interac Association – responsible
for operating Canada's on-line, point-of-sale and ABM debit
system - filed a request with the Competition Tribunal to amend the
Consent Agreement under which it has been operating since 1996. The
original agreement required, among other things, that Interac be
managed on a not-for-profit basis. The Commissioner of Competition
has consented to the proposal, after rejecting a similar request in
2010.
Interac seeks to restructure
to become a for-profit corporation, with an independent board. It
believes this change will provide the flexibility necessary in
order to remain a low-cost payment alternative for merchants in
what has become an increasingly competitive payments marketplace.
The new Interac Corporation would operate its services under a
cost-recovery model, which would it says will permit the allocation
of funds for the research and development of new and innovative
payment services.
