Interac e-Transfers are designed to settle quickly and finally — that's what makes them useful. Once funds have been deposited (or Autodeposit has settled them), the money belongs to the recipient. Banks generally cannot pull it back without the recipient's cooperation.
What's possible vs. what isn't
Pending transfer (not yet deposited): cancel
Open your bank's app and cancel. See how to cancel an Interac e-Transfer for the exact steps.
Deposited, but the recipient is cooperative: ask
The cleanest path is just to ask the recipient to send the money back. If they accidentally received it (wrong email autocomplete, similar contact name), most people will do this without question.
Deposited, recipient unresponsive or refuses: bank reclaim attempt
Call your bank, explain the situation, and ask them to attempt a reclaim. Banks can sometimes negotiate with the recipient's bank to return funds, particularly if the transfer was clearly an error or fraud. There is no guarantee. The recipient typically must consent — banks cannot unilaterally pull money back.
Fraud (you were scammed)
If you were tricked into sending money — phishing, impersonation, fake romantic relationships, fake job offers — call your bank's fraud line immediately. Reimbursement for Interac e-Transfer fraud is handled bank by bank under your client agreement, not by Interac directly. Banks may reimburse interception fraud (where a third party intercepts the transfer) when the incident is found to be beyond your reasonable control. They generally do not reimburse transfers you knowingly initiated to a scammer. See our scam guide for what's typically covered.
What's almost never reversible
- Buyer's remorse on a purchase (you got what you paid for).
- Disputes over service quality (use your contract or small-claims court instead).
- Payments to known scammers where you knowingly sent the funds (most romance and investment scams).
- Transfers correctly delivered to the address you typed.
What to do, in order
- Check whether the transfer is still pending. If yes, cancel.
- If deposited, contact the recipient first. This works more often than people expect.
- If the recipient won't return the funds, call your bank.
- If fraud is involved, also contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and file a police report.
- If your bank refuses to investigate, see our Interac complaint guide for escalation paths.
Related guides
- How to cancel an Interac e-Transfer
- Sent to the wrong person?
- Got scammed by an e-Transfer?
- How to file an Interac complaint in Canada
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