Electronic Funds Transfer (2024)

What is an EFT payment?
An Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or a direct deposit allows companies to streamline their payables and receivables for everything like invoices from service providers to employee salaries through easy payments between different users' bank accounts in Canada.

EFTs allow you to set up recurring electronic payments, send multiple payments and debits simultaneously, save payment information online, and accept payments seamlessly - allowing you to stop sending and receiving paper checks for bill payments. EFTs are payment systems offered by and accepted by all major banks and credit unions.

How do I send EFT payments?
EFT payments can be set up through the ScotiaConnect platform. You can set up one-time or recurring EFT transactions and allow up to three layers of approval for sending or receiving money.

To set up a payment to another account, you need their bank account number, their institution number, branch number and account number, and their transit number.

How do I receive EFT payments?
In order to receive an EFT, you need to share your banking details with the person sending you one, including your institution number, your branch number and account number, and your transit number.

How much does an EFT payment cost?
It depends on the volume of transactions per month.

Can you make EFT payments to the United States or internationally?
No, EFT payments can only take place between two accounts that are in Canada.

Are e-cheques or electronic cheques EFT payments?
Yes, an eCheck is a type of electronic funds transfers that uses the automated clearing house payment system to help you send and receive money between you and your suppliers and customers at different financial institutions.

Are EFT payments safe?
EFT payments are a safe payment option for transferring money between two accounts in Canada. Like with all our online banking processes, ScotiaConnect uses several industry-leading security protocols to protect our customers.

Can I send money in both USD and Canadian dollars?
Yes. With us, you can make both USD and Canadian dollar EFT payments to accounts based in Canada. However, you will need to sign up separately to make EFT payments in both currencies.

What are the benefits and downsides of an EFT?
The benefits of using EFT transfers are that you are able to better manage your money, automate recurring payments, reduce paper waste and costs from cheques, and more securely and quickly handle your online payments of payables and receivables such as suppliers or credit card bills. You can also set up automatic processing of direct debit transactions from customers' debit cards.

The downsides of using EFT payments are that they take a little while to initially set up, take up to four business days to process, and you get charged a fee to send them.

How long does it take to process an EFT payment?
Once you submit your payment request to ScotiaConnect, the money will be debited from your account for payment processing. It can take up to four business days for the funds to be processed and received by your recipient.

What is the difference between ACH and EFT payments?
Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are a type of EFT payment you can make. An ACH transfer refers to the process where the money is moved from one financial institution to another. An EFT payment refers to all electronic payments when money is transferred between two Canadian accounts that are not done via wire transfer.

What is the difference between an EFT transfer and a wire transfer?
An EFT transfer is a way to transfer money between two accounts that are both located in Canada. A wire transfer is a transfer between two accounts – but they aren't required to both reside in Canada.

Can I cancel an EFT payment?
You can cancel standing instructions for a recurring EFT payment by logging into the ScotiaConnect platform and discontinuing it. If an EFT payment has already been processed, it cannot be cancelled.

Why use an EFT instead of cheques?
Using an EFT, you can set up recurring payments, and they only require a one-time setup. They also reduce the amount of lost or stolen cheques and the need to re-issue cheques. Using EFT through ScotiaConnect helps your track your payments and manage and improve your cash flow and cash flow forecasting.