TORONTO, April 9, 2018 — Canadians will be able to use chip technology through the Interac Debit service at more U.S. merchants, thanks to an agreement with B2 Payment Solutions (B2), an organization providing best-in-class products and services for the payment industry. With this, B2 becomes a preferred vendor for chip and EMV certification and payment testing in the U.S. for Interac Corp. – one of Canada’s leading payment brands, and a widely-used national debit payment system.
“Millions of people cross the U.S. and Canadian border every year for leisure, work and other activities,” said Edwin Lam, Director, International Products at Interac Corp. “Although these are neighboring countries with many similarities, there are differences in the payment infrastructure. Working with B2 has helped us bridge this gap and to work with merchants and acquirers on both sides of the border to ensure that Interac-branded debit cards are working seamlessly at certified U.S. merchant locations in accordance with Interac’s U.S. specifications.”
Prior to the migration to EMV, Interac-branded debit cards were widely accepted at U.S. POS (point-of-sale) devices as magnetic stripe and PIN transactions. However, with the EMV migration, acceptance standards have been upgraded, and it is important for stakeholders to ensure that acceptance devices are certified and tested to ensure interoperability.
There is now an increasing number of merchant locations across the U.S. that accept payments through the Interac Debit service. The Interac Debit service allows Canadian consumers to securely pay for purchases straight from their Canadian bank account – enabling a seamless and secure transaction process for those traveling throughout North America. Testing and certification of both cards and terminals is critical to ensuring interoperable payment acceptance on both sides of the border.
“B2 is thrilled to be selected as a preferred chip certification vendor for Interac Corp.,” said Bruce Murray, president of B2. “We have worked with Interac for many years to ensure that acceptance terminals and Interac-branded debit cards are thoroughly tested and certified within Canada, and we are happy to continue to partner with them as a preferred vendor to ensure that terminals will be fully supported and certified in the U.S. as well.”
B2 provides a range of POS test cards, ATM test cards and host test tools, that guide organizations in the payment industry towards a smooth implementation of an EMV, chip and contactless infrastructure. B2’s test card sets—available in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Europe—are also recommended by many processors for user acceptance testing of middleware and semi-integrated solutions.
About Interac Corp.
Interac Corp. operates 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, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation, 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 B2 Payments, Inc.
B2 Payments (B2) provides best-in-class products and services for the payment industry. The company’s extensive suite of solutions and services enables the company to help lead its customers into the next generation of smart and secure solutions. By utilizing B2’s services together with world-class technologies from its strategic partners, B2 delivers innovative, industry leading solutions to customers across the globe. To learn more about B2, please visit www.b2ps.com.
