Do you remember the first time you took out your debit card at a cash register, and used it to pay for your purchase? The nervous anticipation as you watched that little screen until it finally flashed, “Approved”. The silent euphoria you felt (it actually worked!).
November marks the twenty-fifth birthday of the Interac payment system in Canada. What seems like second nature today was a revolutionary change in our payment system not all that long ago. It’ amazing the speed at which Canadians took to the plastic system. We proudly boast the second highest per capita use of debit cards in the world, second only to the Swiss.
The days of toting out a chequebook to pay for groceries are long gone. In fact, the majority of Canadian retailers don’t even accept cheques anymore. Interac has made strides over the years to improve the quality and speed of transactions, allowing high volume retailers such as dollar stores to accept debit cards without causing impatient delays in the line-ups.
If I were making a list of things that had the greatest impact on the everyday life of all Canadians, Interac payments would be in the top ten. Congratulations Interac and Happy 25th Birthday.
