Interac’s latest partnership announcement had little to do with moving money. Instead, the focus was on liveness detection, deepfake detection and document verification.
The agreement, announced with Incode Technologies, adds new identity verification tools to Interac Verified and gives Interac exclusive Canadian rights to use Incode’s document verification technology. For a company best known for debit cards and e-Transfers, it is another sign that Interac sees opportunity beyond payments. That move could have implications across several industries where Interac is already widely used, including Canada’s online gaming sector.
Why Interac Is Looking Beyond Payments
Most Canadians interact with Interac without giving it much thought. A debit card purchase at a supermarket, an e-Transfer to a friend, or a payment sent to a local business all happen through systems that have become part of daily life.
That familiarity matters. Payments Canada reported that Canadians made 22.5 billion retail payment transactions worth $12.2 trillion in 2024. Interac sits at the centre of a significant share of that activity, giving it a level of recognition that few financial brands enjoy.
The move into identity verification follows a fairly straightforward idea. If businesses already trust Interac to help move money, some may be willing to rely on the same company when they need to confirm who a customer is.
Around the world, payment companies have gradually expanded into adjacent areas. Verifying identities and helping organizations manage digital interactions sits much closer to their core business than it might first appear.
What the Incode Partnership Means for Interac
A closer look at the agreement shows what Interac is betting on. According to reporting from Biometric Update, a specialist publication covering biometrics and digital identity technology, Incode’s tools will allow Interac to add passive liveness detection, deepfake detection and injection attack detection to its document verification offering. Businesses will also have access to fraud intelligence signals that may help identify suspicious activity.
One detail stands out. The agreement gives Interac exclusive Canadian rights to deliver document verification using Incode’s technology.
That does not guarantee success, but it does give the company something competitors cannot easily match. In a category where similar products are available from multiple vendors, exclusivity is rarely accidental.
A Bigger Identity Strategy Is Already Taking Shape
On its own, the Incode deal is noteworthy. Put next to Interac’s other recent partnerships, it starts to look like part of a much bigger push.
Earlier this year, Interac partnered with Equifax Canada and Dealertrack to bring identity verification tools to the automotive sector. A few months before that, it announced a partnership with New Zealand-based digital identity company Mattr. Another agreement brought the Interac Verified Credential Service into real estate technology through a partnership with FCT.
Online gaming is another market where Interac already has a strong presence. Many Canadian-facing operators support Interac deposits and withdrawals, giving the company exposure to an industry where payment processing and identity verification regularly intersect.
Interac reported processing more than 8.7 billion transactions in 2025, giving it a reach that extends far beyond any single industry. Whether it is a property transaction, a car loan application or an online account, the question is often the same: is this person really who they claim to be? That common thread helps explain why Interac has not limited its efforts to one market.
Why Online Gaming Has Become a Real-World Test Case
Few industries put payments and identity checks so close together. Someone opening an online casino account might deposit funds on the first day and request a withdrawal weeks later. Both actions can trigger identity checks. Operators are expected to know who they are dealing with before certain transactions can go ahead.
That makes gaming a useful example when looking at Interac’s growing interest in verification technology. The company is already familiar to many players through deposit and withdrawal options offered by Canadian-facing operators.
Casino.ca’s guide to Interac casino payment options explains how Interac is used across Canada’s online casino market and outlines the verification procedures that can accompany certain transactions. As a resource focused on Canadian online gaming, the site tracks how payment methods are integrated into the broader customer experience.
Sending money is only part of what is happening behind the scenes. Operators also need confidence that account information is accurate and that withdrawals are being sent to the correct individual. Banking may be where Interac built its reputation, but online gaming shows why the company is now paying closer attention to verification.
Can Interac Build Canada’s Leading Identity Network?
The comparison with Interac’s payments business is difficult to ignore. Debit payments became valuable because so many different groups ended up relying on the same network. The more widely it was used, the harder it became to avoid. Familiarity still matters when organizations choose verification tools.
Industries such as financial services, real estate, automotive retail and online gaming may have different priorities, but all rely on trusted digital interactions. Online gaming is particularly notable because payment processing and identity checks are already closely connected within the customer journey. That gives Interac an opportunity to expand beyond its traditional role as a payment network and into a broader verification function that cuts across multiple sectors.
A decade ago, few people would have expected a debit network to be discussing deepfake detection. Yet that is where Interac now finds itself. The payments business remains enormous. What Interac seems to be testing is whether the trust built through moving money can also help it become a familiar name whenever identity needs to be verified.
