Yes. You will not be charged anything for signing up to INSTADEBIT. There are no transaction fees, charges or commitments.

No. At this time only Canadian residents can register for INSTADEBIT and transact with merchants.

To open an account you will need to provide your basic identity (Name, address, telephone) as well as the last 4 digits of your Social Insurance Number, Date of Birth and bank account information.

This is done to protect your security. We use the last 4 digits of your Social Insurance Number (SIN) to verify you identity. Since most of your other information is readily available in telephone directories or on the Internet (Name, address etc.), we need some Identification Documentation that is not publicly available. The INSTADEBIT system can match your name and your SIN number to ensure that someone else isn't pretending to be you in an attempt to defraud.

This is done to protect your security. Your date of birth is another piece of information that is not generally available through public sources. We use your date of birth to verify your identity by matching it against a number of databases maintained by the Credit Bureau and other sources. This is another example of information that protects you from identity theft.

The above message appears if the INSTADEBIT IDentify^TM system detects inconsistencies in the ID or account verification process. Please contact the Customer Service Group to resolve this issue. They may ask you to fax additional documentation to verify your identity.
We recognize that this process is more time consuming. However, please keep in mind that our anti-fraud system is designed to protect YOU from fraud and misuse of your personal information.

If you are having problems registering your account, this could be due to some inconsistencies in the data you entered. We check your information against the debit bureau records as well as several banking system databases to ensure that the information matches with their systems. If you are having problems please check the following:

1. That all the information you entered is correct.
2. That the address you entered is the same as that on your checks from your bank.
3. That your Social Insurance Number is correct.
4. That your bank account number and institution and transit number are correct.

When you opened your INSTADEBIT account we made a deposit for under $2.00 to your bank account. Please allow 3 to 5 business days for the amount to appear in your bank statement or online banking.
Once you know the amount, sign in to your INSTADEBIT account at http://www.instadebit.com and click on the "Verify Bank Account" link where you will be prompted to enter the amount.

Bank account verification is done to protect you from fraud. Verifying your bank account ensures that only you can use that account to make payments to merchants.

Verified account benefits:

• Increased transaction limits
• Permanent account status
• Increased protection from fraud

Either:
A) Check your bank activity through your online banking.
B) Call your bank and ask them the amounts.
C) Check your bank statement for INSTADEBIT deposits.

Yes, your temporary 7-day transaction limit applies until you verify your bank account. You can make deposits to merchants up to that limit until you verify your account, when you will receive a higher limit.

Please allow up to 7 business days for the deposit to appear in your bank account. Weekends and holidays do not count as business days.

If you still don’t see the amount after 7 business days, sign in to INSTADEBIT and make sure that your bank account information is correct. If it is correct, please contact INSTADEBIT security at security@instadebit.com.

As a security measure, INSTADEBIT suspends your account if the deposit amounts are entered incorrectly. Please contact security@instadebit.com.

No. We do not charge any fees to the consumer for paying through their INSTADEBIT. On your bank statement you will see ONLY the amount the merchant charged you for the goods or services. You may be charged fees by the bank and/or processor for NSF transactions, so please make sure you have enough funds in your bank account to cover the amounts of your purchases.

INSTADEBIT is a direct payment system. If you have registered your account and obtained a login name and password you can now go to the merchant site to complete the purchase. When you get to the merchant checkout, click on the INSTADEBIT payment option. A new window will appear asking you to enter your user name and password and approve the transaction. This information is all handled through the INSTADEBIT system - the merchant does not see your user name or password. Simply approve the transaction and INSTADEBIT will electronically inform the merchant that payment has been made. The merchant will then deliver the goods or services purchased.

All payments made using INSTADEBIT will appear on you bank statement with this in the item description:
INSTADEBIT.com 1-877-88DEBIT
The INSTADEBIT web site and our toll free phone number are there to help you contact us in case you have any questions about the charges. The exact statement will vary depending on how many characters your bank allows for statement descriptions.

Only transactions initiated by you or setup as recurring payments directly with a merchant can be sent through the INSTADEBIT System.

Only merchants that have a pre-authorized recurring payment agreement with you can initiate transactions without your direct authorization. For all other transactions, you must initiate the transactions. You must either authorize by entering your INSTADEBIT user name and password, or by signing up for your account and approving the first transaction.

We recommend that you first contact the merchant to resolve the dispute. If you need additional help, then you should contact the INSTADEBIT Customer Service Group. Click here to access the contact information.
INSTADEBIT carefully monitors merchant behavior to identify any misconduct. Our Merchant Services Group will suspend or disconnect any merchant that is not conducting business in an honest and forthright manner.

Funds credited to you by a merchant will automatically be deposited into your INSTADEBIT Balance Account. You can use those funds to make payments to merchants or withdraw them to your bank account.

Log in to your account on the www.instadebit.com web site. You will see the available account balance on the profile page. To withdraw funds, enter the amount you wish to withdraw in the field below the balance and click Withdraw. Follow the instructions on the screen.

It takes approximately 5 business days for the funds to clear through the banking network and appear in your bank account.

The INSTADEBIT system will AUTOMATICALLY use the funds in your Balance Account to pay for purchases if there is sufficient balance in your account to cover the entire amount of the transaction. If there is not enough money in your Balance Account, the entire amount of your purchase will be withdrawn directly from your bank account.

U.S. and Canadian dollars.

Yes. For Canadian customers INSTADEBIT converts USD transactions into Canadian dollars at the time of the transaction and debits the CAD amount from your bank account.

The converted amount is shown on the transaction receipt page when you complete your transaction. You may print this receipt for your records. You can also see the currency conversion for every transaction by checking your "Transaction History" on the INSTADEBIT site.

Please contact the site operator and tell them you would like to use INSTADEBIT.

Similar to a credit card transaction, each currency conversion will be made at the day’s exchange rates established by INSTADEBIT which include a premium to compensate for the currency risk involved in the provision of this service.

The amount of any payout/refund is credited to your INSTADEBIT account in USD. You can use this balance to make payments to merchants in USD. If you withdraw the funds to your Canadian bank account, the USD will be converted to CAD when the deposit is made to your bank.

Currency conversion will be made at the day's exchange rates established by INSTADEBIT which include a premium to compensate for the currency risk involved in the provision of this service.

No. Currently the INSTADEBIT system is only available to Canadian residents.

No. If you are a Canadian customer, you can transact on sites that support CAD transactions without any currency conversion.

As a Canadian customer you may be transacting with merchants that offer CAD transactions and those that only offer USD transactions. If you receive a payout/refund from both CAD and USD merchants those balances will appear separately for each currency. You can use your CAD balance to transact with CAD merchants and your USD balance for USD merchants. If you wish to withdraw your USD balance to your Canadian bank account, the amount will be converted to CAD at the time of deposit.