The Blocklisted status occurs when the e-Transfer is attempted to be deposited and it is blocked by Interac. This status is temporary and occurs when a customer's email may need additional verification by
Interac. This block typically varies widely and can last anywhere from 5 minutes up to several hours. Once an additional verification email comes from Interac, we are able to deposit it again.
What This Means
- The funds are not lost or withdrawn - they remain fully under the sender’s control.
- The hold is imposed by Interac’s fraud prevention system, not by our platform.
- These holds are generally temporary and resolve automatically once the network completes its verification.
Recommended Action
- Wait at least 4 hours before instructing the customer to cancel and resend their payment.
- Avoid cancelling and resending immediately, as this can reset the verification process and cause additional delays.
- If the hold clears within this time, customers can safely resend the payment afterward.
What Not to Do
- The customer should not contact that their bank as this is an automated reviewing process that will resolve itself
- If a customer does contact their bank it will take longer to verify as it will switch to a manual reviewing process and it's possible that the transaction may not pass verification
Customers over the age of 65
In addition, we have noticed that anyone over the age of 65 almost always has their transactions held. This is all across Canada across all banks due to the rise of Financial Fraud for Seniors (grandparent scams, romance scams, investment scams etc). Unless a particular senior individual frequently transacts in e-Transfer, their transaction will be held.
No additional steps are required, simply following the recommended actions above will ensure that the transaction can be deposited.