Interac Teams up with Three Canadian Startups

May 4, 2017

Interac is gearing up to work with three Canadian startups to help them enable easier and faster payment experiences for their customers.

The Interac open application programming interface (API) initiative encourages innovation in the payments industry by allowing the developer community to build on the trusted Interac e-Transfer platform.

The startups – OpenSports, Dibbzz and Navi – were selected following a Collision Day challenge at Communitech last week in which they made pitches for integrating with the new Interac e-Transfer 3rd party API to streamline requesting and receiving money.

OpenSports, an app which connects sports organizers and players with recreational sport opportunities, took first place (and $25,000) for its pitch to integrate with the API and enable organizers to request and receive money from participants for space rentals/fees.

Dibbzz, a seat upgrade service for Performing Arts Centres, took second place (and $15,000) for its proposal to integrate the API with their intuitive texting platform to offer immediate move-up solutions to existing ticket holders.

Navi, an artificial intelligence powered platform for businesses to connect with their vendors, took third place (and $10,000) for their presentation on integrating with the API to allow businesses to instantly request and receive payments and manage everything in a data driven dashboard.

“It is always exciting to bring together national brands with startups to explore strategic collaborations and partnerships,” said Steve Currie, VP, Strategy at Communitech. “All eight startups had inspiring ideas, and we are pleased that the three winning teams will get a chance to work alongside Interac for up to a year to turn their ideas into something practical that can be tested and evaluated.”

“It’s a great honour to win the Collision Day challenge,” said James Gibbons, CEO, OpenSports. “We are very excited for the opportunity to partner with Interac over the next 12 months and bring their strength of payment processing to sport players, facilities and organizers across Canada.”