Interac Corp. has announced an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in order to use Microsoft Azure‘s cloud capabilities to securely manage the “continued growth of digital transactions, enabling greater innovation and ultimately faster payments.”
As a key player in Canada‘s payments ecosystem, Interac has seen an increase in overall demand for its solutions and requires a trusted, reliable and secure Cloud platform to “support ongoing innovation and product development.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company processed “almost one billion Interac® e-Transfer transactions sent since the beginning of April 2020.”
Peter Sweers, Chief Technology & Operations Officer at Interac, stated:
“An important part of our digital transformation strategy is integrating a secure and compliant cloud platform that positions us for future growth and meets the demands of the quickly evolving digital payments landscape. We chose Microsoft Azure for its increased scale, security and always-on resiliency.”
According to a report released by Payments Canada, virtual payments accounted for around 79% of overall Canadian payment transactions in 2020 alone.
Now, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, even more Canadian consumers and businesses are “opting for digital methods of payment instead of cash or cheques,” the update revealed.
By using Microsoft’s Cloud capabilities and security investments, Interac will further accelerate its transformation journey to “include faster data-rich payments, increased scalability and resilience, improved security and fraud controls, better redundancy and new innovative services for business and individuals.”
Azure offers Interac with “an innovative hybrid model of public and on-premises private cloud that will enable the business to move faster and maintain its high reliability levels,” the update noted.
Kevin Peesker, President, Microsoft Canada, remarked:
“Digital payment innovation will play an integral role in Canada’s economic recovery and global competitiveness. Across Canada, Microsoft Azure is empowering financial services institutions with its secure, compliant, and scalable platform. By selecting Azure as its strategic and primary cloud provider, Interac will fast-track their key business and technology transformation priorities.”
Sweers added:
“We are committed to maintaining and attracting top talent as we build the future of digital payments in Canada. Investing in leading edge technologies like Microsoft Azure is an important investment in our technology teams and their career growth.”