TORONTO, Dec. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - RBC today marked a North American first
by announcing a social, person-to-person (P2P) electronic money
transfer capability for customers to send money to Facebook Messenger
contacts, right from within the RBC Canada app. Working closely with
Facebook, RBC enhanced its app to allow customers to send an Interac e-Transfer, a simple, convenient and secure way to send and receive
money without sharing any personal or financial information, directly
to their contacts on Facebook Messenger.
"We are excited to bring this new capability - the first of its kind in
North America - to Canada and to our clients, who we know are avid
Facebook users," said Dave McKay, group head, Personal and Commercial
Banking, RBC Royal Bank. "An Interac e-Transfer is typically a result of a social interaction, such as
paying your friend for concert tickets or dinner. Our social P2P
solution provides our clients with the added simplicity, convenience
and choice to bank in the manner in which they interact on a daily
basis, with the security they expect from RBC."
Up until now, sending an Interac e-Transfer required the recipient's email address or a mobile phone
number. Now, through the RBC Canada app, clients simply select a friend
or family member from their Facebook Messenger friend list, transfer
the funds and provide a message for the receiver. The receiver will
receive a message in their Messenger inbox, and will be directed to log
in to the Financial Institution of their choice to deposit the funds,
just like with any Interac e-Transfer today. This new capability is seamlessly integrated into
RBC's existing mobile app, providing clients with greater choice and
convenience in how they bank and transact with RBC.
"We worked closely with RBC to make it easier for people to send
person-to-person money transfers to contacts on Messenger in a safe and
secure way. Every day, 9.4 million Canadians use Facebook on their
mobile device to connect with people they care about, and this new app
provides a meaningful service for RBC customers," said Jordan Banks,
global head of Vertical Strategy and managing director, Facebook
Canada.
As part of RBC's continued commitment to support the well-being of kids
and youth, starting today, RBC will donate $1 for every Interac e-Transfer messaged via Facebook in support of Kids Help Phone, up to
$100,000.
This new capability is available now on iPad, with iPhone coming in
February 2014 and other platforms later in the year. To download the
RBC Canada app for iPads for free, visit the Apple store and download
the app directly to your iPad.
Today's announcement is another step in keeping RBC at the forefront of
mobile commerce. In July, RBC unveiled the RBC Secure Cloud
(patent-pending) solution that allows clients to more safely and
securely pay for purchases using their mobile devices, keeping
sensitive client data secure with RBC in the cloud, not on the phone.
The vision for RBC Secure Cloud is to work on all phones, with all
carriers, all financial institutions, all card products, all merchants
and include value-add solutions.
About RBC and Payments Innovation
RBC is at the forefront of payments innovation to the Canadian
marketplace. We provide industry-leading mobile banking flexibility and
convenience to clients through RBC Mobile Apps - available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and
Windows 8 - backed by our RBC Online Banking Security Guarantee. Further information about RBC mobile solutions is available at www.rbcroyalbank.com/mobile.
ABOUT RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) is Canada's largest bank as
measured by assets and market capitalization, and is among the largest
banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North
America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide
personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance,
investor services and capital markets products and services on a global
basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who
serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other
countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations,
sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed
more than $95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community
investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in sponsorships.
About Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation
A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is
responsible for the development and operations of the Interac network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access
their money through Interac Cash at 60,000 Automated Banking Machines and Interac Debit at 766,000 point-of-sale terminals across Canada. Interac Flash, a secure contactless enhancement of Interac Debit allows Canadians to pay for items instantly with their Interac chip debit card at a reader that supports Interac Flash. Interac Association was founded in 1984 and is comprised of a
diverse membership that includes banks, trust companies, credit unions,
caisses populaires, merchants, and technology and payment related
companies.Other related services offered by Acxsys Corporation, whose
shareholders are the architects of the Interac network, include: Interac Online, for secure online payments made directly from a bank account; Interac e-Transfer, for the transfer of money from one person's bank account to
another person's bank account, currently available through over 200
financial institutions; and international services, which provide
Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at nearly 2 million U.S.
retailers, and PULSE, Discover, Diners Club International and UnionPay
cardholders access to ABMs in Canada.
SOURCE RBC
