E-Transfer API Overview - Flinks Documentation

The Flinks Interac (e-Transfer) API lets you initiate a Request For Money (RFM) session and collect payments from end users through Interac e-Transfer. This reference covers the endpoints needed to create a session and retrieve its details.

Base URL

Production / Sandbox: {{BaseUri}}

Authentication

All e-Transfer API requests use OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow:

Authenticate with Basic auth using Client ID and Secret
Receive Bearer token valid for 599 seconds (10 minutes)
Use Bearer token for all subsequent API calls
Refresh token before expiration

API Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/v1/authorize`	Obtain access token

Session Management

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/v2/sessions`	Initiate e-Transfer session
GET	`/api/v2/sessions/{sessionId}/details`	Get session details

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

curl --location '{{BaseUri}}/api/v1/authorize' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
--header 'Authorization: Basic {{Username:Password}}' \
--data-urlencode 'grant_type=client_credentials'

2. Initiate Session

curl --location '{{BaseUri}}/api/v2/sessions' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer {{access_token}}' \
--data-raw '{
  "referenceId": "USER12345",
  "type": "e-Transfer",
  "direction": "CREDIT",
  "currency": "CAD",
  "amount": 250.00,
  "options": {
    "notificationPreferences": {
      "language": "EN",
      "sendInteracLink": false
    }
  },
  "payor": {
    "firstName": "John",
    "lastName": "Smith",
    "email": "john.smith@example.com"
  }
}'

3. Launch User Flow

<iframe
  src="{{BaseUri}}/app/?sessionId={{sessionId}}"
  width="100%"
  height="600">
</iframe>

4. Retrieve Session Details

curl --location '{{BaseUri}}/api/v2/sessions/{{sessionId}}/details' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer {{access_token}}'

Session Object

{
  "sessionId": "850750a4-3021-4061-ac03-a8d873aa4179",
  "referenceId": "USER12345",
  "status": "Completed",
  "type": "e-Transfer",
  "direction": "CREDIT",
  "currency": "CAD",
  "amount": 250.00
}

Session Statuses

Status	Description
`Initiated`	Session created, awaiting user action
`Completed`	User has successfully completed the flow
`Failed`	Session failed (for example, identity or eligibility)
`Cancelled`	Session was cancelled
`Expired`	Session timed out before completion

Field Specifications

Character Limits

Field	Limit	Notes
`firstName`, `lastName`, `middleName`	100 characters	Required for identity matching
`email`	100 characters	Used for notifications and link delivery
`referenceId`	100 characters	Strongly recommended for tracking
`addressLine1`	100 characters	Street address
`city`	100 characters	Full city name
`postalCode`	6 characters	No spaces (e.g., M5V0T7)
`province`	2 characters	Provincial code (e.g., ON, QC)
`country`	2 characters	Only “CA” supported
`accountNumber`	7 to 12 characters	Numbers only
`transitNumber`	5 characters	Numbers only
`institutionCode`	3 characters	Numbers only

Validation Rules

Amount

Up to 2 decimal places
Minimum and maximum are client-configurable via session options.limits

Currency

Only CAD is supported

Payment Type

e-Transfer for Interac e-Transfer sessions
EFT for EFT sessions

Payment Direction

CREDIT: funds flow to the payee
DEBIT: funds flow from the payor

Notification Preferences

Control how the end user is notified of the request:

language: EN or FR
sendInteracLink: when true, Flinks sends the Interac e-Transfer request link directly to payor.email. When false, you distribute the hosted app URL yourself.

Frontend Integration

iFrame URL Pattern

{{BaseUri}}/app/?sessionId={{sessionId}}

Event Monitoring

window.addEventListener('message', function(e) {
  console.log('e-Transfer Event:', e.data);

  if (e.data.Step === 'SUCCESS') {
    // Session completed successfully
  } else if (e.data.Step === 'EXIT') {
    // User exited the flow
  }
});

Error Handling

Error responses follow the RFC 7807 ProblemDetails format:

{
  "type": "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-6.5.1",
  "title": "Bad Request",
  "status": 400,
  "detail": "Missing required field: payor.firstName"
}

Common HTTP status codes

Status	Meaning
201	Session created
200	Request succeeded
400	Invalid request payload
401	Missing or invalid access token
403	Access denied

Next Steps

Authentication: obtain an access token
Initiate Session: create an e-Transfer session
Session Details: retrieve session information
Setup Guide: complete implementation walkthrough

​Base URL

​Authentication

​API Endpoints

​Authentication

​Session Management

​Quick Start

​1. Authenticate

​2. Initiate Session

​3. Launch User Flow

​4. Retrieve Session Details

​Session Object

​Session Statuses

​Field Specifications

​Character Limits

​Validation Rules

​Notification Preferences

​Frontend Integration

​iFrame URL Pattern

​Event Monitoring

​Error Handling

​Next Steps

Base URL

Authentication

API Endpoints

Authentication

Session Management

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

2. Initiate Session

3. Launch User Flow

4. Retrieve Session Details

Session Object

Session Statuses

Field Specifications

Character Limits

Validation Rules

Notification Preferences

Frontend Integration

iFrame URL Pattern

Event Monitoring

Error Handling

Next Steps