EFT API Overview

Work in progressThis section is currently under active development as part of improvements planned for 2026. Content may change as we expand product capabilities.If you’re interested in early access or want to learn more about what’s coming, feel free to reach out to the team.

This is the V1 (direct transactions) reference. For new integrations we recommend the session-based EFT V2 API, which replaces these endpoints with a single hosted flow.

The EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) API provides endpoints to create, monitor, and manage PAD-based debit and credit transactions through Canada’s EFT rail.

Base URLs

Production: {{BaseUri}} Sandbox: {{BaseUri}}

Authentication

EFT API endpoints use two authentication methods:

OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials: Used for the /authorize endpoint. Authenticate with Basic auth (Client ID and Secret) to obtain a Bearer token valid for 599 seconds.
API Key: Most EFT endpoints authenticate via the x-client-id header, provided during onboarding.

API Endpoints

Authentication

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

Transactions

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/v1/transactions`	Create EFT transaction

Payment Requests

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/v1/paymentrequests/{requestId}/cancel`	Cancel payment request

Schedules

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	`/api/v1/schedules/{scheduleId}/cancel`	Cancel schedule

Institutions

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/api/v1/institutions`	List supported institutions

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

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

2. Create a Transaction

curl --location '{{BaseUri}}/api/v1/transactions' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-client-id: {{your-client-id}}' \
--data '[{
  "transactionCode": 1,
  "amount": 100.00,
  "paymentDirection": "DEBIT",
  "currency": "CAD",
  "payor": {
    "accountInfo": {
      "institutionCode": "001",
      "transitNumber": "12345",
      "accountNumber": "1234567"
    },
    "contactInfo": {
      "firstName": "John",
      "lastName": "Smith"
    }
  },
  "scheduleInfo": {
    "paymentFrequency": "OneTime",
    "startDate": "2026-04-15"
  }
}]'

EFT Status Codes

EFT Transaction Status (`EftStatus`)

Status	Description
`Received`	Transaction request received by Flinks
`Created`	Transaction created and queued for processing
`Submitted`	Submitted to Payments Canada
`Reconciled`	Confirmation received from the payment network
`Settled`	Funds have settled
`Cancelled`	Transaction was cancelled before submission
`Rejected`	Transaction was rejected by the payment network

Payment Request Status (`PaymentStatus`)

Status	Description
`Initiated`	Payment request created
`Processing`	Payment is being processed
`Accepted`	Payment accepted by the network
`Processed`	Payment has been processed
`Settled`	Funds have settled
`Cancelled`	Payment was cancelled

Field Specifications

Character Limits

Field	Constraint
`description`	Max 15 characters
`crossReferenceNumber`	Alphanumeric and hyphens only, max 36 characters
`institutionCode`	Exactly 3 digits
`transitNumber`	Exactly 5 digits
`accountNumber`	7 to 12 digits

Amount Rules

Rule	Value
Minimum	$0.01
Currency	`CAD` only

Validation Rules

DEBIT Transactions

payor is required; payee must not be provided
startDate must be a future date
OneTime: startDate is required
Recurring (Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly): startDate is required, plus either endDate or transactionsCount (not both); transactionsCount max is 300; endDate must be after startDate

CREDIT Transactions

payee is required; payor must not be provided
Only OneTime frequency is supported
startDate must be the current day (same-day only)

Account Info

Provide either:

accountId (a GUID referencing a previously stored account), or
The combination of institutionCode + transitNumber + accountNumber

You cannot provide both.

Contact Info

Provide either:

contactId (a GUID referencing a previously stored contact), or
firstName + lastName, or legalName

You cannot provide both.

Schedule Frequency Reference

Frequency	Value	Notes
One-time	`OneTime`	Single payment on start date
Weekly	`Weekly`	Every 7 days from start date
Biweekly	`Biweekly`	Every 14 days from start date
Monthly	`Monthly`	Same day each month from start date

EFT Processing Windows

Flinks follows Payments Canada EFT processing schedule:

Window	Cutoff Time	Submission Time	Days
Window 1	2:30am EDT	9:30am EDT	Mon to Fri
Window 2	1:30pm EDT	4:30pm EDT	Mon to Fri
Window 3	6:00pm EDT	9:00pm EDT	Mon to Fri

No processing on weekends or statutory holidays.

Error Handling

Common Errors

Validation Error (400):

{
  "type": "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-6.5.1",
  "title": "Bad Request",
  "status": 400,
  "errors": {
    "Amount": ["Amount should be greater than 1 cent"],
    "Payor": ["Debit transactions require a Payor."]
  }
}

Unauthorized (401): Returned when the x-client-id header is missing or invalid.

Next Steps

Create Transaction: Full request and response schema
Setup Guide: Complete implementation walkthrough

API Reference

Auth

Connect

Enrich

Outbound

Pay

Upload

Utilities

Base URLs

Authentication

API Endpoints

Authentication

Transactions

Payment Requests

Schedules

Institutions

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

2. Create a Transaction

EFT Status Codes

EFT Transaction Status (`EftStatus`)

Payment Request Status (`PaymentStatus`)

Field Specifications

Character Limits

Amount Rules

Validation Rules

DEBIT Transactions

CREDIT Transactions

Account Info

Contact Info

Schedule Frequency Reference

EFT Processing Windows

Error Handling

Common Errors

Next Steps

​Base URLs

​Authentication

​API Endpoints

​Authentication

​Transactions

​Payment Requests

​Schedules

​Institutions

​Quick Start

​1. Authenticate

​2. Create a Transaction

​EFT Status Codes

​EFT Transaction Status (EftStatus)

​Payment Request Status (PaymentStatus)

​Field Specifications

​Character Limits

​Amount Rules

​Validation Rules

​DEBIT Transactions

​CREDIT Transactions

​Account Info

​Contact Info

​Schedule Frequency Reference

​EFT Processing Windows

​Error Handling

​Common Errors

​Next Steps

Base URLs

Authentication

API Endpoints

Authentication

Transactions

Payment Requests

Schedules

Institutions

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

2. Create a Transaction

EFT Status Codes

EFT Transaction Status (`EftStatus`)

Payment Request Status (`PaymentStatus`)

Field Specifications

Character Limits

Amount Rules

Validation Rules

DEBIT Transactions

CREDIT Transactions

Account Info

Contact Info

Schedule Frequency Reference

EFT Processing Windows

Error Handling

Common Errors

Next Steps