Interac Appoints D’Arcy McDonald as Group Head, Product

Interac Corp., the backbone of Canada’s digital payments ecosystem, has announced the appointment of D’Arcy McDonald as its new Group Head, Product, a strategic leadership move that underscores the company’s commitment to innovation and product evolution in a fast-changing digital economy.

In his new role, McDonald will oversee the development and enhancement of Interac’s core product portfolio — including Interac Debit, Interac e-Transfer, and the Interac Verified suite of identity solutions — while also accelerating emerging offerings such as KONEK, a product aimed at advancing digital trust and seamless transaction experiences.

At a time when digital payments and secure verification are central to everyday commerce, McDonald’s appointment signals Interac’s intent to sharpen its product strategy for both consumers and organisations.

From Banking Expertise to Payments Leadership

McDonald brings to Interac a deep background in financial services leadership, spanning retail banking, payments, lending and digital transformation roles across Canada’s major banking institutions. Before joining Interac, he served as Senior Vice President for the Ontario Region at Scotiabank, where he led portfolios covering retail payments, unsecured lending, credit cards, investments and deposit products. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at TD Bank, focusing on savings and investments, cross-border services and digital channel integration.

His experience in both traditional banking and product innovation positions him to navigate the challenges of modernising payment products while ensuring they remain relevant in a rapidly evolving — and increasingly digital-first — market.

McDonald’s appointment reflects Interac’s broader strategy to blend customer-centric innovation with deep financial services expertise.

Steering Core Payments and New Horizons

Interac’s products are deeply embedded in the daily financial lives of Canadians, enabling more than 20 million transactions every day across debit payments, e-Transfers and digital verification services.

As Group Head, Product, McDonald will have responsibility for shaping the future of these offerings — ensuring they not only maintain operational reliability but also evolve to meet new expectations around digital identity, real-time transactions and seamless payments experiences.

He takes the helm at a pivotal moment for the company as it seeks to balance the stewardship of legacy payment systems with the pursuit of innovation in areas such as secure verification, identity services and next-generation transaction flows.

Under his leadership, Interac aims to strengthen its role as a foundational infrastructure layer for Canada’s digital economy.

Trusted Innovation in Canada’s Payment Landscape

Interac has long been a central pillar of Canada’s financial ecosystem, connecting nearly 300 financial institutions and powering essential services that Canadians rely on every day. Founded in 1984, the organization’s products extend beyond payments into digital trust and authentication — areas of increasing importance as commerce becomes more mobile, online and data-driven.

McDonald’s familiarity with Interac runs deep. He previously served on the company’s Board of Directors from 2020 to 2025, giving him a broad perspective on both the organization’s strategic direction and the challenges inherent in scaling national payment infrastructure.

His experience positions him to bridge Interac’s past successes with its next chapter of product evolution.

Looking Ahead: Innovation Meets Trust

Interac’s approach to product development is grounded in both innovation and trust — two principles that have defined its role in Canada’s payments ecosystem for decades. McDonald’s mandate will involve guiding the product strategy in ways that reflect this dual focus, while ensuring that new offerings meet the security, usability and reliability expectations of both consumers and enterprise partners.

As digital payments continue to evolve with mobile wallets, real-time settlement and embedded finance trends reshaping how money moves, Interac’s product leadership will be instrumental in keeping the organization at the centre of that evolution.

With McDonald at the helm of product strategy, Interac looks poised to deepen its influence across payments and digital trust solutions for Canadians.

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