Interac has announced the launch of the Interac Lab in Kitchener-based tech hub Communitech.
The Interac Lab will support the research and development of Interac’s next generation of products and services. Specifically, it will focus on three key priorities, including developing new payment capabilities, improving the way consumers and businesses move money by solving new use cases, and exploring the future of payments by testing how Interac’s suite of products can evolve with emerging tech like IoT, AI, and blockchain.
“Opening the Interac Lab positions us to continue to evolve as the payments sphere changes.”
“Opening the Interac Lab positions us to continue to evolve as the payments sphere changes,” said Debbie Gamble, vice president of digital product and platforms at Interac. “Kitchener-Waterloo is an incredible place with such a wealth of tech knowledge. We’re excited to learn from some of the best minds while we explore new ways to use our products and platforms.”
The Interac Lab said it will have full-time staff and a rotating group of co-op students from the Kitchener-Waterloo universities’ math, science, and engineering programs.
“Having a nationally-recognized brand like Interac engage with our community and help build technology for today and the future is wonderful,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. “As a leader in their industry, we’re excited to have Interac join our ecosystem of labs amongst the most innovative in Canada.”
Last year, Interac hosted a Collision Day at Communitech, where several companies pitched about how they can integrate Interac’s e-Transfer third-party API into their platforms to streamline the process of requesting and receiving money.