Tim Hortons to accept debit cards

Tim Hortons said Tuesday it will begin accepting Interac debit cards as a payment option across the country starting this month after an extended test period in Western Canada.

The Canadian coffee and doughnut chain had resisted moves to take bank cards in some provinces, citing concerns the transactions could slow down service.

But the company says that after starting to accept debit cards in Western Canada in 2003, it's convinced there will not be any slowdowns at its cash registers, nor any concerns about customer security.

The move will give Canadians the speed and convenience of using debit payments, Tim Hortons chief operations officer Roland Walton said in a release.

Tim Hortons said it will accept debit cards at about 90 per cent of its 3,000 locations across the country, with the rollout covering locations in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

"With Tim Hortons' expansion of Interac debit acceptance, customers will no longer need to worry if they have cash in-pocket when they buy their morning coffee, breakfast wraps for the kids after hockey practice or doughnuts for the office," said Interac president and CEO Mark O'Connell.

Three years ago, Tim Hortons began taking MasterCard credit cards and introduced a prepaid gift card option.

Tim Hortons is Canada's biggest restaurant chain and the fourth biggest in North America.

In total, it has 3,703 restaurants, including 3,082 in Canada.