Bank of Montreal has signed letter of intent with CertaPay Inc. to allow bank customers to send and receive money by e-mail.

“CertaPay’s email money system addresses a real customer need that, so far, has been unfulfilled in the payments industry. That’s the need to easily, securely and affordably transfer money person-to-person electronically,” said Marnie Kinsley, executive vice-president, E-Business, Emfisys, and president and CEO Cebra Inc., Bank of Montreal.

Kinsley likened the secure person-to-person (P2P) cash transfer system to sending an electronic cheque, and called it a vast improvement over the paper-based process of mailing a cheque.

When the CertaPay platform is up and running later this year, Bank of Montreal customers, along with those of CIBC, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust, will have access to the first bank-based, e-mail, P2P money system of its kind and magnitude in the world.

“Email is ubiquitous,” said Michael Ginsberg, CertaPay’s CEO. “It’s universal. It’s international. That makes e-mail a perfect medium to facilitate money transfer.”

“Canadians have been able to make direct electronic payments to established businesses and organizations for many years,” added Kinsley. “Using email as the messaging system, funds will be transferred and payments reconciled just as they’ve always been. By harnessing the power of the Internet, we’re helping clients manage their money more easily.”