* Interac looks to become for-profit company

* Hires Wall Street adviser

TORONTO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The Interac Association has hired a Wall Street investment bank to help it restructure into a for-profit company, should regulators allow, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Thursday.

Interac, which manages debit cards and bank machines and is a major force in how consumers pay for retail purchases in Canada, has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to figure out how many shares each of its members -- which include the big banks -- would receive if Interac won approval for the conversion.

Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said Interac was waiting for a ruling from the Competition Bureau to transition to for-profit status as executives scramble to react to moves by MasterCard Inc (MA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Visa Inc (V.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to begin issuing debit cards in the Canadian market.

Years ago, Interac agreed, under competition rules, to run Canada's debt and bank machine business on a breakeven basis in a cooperative agreement with the banks. Executives are now arguing it needs more capital to compete with MasterCard and Visa, the Globe said.

A spokeswoman for Interac did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Canadians use debit cards more than any other country except Sweden, the newspaper said. Last year, Interac processed nearly 4 billion direct payment transactions, for a total of C$168 million ($160 million) in sales.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) has already issued debit cards that can be used on MasterCard's debit system. Visa is expected to follow within months, possibly with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) as its partner, the Globe said. ($1=$1.05 Canadian) (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)