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Payments Pulse - April 9th Edition

Payments Pulse
Payments Pulse, April 9, 2020
The Clearing House
Payments Pulse

Industry News & Resources

Economic Impact Payments: What Your Account Holders Need to Know

Source: IRS

Governor Whitmer: Tax Filing Deadline / Payments

Source: State of Michigan

Social Security Recipients Will Automatically Receive Economic Stimulus Payments

Source: US Department of Treasury

Small Business Guide to CARES Act

Source: sbc.senate.gov

Nacha COVID-19 Pandemic Page

Operations Bulletins, FAQs and more

2020 Written Statement Unauthorized Debit (WSUD)

Includes R11 Return Language

Green Book (Revised March 2020)

Federal Guide to ACH Payments
Note: TCHPA has been working to assemble COVID-19 news and guidance from our payments partners and industry regulators to share with members. To keep up with the continual flow of COVID-19 news released between Payments Pulse editions, please visit the TCHPA Home Page for information that could have an impact on financial institutions, companies and the payments industry in general.


We Get Questions...

 Q and A
Q.)   As we await the CARES Stimulus transactions for our account holders, we are wondering if these funds are subject to garnishment and if we can use the funds to offset obligations they have to our financial institution. Is there anything we should do to prepare for this?
A.)   Yes. The stimulus transactions are subject to garnishment by any and all debtors. However, we are hearing that the Federal government is limiting their garnishment to child support payments only. Some account holders may not receive their stimulus funds or they may be quickly garnished. Your financial institution may also choose to collect outstanding obligations (i.e. past due loans, NSF fees) from these funds, but it is considered a business decision. We recommend that you meet now with the right people internally to decide the position you want to take. Should you decide to allow the stimulus dollars to go untouched by your FI, you’ll need to review procedures to ensure this occurs. Start planning now as payments distributed via direct deposit are expected to post soon.
Have a question for TCHPA? Call 800-875-2242 (choose option 3) or email education.services@theclearinghouse.org.

Keep Working Reclamations But Some Relief is Planned
Temporary Suspension of Debits Due to Lack of Response to an ACH Reclamation Notice After 60 Days

The U.S. Department of Treasury recently notified financial institutions (FIs) that as a result of the current events, and until further notice, Fiscal Service will suspend the process of debiting an RDFI’s Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) master account in cases where the RDFI does not respond to an ACH Reclamation notice within 60 days. FIs should continue to process and respond to reclamation notices during this period in order reduce the liability for their institution and to avoid unnecessary backlogs at Fiscal Service. They will continue to process agency requests for debits (i.e. 45 day amounts), FI debit authorizations, ACH returns as a result of death, and checks received from FIs for amounts owed due to reclamations.
31 CFR 210 and the Green Book still apply. The temporary suspension referenced above is intended only for those cases in which an RDFI is unable to respond to ACH Reclamation notices in a timely manner due to staffing challenges related to COVID-19. Questions? Call the Fiscal Service Payment Management Call Center at (855) 868-0151 or email us at Payments@fiscal.treasury.gov.

Payments University: A Virtual Experience in 2020
May 13-14th

Concerns over the COVID-19 Pandemic and shelter-in-place orders for Michigan and Puerto Rico have forced TCHPA to change plans for the previously scheduled in-person Payments University events. To avoid cancelling altogether, we have decided to re-schedule this year’s University as a virtual event and present all topics via live webinars scheduled over the course of two days.
There are still a lot of great topics on the agenda, that will be of interest to those who are new to their payments career and seasoned professionals alike. And although we’ll lose some of the ‘togetherness’ of the face-to-face event, the virtual event is now available to our larger audience, including some who may not have been able to attend due to travel restrictions to the original locations.
Registration is now open and we invite you to join us for this first-ever virtual Payments University experience. Best of all, there’s still NO CHARGE for TCHPA members.

A New Face on the Education Team!


Meet our newest ‘payments guru’ - Deirdre Ashby, who joined TCHPA in March as a Payments Education Specialist. Deirdre comes to us with years of payments industry experience and expertise and is already helping the team plan, develop and deliver workshops and webinars to meet the needs of our members. You might also speak with Deirdre when you call us for help with a rule question or advice on best practices in handling ACH or check exceptions.

Deirdre is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and National Check Professional (NCP) and has plans to pursue the Accredited Payments Risk Professional designation (APRP) next. Meanwhile, her primary goal is to deliver training in a way that excites and motivates our members. And don’t we all appreciate an energetic and knowledgeable presenter?

Member Support


Remember, when you need support from The Clearing House Payments Authority (TCHPA), you can reach our Member Services staff directly by calling 800-875-2242 and choosing option 3, or by emailing education.services@theclearinghouse.org. Although our staff is working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still available to provide the support you need in a timely manner!

The TCHPA Store is Open Too!
The TCHPA office may be empty but our team is still hard at work. Our Payments Store is open too… but our stock room is now located in Dawne Weis’ kitchen! Where there’s a will there’s a way and Dawne has been filling orders from home just as she would from the office. We’re also waiving the extra fees charged by UPS to deliver to a residential location should your team also be working from home at this time.

Upcoming TCHPA Education
No charge for members!

APRIL
14

Understanding and Combating Payments Fraud
(Webinar)
APRIL
21

Third-Party Sender: ACH Audit Requirements
(Webinar)

Nacha’s Smarter Faster Payments 2020: Remote Connect
3 Days. 13 Sessions. All Online.
Significant savings for those who register via TCHPA

All TCHPA Education
(80+ live and recorded webinar topics currently available!)
This might be a great time to catch up on your payments training and earn continuing education credits.

2020 APRP Exam Window Extended

Nacha recently announced a change to the 2020 APRP Exam window, which will now be November 30th – December 19th, due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Testing typically takes place in the July/August timeframe. The extension will allow those who are planning to sit for the exam additional time to prepare. See the TCHPA Payments Certifications page for additional prep guidance and resources.

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115 Business Park Dr.
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
United States
The Clearing House
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