NACHA requests information from ACH Network participants and other payment system stakeholders on a concept that would allow paying banks to make warranty claims on unauthorized Remotely Created Checks through the ACH Network.  NACHA is issuing the warranty claim entry as a concept; specific amendments to the NACHA Operating Rules are not being proposed at this time.  Responses are due February 6, 2009. <more>

SUMMARY: 

On November 12, 2008, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury (“Agencies”) issued the final rule regarding Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling.  A copy of the final rule is attached.  The final rule has an effective date of January 19, 2009, but mandatory compliance is not required until December 1, 2009. 
 

NACHA staff is preparing a thorough analysis of the final rule’s impact on the ACH Network, and on the NACHA Operating Rules.  A preliminary analysis shows that the majority of issues NACHA raised in its comment letter were addressed satisfactorily.  For example, the final rule:

• Adopts the “actual knowledge” standard requested by NACHA for the remedial action provisions of Section ___.6;
• Preserves the overblocking provision ...

Executive Summary

The Nominating Committee announces that the ballot period for the election of candidates to the NACHA Board of Directors has closed effective November 17, 2008. The terms of the Directors elected in this cycle will begin as of January 1, 2009. Directors are listed below alphabetically.

 

Elected to One-Year Terms (2009-2009)

 

Ann-Marie Bartels, Mid-America Payment Exchange (RPA)

Charles Bretz, Compass Bank (RPA)

Roy DeCicco, J.P. Morgan (DFI)

Fred Laing, UMACHA (Council)

Chrystina Giorgio, Sandy Spring Bank (RPA)

William Newman, Bank of America (DFI)

 

Elected to ...

November 4, 2008

To help financial institutions assess their ability to accept new format and processing requirements under the new SEC code for international ACH transactions (IAT), the Federal Reserve Banks will begin offering IAT testing on November 4, 2008.

IAT test files can only be exchanged through authorized ACH Sending and Receiving Points. Sending Points will be able to view test results or status using FedACH Information Services available via the FedLine Web access solution. For receipt testing, Receiving Points will be able to receive files for any one or all of the institutions for which they are authorized. Each IAT test receipt file will consist of four transactions containing all mandatory fields and a mixture of optional IAT addenda records. If an institution does not maintain an electronic connection to the Federal Reserve, FedACH Central Operations S ...

Federal Reserve spam attack emerges

Malware scam warns of phishing scam

Written by Shaun Nichols in San Francisco

 November 14,  2008

Security officials are warning users of a clever new phishing scam arriving in emails purporting to come from the US Federal Reserve.

The US Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT) said that the spammed messages direct users to a web page which warns of a new phishing scam targeting users.

The message contains a fake Federal Reserve letterhead and warns users in typically broken English that a "large-scales phishing attack started and has been still lasting".

In addition to the shoddy gram ...

On July 30, 2008, NACHA’s Board of Directors approved a Policy Statement on Direct Access. This policy addresses the importance of Originating Depository Financial Institutions (ODFIs) registering with NACHA their direct access relationships for ACH debit transactions, and following prudent risk management techniques including adherence to best practices for the duration of these relationships.  The NACHA Board of Directors expects that ODFIs will register their direct access relationships with NACHA, allowing NACHA to better quantify the number of, and the risk profile for, direct access relationships.  NACHA will work with the ACH Operators to validate that financial institutions have registered all direct access relationships.

 

NACHA has established a secure website for ODFIs that includes the forms to complete the registration process. Financial institutions are required, during an initial six-week period from Septe ...

NACHA released ballot Ref. 5-08 to the NACHA Voting Membership on September 8. These changes are categorized as CAtegory C changes (Minor Impact to the Rules).

To read more and learn more about the ballot please click here (members only).

   

Source: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2008/sa08192.html

Fidelity Bank, Wichita, Kansas, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 301171353, which is assigned to Fidelity Bank. The items are similar to some of the bank's authentic cashier's checks; however, the counterfeit items show a telephone number beginning with area code "(406)" after the zip code and have only one signature line.

Authentic checks from Fidelity Bank are issued in two forms. The first check displays a "NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS" above two signature lines. The bank's local telephone number, which begins with ...

More than Three-Fourths of Online Americans Bank and Pay Bills Online

Fiserv survey finds more households pay bills online than paper checks for second consecutive year

BROOKFIELD, Wis., Aug 27, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- More Americans than ever, an estimated 63.1 million households or three-fourth of those online, are paying their bills online rather than writing paper checks, according to a survey sponsored by CheckFree, now part of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) a leading provider of information technology services to the financial industry. The 2008 Consumer Banking and Bill Payment Survey, the eighth conducted by CheckFree since 2002, highlights Americans' growing use of online banking and bill payment services to help manage their personal finances.

The survey indicates that consumers are more confident about online security as more Americans are gaining experie ...

TOWERGROUP: U.S. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WILL SPEND OVER $1 BILLION ON ONLINE BILL PAYMENT SOLUTIONS BY 2010


NEEDHAM, MA, August 26, 2008 - Online bill payment has grown to become an integral part of financial services institutions’ Internet banking offerings. New research from TowerGroup finds that expediting payments by speeding the posting time of bill payment transactions can create a new revenue stream for financial institutions – via instituting an online bill payment user per transaction fee to guarantee same-day posting.

TowerGroup estimates that nearly 24 million consumers are currently active users of online banking bill payment in the U.S., and that the volume of online bill payments will reach 3.87 billion transactions by 2012. However, the success of online bill pay has also increased delivery and support costs for financial services institutions.