ACH LANGUAGE Flashcards
UNDERSTANDING ACH TERMS
A card, code or other means of access to a consumer’s account, or any combination of thereof, that may be used by the consumer to initiate electronic fund transfers. This does not include electronic devices, such as telephones, personal computers, or terminals, typically used in such transfers.
Access Device
A card or other means of access to a Consumer Account held by a Depository FI that is issued by an entity other than the Depository FI or a party that has contracted directly with the Depository FI to issue such cards or other means of access and can be used at the point of sale to initiate POS entries.
ACH Card
An electronic funds transfer system governed by the NACHA operating rules that provides for the interbank clearing of electronic entries for participating financial institutions.
ACH Network
An entity that acts as a central facility for the clearing, delivery, and settlement of entries between or among participating DFI’s. They may be a Federal Reserve Bank or an entity that executes an annual agreement with NACHA.
ACH Operator
The rate at which an Originator’s or Third-Party Sender’s debit entries are returned for administrative reasons (Return Reason Codes R02, R03, or R04), as calculated by the Rules requirement in Article Two (ODFI Return Rate Reporting Regarding and Originator’s or Third-Party Sender’s Administrative Return Rate or Overall Return Rate).
Administrative Return Rate
And ACH record that contains supplemental data related to an entry. This information may be needed to completely identify an account holder(s) or provide information concerning a payment to the RDFI and the Receiver.
Addenda Record
A contract between two entities (i.e., originating company and originating FI; originating company or Originating Depository FI and a TPSP/TPS; or Receiving Depository FI and a TPSP) that defines the operational and legal relationship between the two business entities when transferring funds electronically through the ACH network.
Agreement
The process of generating a message/data-specific code that can be used to positively identify the sender of the message/data, and to protect the message/data from insertion, modification, deletion or replay. The code is generated using a confidential set of keys and a complex mathematical algorithm (the Data Encryption Standard-DES). The code is appended to the message/data that is to protected. The message/data is in readable form.
Authentication
For most consumer debit entries, a written agreement with the originating company that is signed or similarly authenticated by an employee, customer, or member to allow payments processed through the ACH Network to be withdrawn from the Receiver’s account at a financial institution. It can also be a written agreement that defines the terms, conditions, and legal relationship between trading partners.
Authorization
An optional, variable format field of the MICR line of a check. It is positioned to the left of the routing number (or the external processing code, when such code is present). Data located within this field is bracketed by on-us symbols.
Auxiliary On-Us Field
Funds available for use on the current day
Available Balances
Funds that are available immediately to make payments, to invest, etc.
Available or Collected Funds
Schedule of deposited checks showing when the funds will be available.
Availability Schedule
Number of days required to collect items before the customer has available balances.
Availability
Any day on which a participating depository FI is open to the public during any part of the day for carrying on substantially all its banking functions. With reference to an ACH Operator, any day on which the applicable facility of such ACH Operator is being operated.
Banking Day
A group of records or documents considered as a single unit for the purpose of data processing.
Batch
The accounting entry that reflects the bank balance. It may or may not reflect funds available for immediate use.
Book or Ledger balance
The disbursement division for the US Dept of Treasury.
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
The FI or merchant that authorizes the issuance of a card to a consumer (or another organization) and is liable for the use of the card. The issuer retains full authority over the use of the card by the person to whom the card is issued. Any bank or organization that issues, or causes to be issued, bank cards to those who apply for them. Also referred to as the access device issuer.
Card Issuer
The transfer of funds from diverse accounts into a central account to effect more efficient cash management.
Cash Concentration
The transfer of funds from a central account to diverse accounts to effect more efficient cash management.
Cash Disbursement
Any item that is immediately convertible into cash such as a paper or electronic collection instrument.
Cash Item
A deposit of checks by a financial institution at another financial institution or the Federal Reserve Bank. The checks within the cash letter are drawn on various paying banks or may be drawn only on the financial institution receiving.
Cash Letter
A master file maintained by the ACH Operator to verify the file (CIF) routing numbers and other pertinent information or participating depository financial institutions.
Central Information File (CIF)
A letter, digit, or other symbol that is used as part of the organization, control, and/or representation of data.
Character
The final character of a routing number that may be used to test the validity of a specific routing number. Some financial institutions also calculate these for their account numbers.
Check Digit
Process of collecting the paper of electronic items from the drawee banks after being deposited by a customer.
Clearing
The balance of an account maintained by a FI at a Federal Reserve or correspondent bank.
Clearing Balance
A voluntary association of depository institutions that facilitates the clearing of checks or electronic items through the direct exchange of funds between members.
Clearing House
A large dollar wire transfer system operated by the Clearing House Interbank Payments System Company.
CHIPS
An individual, sole proprietorship, or corporation engaged in commercial enterprise.
Company
The record contained within an ACH file that describes the Originator(s) of an ACH transaction.
Company Batch/Header Record
The balances a company must maintain at a bank to compensate for credit accommodations and credit services.
Compensating Balances
A validation process that is used to ensure that a transmission complies with ASC X12 syntax rules.
Compliance Checking
Usually refers to an individual engaged in transactions other than commercial.
Consumer
A deposit account held by a FI and established by a natural person primarily for personal, family, or household use and not for commercial purposes.
Consumer Account
A bank that accepts deposits and performs banking services for other banks. These banking arrangements exist between local banks and banks located throughout the world.
Correspondent Bank
The department within a financial institution that is responsible for establishing credit policies and procedures.
Credit Department
An entry to the record of an account to represent the transfer or placement of funds into the account.
Credit Entry
A maximum amount a customer is allowed to borrow or become obligated to pay based on the customer’s credit rating, historical or predicted funding requirements, and the type of obligation.
Credit Limit
Classification of a customer’s ability to repay debts and various obligations.
Credit Rating
The risk that a party to a transaction cannot provide the necessary funds, as contracted, in order for settlement to take place.
Credit Risk
This occurs when the movement of fraudulent or illegal payment transactions from one payments channel to another is met with inconsistent risk management practices and lack of information sharing across payment channels about fraud.
Cross-Channel Risk
The basic units of information in the EDI standards, containing a set of values that represent a singular fact. They maybe single character codes, literal descriptions, or numeric values.
Data Element
Converting plain text using a key and a transformation technique into scrambled text, which protects the confidentiality of the information being transferred.
Data Encryption
The electronic exchange of information between two data processing points.
Data Transmission
A card that resembles a credit card in its uses but results in a debit to the consumer’s transaction account in response to the consumer’s purchases. a debit card may be machine readable, allowing for the activation of an automated teller machine or other automated payment equipment.
Debit Card
An entry to the record of an account to represent the transfer or removal of funds from the account.
Debit Entry
A data element separator in an Addenda Record, designated by an asterisk (*).
Delimiter
Regulation E requires a financial institution receiving ACH transactions to make available a periodic statement with descriptive information included. See Regulation E for details on the requirements.
Descriptive Statements
A situation in which the Originator or third-party (either a DFI’s TPSP or and Originator’s TPS) transmits ACH files (transactions) directly to an ACH operator using a financial institution’s routing and transit number and settlement account.
Direct Access
An electronic transfer of funds into a customer’s checking or savings account from an employer, another company, or a government agency. The funds being deposited can represent a variety of products, such as payroll, interest, pension, dividends, etc.
Direct Deposit
The electronic transfer of funds for making payments, whether the customer send or receives a payment. Customers can pay bills or tuition, donate to a favorite charity, make a purchase, or send money to a friend or family member electronically from a checking or savings account. Customers can initiate a payment from their bank or credit union’s online bill payment service, or they can authorize the company or government agency that they pay to initiate a payment on a recurring or one-times basis.
Direct Payment
A check clearing process in which a bank sends checks directly to the drawee bank or Federal Reserve Bank. Used to accelerate the collection of checks. Also refers to the arrangement where financial institutions exchange payment files with each other that use the NACHA formats (or are covered by the NACHA Operating Rules) but without using an ACH Operator.
Direct Send
The exchange of data from the computer of the sending party directly to computer of the receiving party. A third party value-added service is not used.
Direct Transmission
To alter, adapt or refine information, especially to bring about conformity to a standard or to suit a particular purpose or function. Based on the NACHA Operating Rules, ACH Operators are responsible for editing all ACH files submitted for processing. However, the ACH Operator does not make the changes but may reject the file indicating editing changes are required or may pend the file based on its agreement.
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