WASHINGTON–A proposal by Nacha to add the Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS) to the ACH Contact Registry would help credit unions fill gaps in information, according to America’s Credit Unions.
In a comment letter in support of the proposal, the trade group noted that credit unions receive a substantial volume of ACH entries originated by the federal government, including Social Security, other federal benefit payments, veterans’ benefits, tax refunds, and federal payroll.
America’s Credit Unions further stated that receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs), credit unions must regularly communicate with BFS regarding these payments, including on reclamation of improper federal payments, claims of non-receipt and related trace requests, and the recovery of improper payments.
Addressing the Gap
“Credit unions do not uniformly possess accurate contact information for the BFS personnel or departments equipped to address these matters and often must rely on intermediaries, such as their payments associations, to identify the appropriate contact,” the letter states. “Adding BFS to the ACH Contact Registry directly addresses this gap by providing credit unions a reliable source of verified BFS contact information.”
America’s Credit Unions further stated it believes the proposal would also strengthen fraud prevention efforts by improving the speed and effectiveness of communication with BFS, and the letter notes it achieves these benefits without new obligations on participating depository financial institutions.
The organization is recommending Nacha consider requiring the BFS, as a registry participant with access to DFI contact information, to follow the same use and confidentiality limitations as other users of the registry.
The full letter can be found here.
