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A new proposal that would require banks that originate unauthorized automated clearing house transactions to pay fees to receiving banks went out to ACH members for comment this week, but not without controversy. “This is by far the most polarizing topic the ACH industry has seen in a long time,” …
Read More »A Complement to POP Could Come from NACHA
The National Automated Clearing House Association is mulling an idea for a new point-of-sale electronic check product that it hopes might overcome some of the obstacles its existing POS service, called POP, has run into. Tentatively called “back-office conversion,” or BOC, the idea would allow merchants to send all checks …
Read More »PINless Debit Could Crimp the ACH’s Style on the Internet
Although Internet transactions have become a highly popular form of payment on the automated clearing house network, the emergence of direct debit online may stunt the growth of Web ACH transactions, an executive with a major Internet payment processor said today. Internet payments, which the National Automated Clearing House Association …
Read More »Fed Says ARC, Check 21 Will Eat More and More into Check Volume
The volume of paper checks processed by the Federal Reserve is falling at a rate of 10% to 11% so far this year and is expected to plunge another 13% to 15% in 2005, according to James M. Lyon, first vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. This …
Read More »Moneris Introduces Check Conversion to Complement Credit, Debit
Moneris Solutions U.S. Group, Chicago, has rolled out a check-conversion and check-authorization service for merchants at the point of sale that combines with the processor's credit and debit card product. The company says it is introducing the new offering to round out its arsenal of processing services for merchant clients …
Read More »The Fed Plans for Nine More Check-Office Closings by Early 2006
The Federal Reserve Banks announced today they plan to shutter check-processing operations at nine facilities during 2005 and early 2006. The Fed now plans to consolidate check operations in 23 remaining locations. In a statement, the Fed says the decision “respond[s] to the nation's increasing substitution of electronic payments for …
Read More »J.P. Morgan Reaps a Windfall from Lockbox Check Conversion
The recent surge in transactions in the category of electronic checks called accounts-receivable conversion (ARC) comes as no surprise to the banks that are playing a major role in moving utilities, insurers, retailers, credit card companies, and other major consumer billers from paper checks to electronic transactions on the automated …
Read More »A New NACHA Rule Would Combat Returns on All ACH Debits
The national network for the automated clearing house system is sifting through comments on a new rule that would levy fines on banks that fail to reduce return rates to below 1% for all client originators and for all categories of ACH transactions. Within a week or so, says the …
Read More »The Fed Plans More Closures As Check Volumes Slide
Having already announced last year its plan to shutter 13 check-processing facilities by the end of 2004, the Federal Reserve now says in a statement released this week it plans further closures. The announcement from the Fed does not indicate how many locations might be affected, nor is it specific …
Read More »E-Payments Help Push Fed Check Volume Down Nearly 6%
The volume of checks processed by the Federal Reserve dove nearly 6% in the first quarter, reflecting the impact of various electronic payment methods on the nation's usage of paper checks. According to the latest data released by the Fed, the number of checks it cleared in the first quarter …
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