Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS) is issuing this final rule which amends our regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network by Federal agencies. The rule adopts, with some exceptions, the 2009 ACH Rules published by NACHA--The Electronic Payments Association (NACHA) as the rules governing the use of the ACH Network by Federal agencies. Among other things, the final rule includes new requirements to identify all international payment transactions using a new Standard Entry Class Code and to include certain information in the ACH record sufficient to allow the receiving financial institution to identify the parties to the transaction and to allow screening to comply with requirements administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, the rule requires financial institutions to provide limited account-related customer information related to the reclamation of post-death benefit payments as permitted under the Payment Transactions Integrity Act of 2008. It also allows Federal payments to be delivered to pooled or master accounts established by nursing facilities for residents of those facilities or held by religious orders whose members have taken vows of poverty.