Management of Federal Agency Disbursements

On January 10, 2023, the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Fiscal Service's Management of Federal Agency Disbursements rule, which implements a statutory mandate requiring the Federal Government to deliver non-tax payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) unless Treasury determines that a waiver of the requirement is appropriate. Fiscal Service is now issuing this final rule (Final Rule) to adopt the amendments as proposed, with one minor change. Among other things, the Final Rule strengthens the EFT requirement by narrowing the scope of existing waivers from the EFT mandate or requiring agencies to obtain Fiscal Service's approval to invoke certain existing part 208 waivers. The use of electronic payments has expanded significantly since the waivers from the EFT mandate were first published in 1998, and the Final Rule appropriately updates part 208's waiver provisions, given the broad availability of safe and secure electronic payment options currently available. In doing so, the Final Rule leverages Treasury's growing profile of electronic payment options, which are faster, less expensive, and safer than paper checks. The strengthening of the EFT requirement with these changes is also consistent with Treasury's commitment to reducing check payments.