A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections

fms.greenbook

Green Book

Introduction

Introduction

Welcome to the Green Book --- a comprehensive guide for financial institutions that receive ACH payments from the Federal government, and send payments (i.e. collections) to the Federal government.

Today, the vast majority of Federal payments and collections are made via the ACH. With very few exceptions, Federal government ACH transactions continue to be subject to the same rules as private industry ACH payments. As a result, the Green Book continues to get smaller in size and is designed to deal primarily with exceptions or issues unique to Federal government operations.

Federal agency contact information is included and, since so much information is available via the Internet, web site addresses are included where appropriate. The Green Book continues to be available on the Internet at fms.greenbook and chapters can be printed as Portable Display Format (PDF) documents. We no longer print and mail hard copies. So, we encourage you to visit the web site for updates and news relevant to Federal government ACH transactions.

The ACH regulation, 31 CFR 210, provides the basis for most of the information contained in the Green Book. However, there are other regulations that impact Federal government ACH payments. The following table summarizes these regulations:

Regulation 31 CFR Part 210

31 CFR Part 208 31 CFR Part 203

31 CFR Part 370

Governs

Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

Management of Federal Agency Disbursements

Payment of Federal Taxes and the Treasury Tax and Loan Program

Electronic Transactions and Funds Transfers Relating to United States Securities

Developed and maintained by: Financial Management Service

Financial Management Service Financial Management Service

Bureau of the Public Debt

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections

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Introduction

Green Book

We still occasionally get asked, "Why green?" It is really simple. The first publication issued in 1975 dealing with the Direct Deposit of Federal government payments, when the ACH network was in its infancy, had a green cover. More than thirty years later, the world of Federal government payments has changed, but the Green Book is still green! We hope you incorporate the Green Book into your daily operations and visit us frequently.

Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service August 2007

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A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections

Green Book

Enrollment

1 Enrollment for Federal Payments

Overview

Financial Institutions can play a key role in assisting recipients of federal payments to enroll in Direct Deposit with their paying agency. This chapter is a guide to the various enrollment methods available for both consumer and corporate recipients. Institutions who choose to process their own enrollments electronically may do so through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. Through the use of the ENR code in the ACH system, Financial institutions expedite the processing and transfer of the enrollment information to governmental paying agencies. There are several enrollment options:

1. Enroll customers in lobby, batch and submit ENR enrollments through ACH from the Financial Institution

2. Financial Institution can enroll on the Go Direct!? website to enter enrollments for customers

3. Financial Institution can call the Go Direct 800 number for immediate enrollment of customers

4. Enrollment using FMS Form 1200 for SSA/SSI, RRB, and OPM payments and Direct Deposit Sign Up Form SF 1199A for other Federal payments, or the ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form SF 3881 for corporate vendor payments)

Errors in the Direct Deposit enrollment process are the primary cause of misdirected payments. Financial institutions will be held liable for providing incorrect enrollment information and should, therefore, carefully review all Direct Deposit enrollment procedures.

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments and Collections REVISED MAY 2008

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