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A Guide to Federal Government

ACH Payments

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

Table of content

Green Book

Introduction

Welcome to the Green Book -- a comprehensive guide for financial institutions that receive ACH payments from the federal government.

Today, most federal payments are made via the Automated Clearing House (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, website addresses are included where appropriate. The Green Book continues to be available on the Internet 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 website for updates and news relevant to federal government ACH transactions.

Title 31 CFR part 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 the relevant regulations:

Regulation 31 CFR part 210 31 CFR part 208

31 CFR part 370

Governs Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House Management of Federal Agency Disbursements

Electronic Transactions and Funds Transfers Relating to United States Securities

We still occasionally get asked, "Why green?" It is 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 45 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 Bureau of the Fiscal Service January 2021

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

II

Table of Contents

Green Book

Table of Contents

Chapters

1. Enrollment 2. ACH Payment Processing 3. Non-Receipt Claims 4. Returns 5. Reclamations 6. Notification of Change 7. Contacts 8. Glossary 9. Forms

Revised on

January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023 January 2023

Online Book Location:



III

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

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.

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 U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center (EPSC) at 1-800-333-1795 for immediate enrollment of customers.

4. Enrollment using Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form FS Form 1200 for Social Security benefits or disability payments, Supplemental Security Income payments, Railroad Retirement Board annuities, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Civil Service annuities and Direct Deposit Sign Up Form FS Form 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.

In this chapter...

A: Automated Enrollment (ENR)............................................................................................................... 1-4 Go Direct Online Enrollment Option for Financial Institutions................................................................ 1-4 Social Security Administration (SSA) Payment Cycling .............................................................................. 1-4

B: Simplified Enrollment ............................................................................................................................. 1-5 Telephone Enrollment.............................................................................................................................................. 1-5 Paper Form Enrollment ........................................................................................................................................... 1-5 Enrollment Methods for Specific Payments..................................................................................................... 1-5

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

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