Simplified ACH Rules released, in effect as of January 1

Ensure your staff is prepared and using newest version to ensure compliance

You have heard about the Rules Simplification project for well over a year, and it’s now complete. The simplified NACHA Operating Rules went into effect January 1, 2011, impacting both the NACHA Operating Rules and the NACHA Operating Guidelines. The initiative transformed the organization of the Rules, structuring them around the rights and responsibilities of participants in the ACH network. In addition, clear, understandable, and consistent language was adopted throughout the Rules. The NACHA Operating Guidelines also were reorganized to align with the simplified NACHA Operating Rules and were restructured to address key, universal topics, consolidate discussions on similar topics and eliminate redundant material.

In organizing the Rules around the types of participants in the ACH Network, Rules Simplification acknowledges the major roles played by originating and receiving financial institutions and dedicates a major section to each of these roles. Financial institutions will be able to use these sections to determine their rights and responsibilities regarding any ACH payment it sends or receives. The new Rules also explicitly recognize that originating financial institutions are the entry points into the ACH Network for corporate users and third parties, and that the financial institutions are responsible for those parties' compliance with the Rules.

With the new rules in place, it is recommended that you do the following, if you haven’t already:

• Purchase an edition of the updated simplified Rules for those at your credit union who need it to ensure your credit union’s ongoing ACH compliance;
• Communicate with other areas of your organization that may be affected;
• Educate frontline, sales and operations staff who frequently use the Rules;
• Review internal and external documents, policies and procedures that reference particular
• sections of the Rules;
• Ensure that all previous editions of the Rules are archived and no longer referenced beginning January 2011.

EPCOR mailed updated Rules books to all of its members earlier this month. If you are a member and have not received the new Rules book, you may contact EPCOR at 800/500-0100 or via email at memserve@epcor.org. EPCOR also sells the Rules to members ($35) and non-members ($70). To purchase the Rules, please click here.

For more information on Rules Simplification, please visit NACHA’s Rules Simplification resource page. On this page, you may purchase Navigating the Simplified NACHA Operating Rules, which includes a mapping tool so users can easily find their favorite “old” rules in the new, re-organized version.