The Fed has announced that starting on September 12, they will begin sending yet another daily ACH file, this one at 11:30 p.m. ET. We are currently working through our internal procedural changes but will plan on receiving this file in addition to the five we already receive each day.

We are still considering what might work best in our online environment as far as when it would be posted to member accounts.  This includes determining which of your credit union’s configuration settings (via Tool #113: ACH Posting Controls Config) will apply. For example, we might combine this with the file we receive overnight and post them both in our first post of the day, by 8:30 a.m. ET.  We are also considering what differences might be appropriate based on time zone. For example, we might elect to group the batches a little differently for the Hawaiian time zone based on when end-of-day processing is normally run for them.

In the meantime, here is some additional information that may be helpful to know once the new ACH file is introduced:

When does CU*Answers receive the ACH files that are available throughout the day?

The FRB produces five sets of files each business day on weekdays, Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays. CU*Answers posts the files as follows:

  • CU*Answers receives the first set of files overnight and posts them by 8:30 AM ET.
  • CU*Answers receives the second set of files by noon and posts by 1:00 PM ET.
    • Same-day credits must be posted with this file.
  • CU*Answers receives the third set of files by 4:00 PM ET and posts by 5:00 PM ET.
    • Same-day credits must be posted with this file.
  • CU*Answers retrieves the fourth and fifth set of files at 5:30 PM ET and 10:00 PM ET and posts them prior to the close of business day, 10:30 PM ET.
    • As this posting is a combined posting, two Receive reports and one Posting report are produced.

Please remember that these posting times are approximate and may vary.

This posting rubric applies to CU*Answers online credit unions. Credit unions that participate in agreements with differing processors or services (such as MY CU Services, etc.) may have different guidelines and timelines for their ACH posting activity.

How Can I Configure my ACH Posting Controls?

You can configure your ACH posting controls by selecting Tool #113: ACH Posting Controls Config. This screen is used to determine when warehoused ACH transactions are posted.

Important Information:

  • Care should be taken when making changes to this screen. Review the Posting Debits and Credits – Important Considerations topic for more information on considerations when posting ACH debits and credits.
  • Same-day ACH requires that same-day items (credits and debits) must be posted on the day that they are received. Refer to Posting Debits and Credits – Important Considerations.
  • If you are an Xtend SRS Bookkeeping client, please contact Xtend before making any changes to this configuration.

For each ACH ‘run’ at CU*Answers (which consists of retrieving ACH files from the Federal Reserve Bank, moving the transactions into your CU’s warehouse and posting items with today’s effective date), you may choose to post credits, debits, both or none. When setting your ACH configuration, please be aware of same-day regulations from the Federal Reserve Bank. Refer to NACHA guidelines for specifics.

Only items with an effective date of today will be posted. Just choosing to add an additional posting to the day (such as activating credits in Run three) does not necessarily make ACH items post any faster than they otherwise would because the posting process uses the effective (or “settlement”) date on the incoming ACH item. If you would like to post a specific company’s credits as soon after they arrive as possible, you can use either the Early Post/Effective Date Override for Specific Company IDs feature or the Extract/Post Single ACH Company feature. Please note, your CU may be responsible for any transactions that are posted prior to the effective date.

If you make changes to this screen, use Accept (F5) to save your changes. Care should be taken before making changes to when debits and credits are posted.

Configuration Resources
Posting Debits and Credits – Important Considerations
Early Post/Effective Date Override for Specific Company IDs
Updating ACH Company Settings

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