ICBA expressed support for Nacha’s proposal to include the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service in the ACH Contact Registry.
ICBA Comments: In a comment letter, ICBA said:
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Enabling BFS participation in the registry provides clear benefits to community banks by facilitating direct, reliable communication with appropriate Treasury contacts regarding ACH payments, exceptions, and time-sensitive issues such as improper payment recovery.
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Access to verified BFS contact information will also enhance fraud mitigation efforts by enabling financial institutions to authenticate inbound communications.
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Providing BFS access to the 80,000 registry participants will strengthen information sharing and coordination across payment participants.
Background: Nacha requires all depository financial institutions to maintain their ACH contact information in its directory for bank-to-bank contacts, including check fraud contacts. The BFS has not had access to the Nacha directory because it is not a depository financial institution, though it is responsible for issuing government payments like Social Security benefits and IRS refunds.
ICBA View: ICBA has long supported robust use of the ACH Contact Registry, including using its thousands of check contacts to prevent check fraud.