Don't Wait Another Year to Become an AAP
How can you help your organization gain a competitive advantage in the electronic payments industry? Consider becoming an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP). AAP accreditation, which is earned by passing a 120-question, multiple-choice exam, demonstrates a mastery of ACH rules, regulations, policies and procedures. All financial institutions offering electronic payment services should have at least one AAP on hand to provide ACH expertise and guidance to customers and other employees. The exam will be administered nationwide on Oct. 17 and is offered in St. Louis, Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis. Register online at www.nacha.org/aap/aapreg.html or call NACHA at (703) 561-1100 for registration information. All registrants will receive a comprehensive handbook to help them study for the exam.
Attend ACH Training... on the Web
Boost your knowledge of ACH without even leaving the office! Mid-America Payment Exchange (MPX), along with 15 other regional payments associations, recently launched The Payments Academy On-Line, a self-paced, web-based training tool. The Payments Academy On-Line offers courses on multiple payment topics, including ACH rules and regulations, audits and rule compliance and risk management. The Payments Academy is always "open," so you can receive training on your schedule. All 12 courses, plus the AAP exam preparation, will be available by year-end. At only $50 per class, the Payments Academy On-Line is one of the most convenient and inexpensive instructional tools available. Check it out on MPX's web site at www.mpx.org. For more information, contact Samantha Miller-Akers at MPX at 1-800-500-0100.
Use of Cross-Border ACH Codes Expanded
The previous issue of Payments Quarterly introduced the two new standard entry class (SEC) codes for Canadian cross-border transactions that will take effect Sept. 15, 2000: CBR (corporate cross-border) and PBR (consumer cross-border). As originally approved, these two SEC codes were intended for credit transactions only. A new amendment, however, will apply the CBR and PBR codes to cross-border debit entries as well. This amendment also modifies Article 10 of the NACHA Operating Rules to add protections, warranties and technical specifications for exchanging cross-border entries. This information was previously provided in the Cross-Border Payment Operating Rules for international ACH payments, which no longer addresses domestic payment system issues. For more information on the rules governing cross-border ACH transactions, contact your regional ACH association or NACHA at (703) 561-1100.
Stronger Passwords Mean Tighter Security
Effective Oct. 16, the Fed will require that all connections into its systems use a new password configuration. All passwords must have eight characters that combine two or more character types: alphabetic (A-Z), numeric (0-9) or special characters (@, $, #). These changes will provide a greater measure of security for both the Fed and its customers. A test environment remains available through Oct. 14 to validate password changes before the new requirements are implemented. Contact Marva Butler at (314) 444-8952 or toll-free at 1-800-333-0861 to arrange test times.