ACH Transaction Codes

Following is a list of the numeric ACH transaction codes most commonly found on daily ACH reports:

22	Checking Deposit (Credit)
32	Share Deposit (Credit)
42	GL Deposit (Credit)
52	Loan Deposit (Credit)
55	Loan Reversal (Debit) (used rarely; reverses code 52)
27	Checking Withdrawal (Debit)
37	Share Withdrawal (Debit)
47	GL Withdrawal (Debit)
23	Pre-Note: Checking Deposit (Credit)
33	Pre-Note: Share Deposit (Credit)
43	Pre-Note: GL Deposit (Credit)
53	Pre-Note: Loan Deposit (Credit)
28	Pre-Note: Checking Withdrawal (Debit)
38	Pre-Note: Share Withdrawal (Debit)
48	Pre-Note: GL Withdrawal (Credit)

NOTE: This partial listing was taken from the 2001 ACH Rules guide (published by NACHA). Always refer to these rules for the most current codes

What is a “Tran Code Mismatch”?

The ACH Suspense Update Exception Report (PACHD) will often contain error messages like the following:

NOT DEFINED IN ACH MASTER - BUT NOT ADDED
TRAN CODE MISMATCH, WILL APPLY TO 001 TYPE

It can be helpful to understand why these errors appear, and under which circumstances action by a credit union employee might be required.

The numeric Transaction Codes used by the ACH system and the alphabetic Distribution Codes used by CU*BASE were designed to automatically cross reference each other. If you enter a distribution code “SD” for share deposit, CU*BASE will automatically read the account you selected and use the exact ACH Tran Code that matches the account type (share or checking).

Occasionally, an ACH item is received where the Tran Code on the incoming record does not match the code on your ACH master records (such as an item designated as a share deposit really being sent to a checking account). In the past, these items would automatically become “Tran Code Mismatch” exceptions, and the only way to keep the error from happening again was to ask the originating company to correct its file (by issuing a Notification of Change), or by manually changing the account number on the master record to match the incoming item.

To minimize the work required by the credit union, a feature called Bypass Tran Code Edit can be configured to instruct the system whether or not to ignore any errors that occur as a result of a Tran Code mismatch.

If Bypass Tran Code Edit is set to “Y” for your credit union, when CU*BASE sees an incoming Tran Code for either a share or checking deposit, and the distribution master record has an “SD” on the sequence 99 distribution, the transaction will be processed without a Tran Code mismatch error or any modifications to the incoming record. This is the recommended setting.

If Bypass Tran Code Edit is set to “N,” the system would either try to create a new record to match the incoming Tran Code (possibly resulting in a duplicate record), or, if there is not sufficient data to create a new record, the item would kick out as an exception.

In either case, CU*BASE still requires that incoming transactions match the debit or credit designation in the ACH master record. For example, if your records show a checking deposit, and the incoming record is set up as a checking or share withdrawal, that item will appear as an exception.

NOTE: Online clients should contact a CU*BASE representative for assistance in configuring this setting. Self-processing credit unions can control this setting through the “Processing CU Parameter Config.” option on the CU*BASE Operations: SCU Configuration menu.

Duplicate Transmissions

On occasion, the system must decide how to handle two separate transmissions that come in from the same source (Company ID), bound for the same account (Depositor Account #), with the same effective post date.

The most common example is when both a husband and wife receive their Social Security checks into the same account.

The problem comes in when the ACH master record contains distributions to other credit union accounts. Should the system process two different distributions? Or should the total funds be combined, with only one distribution made? The Multiple Distributions configuration option was designed to handle these situations.

If this setting is “Y,” the system places both transactions into the posting file and posts them separately, processing any distributions twice. If “N,” the system will add the two items together and place only one combined transaction into the posting file. Since only the one combined item is posted, only one set of distributions will be processed.

For example, Ed and Marie Jones both receive their Social Security checks via ACH, and deposit them into the same share account. They also want some of the funds received to be transferred to a Christmas Club account. If this setting is “Y,” the system would process two distributions to the Christmas Club. If “N,” both checks would be added together and only one distribution to the Christmas Club account would be processed.
NOTE: Online clients should contact a CU*BASE representative for assistance in configuring this setting. Self-processing credit unions can control this setting through the “Processing CU Parameter Config.” option on the CU*BASE Operations: SCU Configuration menu.

ACH Transaction Codes

What is a “Tran Code Mismatch”?

Duplicate Transmissions

Related Topics