When does CU*Answers receive the ACH files that are available throughout the day?
The Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) produces six 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 and sixth set of files overnight and posts them by 8:30 AM ET.
- As this posting is a combined posting, two Receive reports and one Posting report are produced.
- 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, CU*NorthWest, CU*South, etc.) may have different guidelines and timelines for their ACH posting activity.
Is there a report to view that displays distribution numbers that need to be changed if a payroll company changes their change payroll numbers (ACH company ID, distribution ID)? And if so, what updates need to be changed?
When it comes to ACH originators who change company IDs, we provide our credit unions with a daily report that highlights any new company IDs that are present. This is the “NEW ACH COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS” (PACHD3) report. It is available for you to review in CU*Spy each day for any prior day’s activity and present within your DAILYxx output queue for you to review for current day activity (each day all reports are generated to the DAILYxx OUTQ and then routed to CU*Spy for archival each evening…). Please note that there will be a PACHD3 report for each time ACH is posted.
If a new company appears on this report and the ACH has come into the warehouse prior to posting to members, you can easily use the Copy/Merge Distribution option in Tool # 989 Work with ACH Members/Companies in CBX. This will take any distributions associated with the legacy company ID and copy them to the new company ID. In the event that the ACH does not come into the warehouse prior to posting (i.e., if ACH is received on the same day it posts…and ACH has already posted for that day…) distributions for that payroll must be transferred manually. However, it is still important to choose the Copy/Merge option to ensure that distributions are copied/merged for the next time that ACH payroll is received.
Please keep in mind that SSA (Social Security Administration) deposits use several company IDs. CBX has a cross-reference system in place that automatically funnels all incoming company IDs from the SSA that treats them as if they came from a single company ID. Therefore, the Copy/Merge option should never need to be used with SSA deposits.
What precautions should be taken when adding distribution records for a member who has more than one deposit coming in from the same institution but for different household members, for example Social Security deposits?
Special care should be taken when adding distribution records for a member who has more than one deposit coming from the same institution. Take the time to research the member ACH records using the ACH inquiry screen, and if there is not enough information on this screen, go to CU*SPY and find the PACXTB report to review the ACH detail.
For example, the Smith family receives three ACH payments for Social Security benefits: one for the husband, Jim, one for the wife, Nancy, and one for the children, Mike and Will. (In total the family receives three ACH payments.) John wants his loan payment to be a distribution on his ACH deposit.
There are three key fields in each ACH record. They are the company number, DFI number (member account number), and the Fed. Transcode (indicates deposit/withdrawal). Remember that as of the 16.10 release, the company number for ALL Social Security deposits is translated to the SAME company ID, no matter what ID was on the original incoming record from the SSA. In order for these records to be unique on CBX, the member account number (the 99 base distribution record) must be different for each member. Therefore for example, Jim could have his base deposit to the family checking account, Nancy to the savings account, and the kids’ to a special sub-share account set up just for ACH deposits.
If the company number gets changed for all three SSI payments for this family, review the ACH inquiry screen to determine which new ACH record belongs to Jim’s information so you know which one to add the loan distribution to. Do not add it to the other new ACH records for Nancy, Mike and Will. If you copy the loan distribution to all of the new ACH records, then the loan payment will transfer multiple times.
What happens to previous information when a new member account is created from an older or closed membership?
If you are creating a membership by copying over the data from an existing non-member record (like a joint owner or co-borrower is joining the credit union), the system will copy over all phone numbers tied to that non-member record and attach them to the new membership, then delete the old numbers tied to the non-member (since the non-member record itself also gets deleted at that time).
This is not the same when copying from another existing membership, or when copying from a closed membership in MSHIST. For those, since the original records will not be deleted, the system simply makes a copy of all numbers to attach to the new membership account number, leaving the original ones attached to the other membership or closed member record as is.
Is there a tool where I can research a TR Journal Entry?
Yes. Tool #761 Research the TR Journal Entry is an auditing tool used to find member transaction details. You have the option to search by the J/E date, G/L account, Branch, Sequence, description, and the amount.
What is the file that shows how many members have subscribed to e-Alerts?
You can Query the PCALTCFG file for information on e-Alerts and e-Notices. This file will show you all members who have signed up for these items, including a column indicating whether the member signed up to receive the alert via email or text message. In the alert type field, the types of codes are as follows:
(a) AC = ACH transaction
(b) AB = Account Balance
(c) LN = Loan Payment Due
(d) NP = e-Notice
How does CBX process check holds?
In the teller system, you can configure exactly how check holds should be calculated, including default hold days as well as calculated hold days by check R&T, or amount.
In both teller posting and ATM processing, CBX also allows an Electronic Hold configuration that can be used in conjunction with a “Member in Good Standing” configuration. Different levels of holding times can be configured based on the ‘Member in Good Standing’ and also within the Tiered Scoring feature.
Using these CBX tools, the credit union can implement their desired Funds Availability disclosure. Furthermore, this is not an entirely comprehensive Answer, as this is an intricate process. For more information, please contact Earning Edge.
What is a Source of Receipt (SOR)?
Source of Receipt (“SOR”) is the paperwork that accompanies the checks to the Check Processor. It is the documented proof of when and from whom the checks were received. SOR provides the ABA# of the bank the checks are received from, the date of the cash letter, the amount of the bundle the check was in, the position of the check in the bundle (checks before & after), and the tracer number assigned to the check.
To note, on the form there are a couple of abbreviations:
- IB stands for Item Before that check in the Fed file that we receive
- IA stands for Item After that check in the Fed file that we receive
SOR resolves most research issues and is needed to track the progress of a check from the beginning (depositing bank) to its destination (the paying bank). It is very common for banks or FRB offices to request SORs for checks they are researching.
Does Employee Account Security control an employee’s access to an account from everywhere on CBX? For example, how about Payroll or ACH?
Not every feature that potentially shows account details on an employee’s account is governed by the Employee Account Security controls. Apart from technical impracticalities, our basic philosophy has been that employees who are given access to “sensitive” features (like Collections, or posting payrolls, etc.) should be trusted employees, and they should be allowed to use the tools to do their job.
Occasionally, CU*Answers has adjusted specific programs based on credit union requests, in cases where an extra measure of control or due diligence monitoring is appropriate and necessary. Please let us know if you have any specific suggestions!
What is not affected by 7-day back-office processing? What do ACH transfers, OTB transactions, Remote Deposit Capture (RDC), and eAlerts have in common?
The following things are not affected by 7-day back-office processing changes implemented in February 2019.
- ACH – ACH will continue to process as always.
- OTB – OTB is not affected by 7-day back-office processing.
- RDC – Deposits are processed seven days a week or by credit union configuration.
- eAlerts – These are sent with an automated process that is not changed with 7-day back-office processing.
Is Personal Internet Branch (“PIB”) the same as multi-factor authentication?
No. PIB is a layered security solution, which is one of the three methods recommended by the NCUA to comply with the “Guidance on Authentication in Internet Banking Environment” (letter 05-CU-18). Remember that you only need to select one of the three available methods. (The other two methods are multi-factor authentication, and “other controls,” the NCUA’s way of allowing for technology that doesn’t even exist yet.)
Although the term “multi-factor authentication” is sometimes misused and often misunderstood, what most people actually mean is two-factor authentication:
Factor One: Something You Know (a username, password, PIN, etc.)
Factor Two: Something You Have (a USB token that generates passwords, a fingerprint, a dongle, a smart card, etc.)
Two factor authentication generally require customers who want to log into their accounts online to use a username and password (single factor authentication) and a small token that generates a new password every minute or so (two factor authentication).
The PIB solution was developed based on the response of CU*Answers owners and clients, and plans developed through risk assessments.
