ACH Origination Setup

Step 1: Notify Federal Reserve Bank

Credit unions located in the 11th District will be certified as an Originator through the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. Credit unions not located in the 11th District will be certified as a remote Originator through the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank.

Credit unions must notify their Federal Reserve Bank in writing of their intention to become an ACH Originator. The following is a sample letter for Originators to send to the Federal Reserve Bank.

Your local Federal Reserve Bank
ATTN: ACH Coordinator

Dear Sir:

Please accept this letter as a request by _____ Credit Union (ABA # _____) to be certified as an originator of ACH items (or as a remote originator of ACH items) through the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

We authorize Fiserv, our data processor, to be the valid sending point on behalf of _____ Credit Union. The sending point information follows:

ABA # 711060025
Fiserv
Portico Business Support
2601 Network Boulevard, Suite #500
Frisco, Texas 75034

After the Federal Reserve Bank has completed your credit union's setup requirements, they will notify your credit union and Portico.

When the credit union is ready to originate items, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank will contact the credit union by phone. After the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank grants authorization, the credit union must contact Portico.

When a remote originator credit union is ready to originate items, the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank will send a copy of the Remote Origination Control Document to Portico and the credit union's local Federal Reserve Bank. After Portico receives the Remote Origination Control Document, we will automatically set up the required options for the processing rules.

Step 2: Set Up GL Accounts

Before ACH Origination processing can begin, you must set up two general ledger accounts using the New GL Account window.

General ledger account to be used by the system for suspense items.
A credit union-defined clearing general ledger account to be used to offset the ACH related share/share draft activity. This activity will be entered on the credit union's ACH Processing Options window.

Step 3: Contact Portico

At the same time the ACH Certification Request is sent to the Federal Reserve Bank, you must complete the ACH Questionnaire.

Portico Customer Service will set up the following fields and check boxes in the ACH Origination section on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab:

Field/Check Box	Description
Origination	Indicates if the credit union originates items other than auto returns and NOC. Valid values are: N - The credit union only receives ACH items. System default. Y - The credit union originate transactions through the Federal Reserve via the credit union's ACH network. E - The credit union originates standard entry class codes of ENR, ACK and ATX. The 174 Report lists the items in the ENR, Automated Enrollment section or the ACK, Acknowledgments section. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - ORIG field)
Secure Funds in AM	If selected, Portico secures funds for outgoing ACH credits in an early morning ACH posting that occurs immediately after the back-office cycle. Portico verifies that funds are available before creating an ACH outgoing credit to another financial institution, if the member enters the request after the financial institution's cut off or they enter the request for a future date. If the member requests Same Day ACH Origination, the system does not validate the member's funds. For all unsuccessful outgoing credits, the system ignores the offsetting credit debit for the 5:00 PM CST extract and the ACH Outbound Return Items/Notification of Change Report 174 reports the unsuccessful outgoing credits with the appropriate exception reason for the credit union to review and correct if applicable. If corrected the same day before the final extract at 5:00 PM CST, the system reconsiders the exception items at that time. This option does not apply to incoming debits posted to the credit union. Offsetting credits to the member’s account for outgoing debits continue to post in the back-office cycle on the effective date of the transaction. The following conditions continue to prevent the system from including an outgoing credit in the transmission file and posting the offsetting debit entry to the member. Loan paid off Open end zero balance loan Loan on hold Vendor loan paid off Member is dormant Member is deceased Insufficient funds Invalid amount Batch header missing Closed share account If unchecked (system default), the system extracts outgoing credit items at 5:00 PM CST for outgoing transactions. Debits post in the back-office cycle on the effective date - normally, 2 days after the system sends the outgoing credit item to the other institution. If the funds are not available in the member's account, the credit union runs the risk of the loss. Reporting Analytics: ACH Post AM Pass Flag (Header Processing Rules subject in the CU Rules folder)
Authorization Limit	The credit union-level authorized origination limit up to 99,999,999.99. Your branch tellers can create ACH origination items up to the specified dollar amount. Any dollar amount equal to over the designated limit can be approved using your credit union’s override process. If a user does not have an authorization limit specified on their User Profile – Security tab, Portico will compare the origination item amount to the credit union authorization limit specified on the Credit Union Profile – ACH/Payroll tab. If the item amount exceeds the limit, then a teller override will be required. The credit union-level authorization limit will also control ACH origination items within online banking. Length: 11 numeric including decimal (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - ACH LIMIT field) Reporting Analytics: ACH Orig Limit (Header Processing Rules subject in the CU Rules folder)
Exception User Queue	The credit union-defined queue where online banking items that exceed the ACH origination limit will be reported for approval. The queue will appear in the Owner/Department drop-down list on the My Queue window.
Origination Items Allowed	Indicates the type of Same Day ACH Origination items supported by your credit union. The valid values are: N - Same Day not allowed. System default. C - Outgoing Credits only D - Outgoing Debits only. Reserved for future use. B - Both Debits and Credits are allowed to be originated same day. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SAME DAY ORIG field)
Outgoing Credit Limit	Indicates the dollar limit for same-day ACH outgoing credit items. Items greater than this amount cannot be originated using the same-day frequency. The system default is $0. NACHA rules limit same-day ACH items to a maximum amount of $1,000,000. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SD CR LMT field)
Outgoing Debit Limit	Indicates the dollar limit for same-day ACH outgoing debit items. Items greater than this amount cannot be originated using the same-day frequency. The system default is $0. NACHA rules limit same-day ACH items to a maximum amount of $1,000,000. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SD DB LMT field)
Loan Payment Fee	The fee amount to be assessed on ACH origination loan payments. The Post Loan Payments check box must be selected when entering a loan payment fee amount greater than 0. If your credit union currently charges an ACH origination fee for ACH loan payments (the Loan Payment Fee field is greater than zero), and you manually enter a fee amount in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window, the member will be charged two fees: The fee specified in the Loan Payment Fee field will be charged to the member's account at the sending financial institution (credit union). The fee specified in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window will be added to the outgoing ACH debit transaction and charged to the member's account at the receiving financial institution. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. Length: 6 numeric including decimal (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - LN PYMT FEE field)
Debit to Member	The fee amount collected on ACH origination debit items. Fee activity appears on the 169 Report. This field must be 0.00 if the Origination field is E. If your credit union currently charges an ACH origination fee for ACH debits items (the Debit Fee Amount field is greater than zero), and you manually enter a fee amount in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window, the member will be charged two fees: The fee specified in the Debit Fee Amount field will be charged to the member's account at the sending financial institution (credit union). The fee specified in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window will be added to the outgoing ACH debit transaction and charged to the member's account at the receiving financial institution. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. Length: 6 numeric including decimal (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - DR FEE AMT field)
Credit to Member	The fee amount collected on ACH origination credit items. Fee activity appears on the 169 Report. This field must be 0.00 if the Origination field is E. If your credit union currently charges an ACH origination fee for ACH credit items (the Credit Fee Amount field is greater than zero), and you manually enter a fee amount in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window, the member will be charged two fees: The fee specified in the Credit Fee Amount field will be charged to the member's account at the sending financial institution (credit union). The fee specified in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window will be added to the outgoing ACH credit transaction and charged to the member's account at the receiving financial institution. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. Length: 6 numeric including decimal (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - CR FEE AMT field)
Same Day Debit to Member	Indicates the fee amount that will be charged to the member for same-day ACH outgoing credit items. For same-day credits or debits, the same-day fee will be charged to the share account that originated the transaction (i.e. the share type affected by the deposit or withdrawal). For same-day loan payments, the same-day fee will be charged to the member's 01 share account, or the next available non-HSA share account if the member does not have a share 01. If a same-day ACH origination fee is not specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab, Portico will use the corresponding standard ACH Origination fee amount specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SD DB FEE field)
Same Day Credit to Member	Indicates the fee amount that will be charged to the member for same-day ACH outgoing debit items. For same-day credits or debits, the same-day fee will be charged to the share account that originated the transaction (i.e. the share type affected by the deposit or withdrawal). For same-day loan payments, the same-day fee will be charged to the member's 01 share account, or the next available non-HSA share account if the member does not have a share 01. If a same-day ACH origination fee is not specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab, Portico will use the corresponding standard ACH Origination fee amount specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SD CR FEE field)
Same Day Loan Fee	Indicates the fee amount that will be charged to the member for a same-day ACH outgoing debit to make a loan payment. For same-day credits or debits, the same-day fee will be charged to the share account that originated the transaction (i.e. the share type affected by the deposit or withdrawal). For same-day loan payments, the same-day fee will be charged to the member's 01 share account, or the next available non-HSA share account if the member does not have a share 01. If a same-day ACH origination fee is not specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab, Portico will use the corresponding standard ACH Origination fee amount specified on the Credit Union Profile - ACH/Payroll tab. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - SD LN FEE field)
GL Account	The GL account credited for ACH origination debit and credit items. If you enter a fee amount in the Fee Amount field on the Member/GL Item - New window for an outgoing ACH debit item, the fee amount will be credited to the GL account specified in this field. The ACH Indicator field on the GL Account - New/Maintenance window must be C or Y to credit fees entered on the Member/GL Item - New window to the GL account specified in this field. The number specified must be a valid general ledger account. This field must be 000000 if the Origination field is E. Users with the Portico - System (Profiles) - Credit Union (ACH/Payroll) - Maintain permission can update this credit union-level field. Select the Save button to save changes to the fields in this section only. The host transaction code (e.g. 902) in the section heading assists you with reviewing the audit report that documents updates to these fields. Please use caution when making changes to your credit union's processing rules. Length: 6 numeric (Portico Host: 907 Transaction - ORIG FEE G\L field)

Step 4: Set up ACH Tables

On the ACH Processing Options window, make sure the ACH Type field is Origination and the Clearing Account field specifies the same general ledger account as the in-transit or settlement GL.

Portico Services will set up the ACH Processing Rules window.