ACHZone

Nacha Rule Changes

• January 1, 2021 | Enforcement

  Effective January 1, 2021, this rule gives Nacha the authority to further enforce "egregious" violations. Such violations are now defined as a willful or reckless action that involves at least 500 entries or multiple entries in the aggregate amount of at least $500,000. The new rule also allows the ACH Rules Enforcement Panel to determine whether a violation is egregious and to classify an egregious violation as a Class 2 or 3 rules violation. Learn more at www.nacha.org.

• March 19, 2021 | Expanding Same Day ACH: addition of third processing window

  This new rule expands access to Same Day ACH by creating a third processing window and allowing Same Day ACH transactions to be submitted to the ACH Network for an additional two hours every business day. Same Day items submitted in the third processing window must be posted by the end of the processing day. Additional information can be found at www.nacha.org.

  

• March 19, 2021 | Enhanced fraud detection standards for WEB debits

  Currently, ACH Originators of WEB debit entries are required to use a “commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system” to screen WEB debits for fraud. This existing screening requirement will be supplemented to make it explicit that “account validation” is part of a “commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system.” The supplemental requirement applies to the first use of an account number or changes to the account number.
  
  In October 2020, Nacha announced it will not enforce this rule for an additional year beyond the new effective date (March 19, 2021) for covered entities working in good faith toward compliance that require additional time to implement solutions. All such covered entities are encouraged to work toward compliance as soon as possible. Find out more at www.nacha.org. 

• April 1, 2021 | Differentiating unauthorized return reason codes (Phase 2)

  Phase 2 of this rule change further supports Nacha's effort to more clearly differentiate unauthorized return reasons for consumer debits and enforces the existing Unauthorized Return Entry Fee. Following newly defined Return Reason Code R10, the definition of Reason Code R11 will change to “Customer Advises Entry Not in Accordance with the Terms of the Authorization.” More information on this upcoming rule change can be found at  www.nacha.org.

• June 30, 2021 | Supplementing data security requirements (Phase 1)

  This rule – implemented in two phases – adds stricter requirements to protect account numbers used in the initiation of ACH entries. Phase 1, which applies to originators and third-parties with more than six million ACH payments annually, takes effect June 30, 2021. Phase 2, which applies to originators and third-parties with more than two million ACH payments annually, takes effect June 30, 2022. Additional details are available at www.nacha.org.

• June 30, 2021 | Limitation on warranty claims

  This new rule limits the length of time in which an RDFI is permitted to make a claim against the ODFI’s authorization warranty.
  
  For an entry to a non-consumer account, the time limit will be one year from the settlement date of the entry.
  
  For a consumer account, the limit will cover two timeframes for an entry: 1) The first 95 calendar days from the settlement date of the first unauthorized entry to the consumer’s account will always be covered; 2) After the first 95 days, two years from the settlement date of the entry (or the last two years) will be covered. Visit www.nacha.org for further insight on this rule.

• June 30, 2021 | Reversals

  Intended to address improper uses of reversals, this rule expands the permissible reasons for a reversal to include a “wrong date” error. The reasons now include the reversal of a debit entry that was for a date earlier than intended by the originator, and a credit entry that was for a date later than intended by the originator. The rule also establishes formatting requirements beyond the current standardized use of the Company Entry Description field. More details can be found at www.nacha.org.

• September 17, 2021 | Meaningful modernization

  This series of four rules: 1) defines a “standing authorization;” 2) allows originators flexibility in using SEC codes for individual subsequent entries; 3) defines and permits “oral authorization” as a valid authorization method for consumer debits distinct from a telephone call; and 4) gives an ODFI the ability to agree and accept the return of an entry as an alternative to providing proof of authorization.

  The primary purpose of these rules is to improve and simplify the overall ACH user experience by: facilitating the adoption of new technologies and channels for the authorization and initiation of ACH payments, providing clarity and increasing consistency around certain ACH authorization processes and reducing certain administrative burdens related to ACH authorizations. Visit www.nacha.org to view the rules in full.