On April 26, 1996, the President signed into law the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA). This legislation requires the use of electronic
funds transfer (EFT) for most Federal payments, with the exception of tax
refunds, starting January 2, 1999. After consideration of comments, the
Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on September 25, 1998.
31 CFR Part 208 establishes the circumstances under which waivers
to the DCIA are
available; sets forth requirements for accounts to which Federal payments may be
sent by EFT; provides that any individual who receives a Federal benefit, wage,
salary, or retirement payment can open a low-cost Treasury-designated account,
called an Electronic Transfer Account or ETA , at a financial institution that
offers such accounts; and sets forth the responsibilities of Federal agencies
and recipients under the regulation.
31 CFR 208: Copies of the
final rule (September 25, 1998)
Automated Clearing House (ACH)
Regulations related to the Federal Government's use of the ACH network for both electronic payments and collections
GPO Access
The Federal Register, Congressional Record, Congressional Bills and other
Federal Government information are available online via GPO Access, a service of the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO).
THOMAS
Congressional Record, Congressional bills, Committee Information and other
Federal Government information are available online via THOMAS, a service of the Library
of Congress.
Policy
Treasury Financial Manual
Treasury's official publication for financial accounting and reporting of
all receipts and disbursements of the Federal Government. Treasury's Financial Management
Service (FMS) issues the TFM to provide policies, procedures, and instructions for Federal
departments and agencies, Federal Reserve banks (FRBs), and other concerned parties to
follow in carrying out their fiscal responsibilities.
ACH Postage Payments
Federal agency guidance on how to format Treasury-Disbursed and Non-Treasury-Disbursed Agencies payment records when making ACH credit payments to the U.S. Postal Service for postage.
Federal Agency Guidance for Classifying Payments A series of definitions for Salary, Benefit, Vendor, and Miscellaneous payments--the four main categories of payments disbursed by the Financial Management Service. The resulting guidance enables Federal agencies to better classify their payments, making FMS reporting more precise.
Cash Management Made Easy Guidebook A
high-level overview of Federal Government cash management tools. This
guide will assist Federal agency cash managers in improving the management
of the Government’s finances.
International EFT:
FMS' International Direct Deposit (IDD) is a program that establishes EFT service for foreign-
resident payment recipients.
Agency Contact List:
A contact list for agencies with cash management and EFT-related questions and/or issues
Corporate Trade Exchange (CTX):
A corporate ACH format that allows for up to 9,999 addenda records with approximately 800,000
characters. Given this large addendum record capability, full and complete remittance information
can be transmitted with the CTX payment. Therefore, it is possible for one CTX payment to cover
multiple invoices since full remittance information will be transmitted to the vendor's financial
institution together with the payment.
Vendor Express EFT/EDI Fact Sheet:
Information on electronically transferring money and remittance information through the
Automated Clearing House (ACH) network to commercial payees of Federal agencies.
