NAFCU Compliance Blog

Upcoming ACH Rules And Resources

Written By Stephanie Lyon, Regulatory Compliance Counsel

NACHA has been fairly busy these past few years finalizing and updating rules, issuing bulletins and seeking industry comments for new rules to make ACH transactions faster. A couple of ACH rule deadlines are looming, so it is a good time to review these rules, highlight resources and give you a heads up on things you may have missed from last year.

Same Day ACH Phase 3

Most credit unions that originate ACHs are well aware of the Same Day ACH rule that was passed a couple of years ago to expedite the sending and receiving of ACHs. As of today, the deadlines for Phase 1 and Phase 2 are long gone, paving the way for the effective date of March 16, 2018 for Same Day ACH Phase 3. Folks, this is only 58 days away!

Here is a table that details the different requirements of each implementation phase, highlighting Phase 3 requirements:

As noted on the table, the current NACHA requirement under Phase 2 is that credit unions give credit for same day ACHs by the end of the credit union's processing day. You can review Phase II requirements in more detail in this previous blog. Phase 3 establishes a more streamline funds availability timeline that requires Receiving Depositary Financial Institutions (RDFIs) to make same day ACHs credits available for withdrawal by 5:00pm RDFI's local time. While becoming an ACH originator is still optional, credits unions that receive ACHs are all bound by this requirement.

To make the process of complying with Phase 3 easier, NACHA published several resources available in its Resource Center, including its revised Guidance for RDFIs on Meeting Phase 3 Requirements. The guidance is especially helpful in determining the credit union's local time in cases where the RDFI's geographic footprint is not limited to one time zone.

Third-Party Sender Customer Due Diligence

Another ACH compliance deadline that is also around the corner is the registration of Third-Party Sender members by March 1^st, 2018. This requirement became effective in September 2017 to promote consistent customer due diligence among all Originating Financial Institutions (ODFIs). The rule generally requires that all ODFIs register their Third-Party Sender members or, in the alternative, confirm that the ODFI does not have any Third-Party Sender members. See, revised NACHA Op. Rules, Art. II, 2.15.1.

NACHA rules define a Third-Party Sender as "an organization that is not an Originator that authorized an ODFI or a Third-Party Service Provider to transmit, for its account or the account of another Third-Party Sender a credit entry, debit entry, or non-monetary entry to the Receiver’s account at the RDFI." As part of the rule, NACHA expects that credit unions will have effective procedures to determine if a corporate/business member is a Third-Party Sender. If the credit union is unsure whether a member is considered a Third-Party Sender, it may want to use NACHA's Third-Party Sender Identification Tool for assistance with this determination and/or contact their counsel.

The registration process for Third-Party Sender members can be found here. Some of the information required to be disclosed will be:

• The ODFI’s name and contact information;
• the name and principal business location of the Third-Party Sender;
• the ODFI’s routing number used in ACH transactions originated for the Third-Party Sender member; and
• the company identification(s) of the Third-Party Sender. 

Note that if for some reason the credit union later discovers an unregistered Third-Party Sender member, the credit union will have 10 days from the date it discovers the member to register them in the database.

Aside from the initial registration, the NACHA rules will also require supplemental registration for Third-Party Sender members if the credit union receives a request from NACHA for additional information. See, revised NACHA Op. Rules, App. 8, Pt. 8.4. The rule only gives the credit union 10 banking days to respond to supplemental information request so the credit union may want to obtain this information for all Third-Party Sender members ahead of time to avoid having to chase down this information later on.

Among the supplemental information that can be requested by NACHA is:

• Any doing-business-as names, taxpayer identification number(s), and street and website address(es) of the Third-Party Sender;
• the name and contact information for the Third-Party Sender’s contact person;
• names and titles of the Third-Party Sender’s principals;
• the approximate number of Originators for which the Third-Party Sender transmits entries; and
• a statement as to whether the Third-Party Sender transmits debit entries, credit entries or both. 

Additional information on Third-Party Sender registration requirements can be found here and in ACH Operations Bulletin #2-2014: ACH Transactions Involving Third-Party Senders and Other Payments Intermediaries.

Recent ACH Operations Bulletins

Towards the end of the year, NACHA release a couple of Operations Bulletins that may have flown under the radar. The first one is ACH Operations Bulletin #3-2017, released September 2017. Unlike most NACHA Operations Bulletins, this was not made public because it details fraud mitigation strategies for social media schemes. Each NACHA member should have received this bulletin, but if for some reason you cannot find it, you may want to contact NACHA to get a copy.

The second Operations Bulleting was #4-2017, issued November 2017. The bulletin provides risk mitigation strategies for consumer-to-other-consumer (C2C) debits for financial institutions and their service providers. Something to note from this bulletin is that "NACHA strongly discourages ODFIs from facilitating these payments unless the ODFI is certain of its full compliance with all rules that apply to the origination of all ACH debits, regardless of the nature of the Originator." So if your credit union is considering offering C2C debits, this is a good bulletin to keep in mind when establishing internal controls.

Finally, NAFCU recently hosted a webcast on ACH Operating Rules in 2018 that is available on-demand and goes over all these rule changes as well as NACHA rule proposals and available resources.

CFPB Issues Regulation Z Annual Threshold Adjustments; Fed Adopts Same-Day ACH Processing; A Penny for Your Thoughts

Written by Victoria Daka, Regulatory Compliance Counsel

The CFPB is required to annually adjust certain threshold amounts within various provisions of Regulation Z based on inflation. While it’s not the most exciting task, it has to be done. That said, on September 21, 2015, the bureau published a final rule implementing a few of these adjustments under the CARD Act, HOEPA, TILA, and the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule modifies the credit card penalty fee safe harbor, the HOEPA total loan amount and fee trigger thresholds, and the loan amounts for specific points and fees limits under Regulation Z’s qualified mortgage rule. These amounts are adjusted, where appropriate, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2015. The following will outline the adjustments of several provisions in Regulation Z, effective January 1, 2016. However, the minimum interest charge disclosure thresholds will remain unchanged in 2016.

Card Act                                                                                                                                                                              Under section 1026.52(b), fees on credit card accounts must generally be based on costs, but the rule contains safe harbor amounts that are considered compliant. The new safe harbor for a member’s first late payment will be $27 and $37 for subsequent late payments within the same six month period. Credit unions should note that while the first late payment fee remains unchanged, subsequent payments within the six month period decreased by $1 dollar to $37.

HOEPA                                                                                                                                                                       Under section 1026.32(a), for purposes of determining the total loan amount threshold that determines whether a transaction is a high cost mortgage when the points and fees are either 5 percent or 8 percentis $20,350. This is an decrease from the current $20,391 figure. Additionally, for purposes of determining whether a consumer credit transaction that is secured by a consumer's principal dwelling and is not otherwise exempt is covered by § 1026.32 a loan is covered if the points and fees exceed $1,017 or 8 percent of the total loan amount, whichever is lower. This is a decrease from the current $1,020 figure.

TILA                                                                                                                                                                                    Under section 1026.43(e)(3), for purposes of determining whether a covered transaction is a qualified mortgage, a covered transaction is qualified when: the transaction's total points and fees do not exceed 3 percent of the total loan amount for a loan amount greater than or equal to $101,749; $3,052 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $61,050 but less than $101,749;  5 percent of the total loan amount for loans greater than or equal to $20,350 but less than $61,050; $1,017 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $12,719 but less than $20,350, and 8 percent of the total loan amount for loans less than $12,719. Credit unions should note that these are all increases from the current figures.

The CFPB’s final rule can be found here.

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Fed Adopts Same-Day ACH Processing                                                                                                                         

On September 23, 2015, the Federal Reserve Board approved the NACHA mandatory same-day automated clearinghouse processing rules adopted in May. Same day transactions will begin to phase in starting September 2016. The new rule “requires receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs) to participate in the service and originating depository financial institutions (ODFIs) to pay a fee to RDFIs for each same-day ACH forward transaction,”

The Board's Federal Register notice can be viewed here. For more information on NACHA’s same-day ACH, check out this blog post.

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A Penny for Your Thoughts

Back when I was new to compliance, I wish there had been a “compliance officer 101” type of resource. There are so many regulations that compliance officers need to be aware of, including -- TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosures, Regulation B, Regulation CC, Regulation D, Regulation DD, Regulation E, Regulation J, Regulation P, Regulation V, Regulation X, Regulation Z, and UDAAP -- just to name a few. Oh yea, and then there is the E-SIGN Act, too! You can’t forget about those electronic disclosures.  With all of these regulations, how do they all work in tandem? And then there are policies, which ones require board approval?

Whether you’re new to compliance and share my rookie-days sentiments, or are a seasoned compliance officer, we’re working on a new electronic resource to help you navigate your way through the regulatory-compliance land of credit unions.

My question to you – what did you use when you were brand new to compliance? Or are you still looking for that perfect resource to help you with your day-to-day compliance needs?

Hodgepodge Monday and a Special Goody from NAFCU

Written by JiJi Bahhur, Director of Regulatory Compliance

NAFCU Goody.  Members asked, and today they will receive.  NAFCU’s compliance team has updated its consolidated regulatory text on the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (TILA/RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule.  Available with a NAFCU member log-in, the updated consolidated text can be located on NAFCU’s mortgage resources webpage here and serves as a great research tool. 

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Free NAFCU-NCUA Webcast, Fine-Tuning Your Compliance Program: Common Compliance Violations.  On July 21, Bernadette and I will be joining NCUA’s Judy Graham, program director in the Office of Examination and Insurance, Patrick Truett, information system officer for E&I, and Matt Nixon, program officer in the Office of Consumer Protection, in presenting “Fine-Tuning Your Compliance Program: Common Compliance Violations.”  We will discuss how credit unions can navigate common compliance issues and examine various compliance areas of interest.

Online registration is available here and participation is free. You can find more information here.

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CFPB’s Fifth TRID Webinar Available.  Part 5 of the CFPB’s TILA/RESPA webinar series is now available for viewing here.  This fifth and final webinar addresses specific questions related to rule interpretation and implementation challenges that have been raised to the CFPB by creditors, mortgage brokers, settlement agents, software developers, and other stakeholders. In particular, this session covers industry questions relating to operations and technology challenges.

Recordings of the previous webinars in the TILA/RESPA series are available at the links below:

TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, Part 1 — Overview of the Rule

TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, Part 2 - Various Topics

TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, Part 3 — Completing the Loan Estimate

TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, Part 4 — Completing the Closing Disclosure

Just a reminder – if you are looking for additional help with TILA/RESPA, NAFCU’s Credit Union Compliance GPS contains an appendix that is solely dedicated to TILA/RESPA.  Also, check out our TILA/RESPA Boot Camp and blog series.

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CFPB Issues Guiding Principles for Faster Payment Networks.  Last week, the CFPB outlined guiding principles for faster payment networks.  In the CFPB’s guidelines, it states:

“Improvement in payment systems can aid many users — and consumers, in particular — if accompanied by more robust and timely information about payments and receipt of funds. When integrated with systems such as mobile banking and other channels by which consumers may obtain real time information about their account balances, consumers could know more definitively when they do and do not have funds with which to conduct transactions. At best, faster payments could enable faster, safer, and more accessible commerce.”

The guidelines focus on privacy, transparency, costs, security, access and more.  To view the guidelines, click here.  To view the press release, click here.

It should be noted that other federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve, have been engaged in initiatives to improve payment systems as well.  NAFCU has been very involved in these efforts and will continue to gather input on how to improve the U.S. payments system.