HERNDON, Va. - The executive committee of NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association has approved a set of recommendations "to maintain the high quality of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network" as the electronic payments industry readies itself to deal with new business opportunities and serve new markets, NACHA sources said. The list of recommendations were developed by the ACH Quality Task Force and were based on the results of a survey conducted among financial institutions and corporate users of the ACH Network. Among the results of that study: * 100% of financials have a current copy of the NACHA operating rules and a designated department to receive new information about the rules; * 94% receive appropriate guidance during problem resolution, and 85% indicate there is cooperation among financials when resolving ACH problems; * 96% of payment originator respondents indicate that NACHA rule amendments improve the ACH Network and provide new business opportunities. The recommendations include: * Annual quality measurements - The four ACH operators - the American Clearing House Association, the Electronic Payments Network, the Federal Reserve System and VisaNet, will provide statistical information about ACH item processing. These measurements will be benchmarked in 2001 and updated annually. * Third-party service provider obligations - NACHA will develop proposals to define the responsibilities of third-party service providers when they process ACH transactions. The providers would be directly incorporated into the NACHA Operating Rules. * Customer service database - NACHA will set up an Internet-based database of ACH customer service contacts at financial institutions to improve the resolution of any problems. * Annual operating excellence award - NACHA will establish an annual operating excellence award to recognize quality ACH operations and best practices. * Marketing the quality of the ACH network - NACHA will develop communication tools to inform financials and users of the ACH Network about the network and its quality initiative. The electronic payments industry has developed innovative products and services, and it's essential that the ACH Network maintain the highest quality standards possible to support the new services that are developed and the higher transaction volume that results, said Elliott McEntee, president/CEO of NACHA. The ACH Network serves 20,000 financials, 2.5 million businesses and 100 million individuals. In 1999 there were more than 6.2 billion ACH payments made worth more than $19 trillion. -
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