ACH Information And Requirements
1.1 General Information
1.1.1 Important Information
Please be advised that the information and recommendation in regards to best practices offered
herein are not to be construed as legal advice or guidance. Check Commerce does not warrant
or represent that this information is free from inaccuracies, omissions or inconsistencies, or is
otherwise consistent with current laws, rules, or regulations. NACHA Rules, as well as other laws,
rules, and regulations that may affect ACH payments and the authorization required to originate
these payments may have been amended, revised, or newly enacted since we published this
ACH Authorization Guide. Check Commerce accepts no responsibility or liability in regards to the
utilization of the information contained within this ACH Authorization Guide.
It is recommended that you, as an entity accepting payments, consult legal counsel as appropriate
in regards to the development of your business policies and practices, or the preparation of
materials, information, or disclosures that you may provide to customers or others in support of
your payment acceptance process. The term “Rules” when used herein refer to the 2017 NACHA
OPERATING RULES AND REGULATIONS as published by the National Automated Clearing House
Association of the US Federal Reserve. Additional information can be obtained at
1.1.2 Retention Requirements
You must retain the authorization recordings and/or email or written notifications for a period of
two (2) years from termination of the authorization. Please be advised that if Check Commerce,
a customer, regulatory agency, originating, or receiving bank challenges the authenticity of the
transaction, and you cannot provide evidence of a valid authorization, you could be required to
refund the payment, experience regulatory and legal consequences, as well as lose your ability
to process ACH transactions or other card payment privileges.
1.1.3 Effective Entry Date
When constructing your authorization language, whether as phone scripts, as online disclosures,
or as part of your service or purchase agreements, it is always important to advise the payer of
the “effective date” of the payment or withdrawal. The effective date will always be the following
business banking day after the day on which you enter the payment into the ACH Processing
System.
1.1.4 Check Conversion
You cannot convert insurance checks, cashier’s checks, bill pay checks, or money orders through
ACH. You must manually deposit those checks at your Bank.
1.1.5 Nacha Rules and Guidelines
If ACH Payments are an important element of your business or organization, it is highly
recommended that you obtain and study a copy of the most recently published NACHA Operating
Rules & Guidelines, Corporate Edition. This publication can be purchased as a book or CD by
visiting http://www.nacha.org .
1.1.6 Disclosure
If your authorization type is not listed below, please contact ACH@CheckCommerce.com for
additional information/support.
1.1.7 Authorization Types
If the merchant application requests ACH services, the merchant is required to provide a sample
copy of the “AUTHORIZATION” it will obtain from its customers to originate ACH transactions.
The “ACH AUTHORIZATION” is the express, unequivocal authorization provided by the customer
(Receiver), which allows the merchant (Originator) to initiate withdrawal from the customer’s bank
account (RDFI) under NACHA Rules. For your merchant application the “ACH AUTHORIZATION” you
must provide one or more of the following, based on how the payment information is going to be
received by the merchant:
• Received in Writing: Copy of written authorization document (Pre-arranged payment
deposit – PPD)
• Received Online: Screenshot of online payment process (WEB)
• Received Verbally: Copy of Authorization Script (TEL). Note that the merchant
must maintain a recorded copy of each customer’s actual verbal authorization for
recurring transactions.