Regulations & Guidance

• Related Regulations
• Policies
• Laws
• Agency Guidance
• Vendor Guidance

In accordance with 31 USC 3332, this interim final rule amends 31 CFR Part 208 (Part 208) to facilitate the delivery of Federal payments to victims of disasters and emergencies. This amendment provides that the Department of the Treasury may establish and administer accounts for disaster victims in order to allow for the delivery of Federal payments by EFT.

• 31 CFR 208 Interim Final Rule (August 7, 2006)
  
  

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 Final Rule (September 25, 1998)

Related Regulations

• Federal Acquisition Regulation; Electronic Funds Transfer Final Rule (FAR EFT) 
  Addresses the collection of EFT information through the contract process
• 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.
  

Laws

• Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996
  (4/26/96); Full text of Public Law 104-134
  
• EFT Provision of Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996
  (4/26/96); Provision of Public Law 104-134 relating to electronic funds transfer (ONLY)

Agency Guidance

• Hurricane Season: Temporary Procedures for Making Federal Government Deposits
  
  
• 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.Click here to read TFM Bulletin no. 2006-07 "Guidance on Federal Program Agencies Making Postage Payments to the U.S. Postal Service."
  
  
Additional documentation:
• Formatting Instructions for FPAs Making Postage Payments to the USPS
• Treasury Disbursed Record Layout Instructions
• Non-Treasury Disbursed Record Layout Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
• 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.
• Holistic Approach
  Learn about the Financial Management Service (FMS) implementation of a holistic approach with Federal Program Agencies (FPAs) to improve cash management practices governmentwide.
• 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.

Vendor Guidance

• EFT Vendor Payments Policy Guidance
• 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.
• Vendor Payments and the Delivery of Payment-Related Information:
  "What you need to know about the process and what to ask your financial institution"
• Payment Advice Internet Delivery System (PAID) Fact Sheet:
  A system developed to provide participating Federal agencies a method of making remittance information available to their vendors through the Internet.