News

NACHA publishes info about Check 21 compliance

July 6, 2006

HERNDON, Va. - NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association announced in a news release that is making education and training materials available to businesses and financial institutions working toward check imaging. NACHA is working to educate businesses and FIs about its new rules. 

The rules, which take effect Sept. 15, provide methods for corporate originators to identify business checks that are ineligible to be converted and provide corporate receivers with methods to opt-out of check conversion.

The rules state that checks containing auxiliary on-us fields in MICR lines are ineligible for conversion. Such checks are typically larger in length than standard 6-inch checks used by consumers. Businesses that want to opt-out of check conversion can use check stock that contains the auxiliary on-us field.

The new rules also make checks exceeding $25,000 ineligible for conversion. In practice, virtually all such checks are business checks, and the dollar limit will ensure that checks sent to wholesale lockboxes are not converted.

"NACHA and its members are committed to educating the marketplace about check conversion," said Kathy Levin, chair of NACHA's Rules Work Group. "The education and training materials provide businesses and financial institutions with a tremendous amount of information and resources to implement the new check conversion rules."

The education and training materials are available online. Materials specific to businesses and FIs also are available.

Materials were produced by NACHA's Identification of Business Checks Ineligible for Conversion Rules Work Group and are available to the industry at no charge.