In This Issue
- President's Corner
- ACH Direct Upgrades Its VT3
- Hundreds Participate In ACH Teleseminar Series
- ACH Direct Controller Attains Professional Designation
- Five Payment Brands Unite To Strengthen Global Data Security
- Visa Issues Merchant Security Alert On Storing Mag Stripe Data
- MasterCard Announces Interchange Initiatives
- Visa Redefines Validation Levels For Data Security Compliance
- Price-Insensitive Consumers Spend More Online Than Average Shopper
- It's Easy Being Green With Electronic Payments
President's Corner
I will remember 2006 as a year of blazing new trails. For ACH Direct, moving to a new location in another state was only the beginning; we also expanded our staff, enhanced our technology and implemented significant upgrades to our data center; and yes, even adopted a new football team to cheer.
Among some of the recent changes you may notice, we've added upgrades to ACH Direct's VT3. We believe that our suite of ACH products is the best in the industry, and we are committed to maintaining our leadership with updates and robust features like these. Please take a moment to review the article in this newsletter that outlines the enhanced reporting tools and improved functionality.
Change seems to be the status quo for the ACH Network too, as it continues to enjoy aggressive growth. NACHA just announced that, for the first time, quarterly ACH transaction volume surpassed the three billion mark, representing more than $6.5 trillion. Compared to second quarter 2005, the number of ACH transactions grew 14.4 percent.
And as you might expect, accompanying these changes are new regulations. Just a reminder that, effective Sept. 15, a new NACHA Rule became effective which outlines methods for corporate Originators to identify business checks that are ineligible to be converted to ACH, and provides corporate Receivers with methods to opt-out of check conversion. NACHA has developed education and training materials that can be accessed and downloaded at http://businesscheck.electronicpayments.org. They include a "What Does This Mean To Me?" checklist for businesses; an article that explains the importance of the auxiliary on-us field in a check's MICR line; a question-and-answer document; and a matrix that compares the features and rules for check conversion and Check 21.
Fortunately, in the face of all these changes, there are some things that remain constant. You can count on our commitment to providing superior customer service and best-of-breed technology. Our staff is dedicated to serving you, our valued customers.