Electronic Payments Network

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The Electronic Payments Network (EPN) is an electronic clearing house that provides functions similar to those provided by Federal Reserve banks' FedACH service. The Electronic Payments Network is the only private-sector operator in the ACH Network in the United States. [1] The EPN is operated by The Clearing House Payments Company. [2] [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACH Network</span> United States automated clearing house

In the United States, the ACH Network is the national automated clearing house (ACH) for electronic funds transfers established in the 1960s and 1970s. It processes financial transactions for consumers, businesses, and federal, state, and local governments. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct deposit for payroll, Social Security and other benefit payments, tax refunds, and vendor payments. ACH direct debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills.

Cheque clearing or bank clearance is the process of moving cash from the bank on which a cheque is drawn to the bank in which it was deposited, usually accompanied by the movement of the cheque to the paying bank, either in the traditional physical paper form or digitally under a cheque truncation system. This process is called the clearing cycle and normally results in a credit to the account at the bank of deposit, and an equivalent debit to the account at the bank on which it was drawn, with a corresponding adjustment of accounts of the banks themselves. If there are not enough funds in the account when the cheque arrived at the issuing bank, the cheque would be returned as a dishonoured cheque marked as non-sufficient funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wire transfer</span> Electronic funds transfer

Wire transfer, bank transfer, or credit transfer, is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or entity to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account, or through a transfer of cash at a cash office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giro (banking)</span> Payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and initiated by the payer

A giro transfer, often shortened to giro, is a payment transfer from one current bank account to another bank account and initiated by the payer, not the payee. The debit card has a similar model. Giros are primarily used in Europe; although electronic payment systems exist in the United States, it is not possible to perform third-party transfers with them. In the European Union, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) allows electronic giro or debit card payments in euros to be executed to any euro bank account in the area.

In banking and finance, clearing denotes all activities from the time a commitment is made for a transaction until it is settled. This process turns the promise of payment into the actual movement of money from one account to another. Clearing houses were formed to facilitate such transactions among banks.

A payment system is any system used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. This includes the institutions, payment instruments such as payment cards, people, rules, procedures, standards, and technologies that make its exchange possible. A payment system is an operational network which links bank accounts and provides for monetary exchange using bank deposits. Some payment systems also include credit mechanisms, which are essentially a different aspect of payment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic funds transfer</span> Electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems, without the direct intervention of bank staff.

The Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) is a United States private clearing house for large-value transactions. As of 2023, it settles approximately 500,000 payments totaling US$1.7 trillion per day. Together with the Federal Reserve Banks' Fedwire Funds Service, CHIPS forms the primary U.S. network for large-value domestic and international USD payments where it has a market share of around 96%. CHIPS transfers are governed by Article 4A of Uniform Commercial Code.

Clearing house or Clearinghouse may refer to:

EPN may refer to: End Polio Now, the Polio eradication campaign of Rotary International and the World Health Organization

The Euro Banking Association (EBA) is an industry forum for the European payments industry with close to 200 member banks and organisations from the European Union and around the world aimed at fostering and driving pan-European payment initiatives. Through its industry initiatives and the euro payment systems it has delivered, the EBA is a key contributor to the creation of a standardised Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

SWACHA, the Southwestern Automated Clearing House Association, is a regional trade association with the mission of providing education, training, representation and knowledge regarding electronic payments and payments system risks to its approximately 1,100 members across the Southwest, United States. SWACHA members are provided electronic payments training and industry resource materials, risk management programs and representation at a national level in the development of ACH policies and rules.

A Universal Payment Identification Code (UPIC) is an identifier for a bank account in the United States used to receive electronic credit payments. A UPIC acts exactly like a US bank account number and protects sensitive banking information. The actual bank account number, including the bank's ABA routing transit number, are masked by the UPIC. Only credit transactions to an account can be initiated with a UPIC. All direct debits are blocked, which should mitigate unauthorized transactions to an account.

Nacha, originally the National Automated Clearinghouse Association, manages the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States, and is an association for the payments industry. The ACH Network serves as a network for direct consumer, business, and government payments, and annually facilitates billions of payments such as Direct Deposit and Direct Payment. The ACH Network is governed by the Nacha Operating Rules.

The Clearing House is a banking association and payments company owned by the largest commercial banks in the United States. The Clearing House is the parent organization of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., which owns and operates core payments system infrastructure in the United States, including ACH, wire payments, check image clearing, and real-time payments through the RTP network, a modern real-time payment system for the U.S.

Dwolla is a United States-only fintech company that provides businesses with a connection to the ACH Network or RTP Network.

The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. (PayCo) is a U.S.-based limited liability company formed by Clearing House Association. PayCo is a private sector, payment system infrastructure that operates an electronic check clearing and settlement system (SVPCO), a clearing house, and a wholesale funds transfer system (CHIPS).

Payments as a service (PaaS) is a marketing phrase used to describe software as a service to connect a group of international payment systems. The architecture is represented by a layer – or overlay – that resides on top of these disparate systems and provides for two-way communications between the payment system and the PaaS. Communication is governed by standard APIs created by the PaaS provider.

FedACH is the Federal Reserve Banks' automated clearing house (ACH) service. In 2007, FedACH processed about 37 million transactions per day with an average aggregate value of about $58 billion. For comparison, Fedwire processed about 537,000 transactions valued at nearly $2.7 trillion per day in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated clearing house</span> Type of electronic network for financial transactions

An automated clearing house (ACH) is a computer-based electronic network for processing transactions, usually domestic low value payments, between participating financial institutions. It may support both credit transfers and direct debits. The ACH system is designed to process batches of payments containing numerous transactions, and it charges fees low enough to encourage its use for low value payments.

References

  1. "Payment systems in the United States" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  2. The Clearing House | EPN
  3. Investopedia | Electronic Payments Network (EPN)