Blogs

Meet EPCOR Board Member Kim Robbins

By Hoot-E
Recently, EPCOR solidified its 2023-2024 Board of Directors, welcoming a few new faces including Board Member @Kimberly Robbins . Kim currently serves as the Chief of Enterprise Services at Federal Reserve Financial Services. She shared, “Federal Reserve Financial Services is an integrated organization within the Federal Reserve that is responsible for managing critical payment and securities services that foster the accessibility, integrity and efficiency of the U.S. economy. Federal Reserve Financial Services, delivered via a secure FedLine® network, include FedCash® Services, FedACH® Services, Check Services, Fedwire® Funds and Securities Services, the ...
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The Countdown is ON for Payment Systems Update Season 1!

By Marcy Cauthon
Payments System Update is almost here and this year things look quite different. With everyone binge watching Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Max, etc. during quarantine, EPCOR thought it would be a great idea to use this same approach to Payment Systems Update ! What we have done is quite creative by breaking the once full-day event into 2-hour webinars throughout the year. We have broken the event into three different seasons, with multiple dates and times available for each season, and Season 1 kicks off on February 16! Topics in Season 1 will cover: Same-Day ACH 3rd Processing Window and changes to the National Settlement Service New classification for ...
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It’s Member Appreciation Month and YOU’RE the Star! ⭐

By Hoot-E
It’s my favorite time of year – Member Appreciation Month! And, while we usually play the starring role in our silly attempts to make you smile, this year we’ve put the spotlight on you by showering you with our thanks all month long on our social media channels ( Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter ) and in New You Can Use. Here’s a few of my favorite shout outs in case you’ve missed them! “What makes EPCOR members so special is they help keep our world running, literally. Without our members, we wouldn’t receive our paychecks, nor would our bills be paid. They work tirelessly to help us manage our accounts, even when we refuse ...
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COVID-19 and Cyber Crooks: Congress Probes Pandemic Financial Crimes

By Brian Laverdure
As our nation grapples with the ongoing spread of the coronavirus and its wide-ranging impacts on commerce and social life, criminals have seized the moment to spring new attacks against financial institutions, governments, businesses and citizens alike. Although the payments industry has been plagued by cyberattacks and related wrongdoing for years, the current surge in attempted and successful actions is off the charts and continuing to climb. EPCOR members know that cybercrime is a rising threat—our Knowledge Community is filled with posts about scammers exploiting weaknesses in state unemployment filing procedures and systems to defraud governments of millions ...
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Virtual Audits: Keep Calm & Audit On!

By Liz Cone
In some way or another, we have all been affected by COVID-19. As an auditor who sometimes travels to conduct various audit and risk assessment services, my work life has changed only slightly. Luckily, because we have members who opt to have their services handled remotely, EPCOR was already equipped to have our team work remotely since we are scattered across the footprint. I’ve been very thankful for the ability to work remotely many times over the last few months. My husband is also working remotely and my son is out of school, so I do have to share my WiFi with them, but that is a small price to pay. In speaking and working with our members remotely, ...
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EPCOR Stands Ready to Help

By Brian Laverdure
My original plan for this blog was to craft an article offering guidance to EPCOR member institutions and their business account holders on the creation of a payment strategy. However, as the profound economic and societal impact of the COVID-19 virus grows with each passing day, writing about payments strategy became far less important compared to the primary task now at hand for us all—ensuring the health and well-being of ourselves, our families and our fellow Americans. Around the world, hundreds of thousands are battling the virus and medical professionals are on the frontlines, fighting to prevent a wider spread. Countless small businesses are shuttered ...
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We’re Having a HOOT Across the Footprint!

By Hoot-E
Our team has been soaring all over the EPCOR footprint, educating wise owls from near and far on all things payments during Payment Systems Update ! We’ve truly had a HOOT discussing topics like faster Payments and the FedNow℠ service, Regulation CC funds availability changes and SO much more. Recently, I talked with Nancy Dolan of Parkside Financial Bank & Trust in St. Louis, MO, Stephanie Martin, AAP, NCP of First Security Bank in Searcy, AR and Jill Herr, AAP of Old National Bank in Evansville, IN! After my flock of three sat for a session, I asked them about their experience, and they told me OWL about it! What was your favorite thing about Payment ...
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Why Do Financial Institutions in Kansas Need a Payments Strategy?

By Brian Laverdure
What do you know about Kansas? Of course, it is well-known in popular culture as the home of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz , but there is much more to 15 th largest state by area than its role in cinematic history. Kansas is also an agricultural powerhouse—agriculture and related services employ 245,539 and have a direct output of $46.9 billion! [1] But farming and cattle are not the only economic drivers; the two largest employers are Spirit Aerosystems and Textron Aviation and other high-tech firms, like Garmin and Koch Industries, also call the state home. [2] The two biggest cities, Wichita and Overland Park, are collectively home to approximately ...
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It’s Member Appreciation Month! Let's Soar Across the EPCOR Footprint!

By Hoot-E
Last month marked our 10 th anniversary. To celebrate, we spent the month sharing EPCOR memories. Now we want to hear about you because YOOOU are the reason behind EVERYTHING we DOOO! August is Member Appreciation Month at EPCOR and this year I am hitting the skies, soaring from member location to member location, to learn more about you and your nest! Some wise owls recently told me about some hoot-a-riffic places to visit on my journey! Did you know that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio or that in Liberal, Kansas you can see a house that is an exact replica of Dorothy’s house in the movie The Wizard of Oz ?! I can’t wait to report back on ...
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We are here to help

By Stephanie Mareski
What can EPCOR do for me? I really get excited about the things we can do for our members, and disappointed when I realize that some don’t take advantage of all we have to offer! We understand our members face situations that challenge their knowledge and understanding: a business customer whose email was compromised and an Executive sent a request for funds to be wired; trying to convince an older customer that the requests to send money to her grandson who is in trouble in Mexico are probably not legit; or you return an item as account closed and the ODFI returns it back to you as R17! We understand you do your best to assist these individuals, but sometimes ...
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Get Up-To-Speed on Real-time Payments from the Experts!

By Shirley James
T he following guest blog post is by Tim Mills, VP of Business Development at The Clearing House Payments Company (TCH). Tim has been a frequent speaker in the payments industry and TCH is a Platinum Sponsor at this years EPCOR Payments Conferences. If you want to learn more about Real-time Payments ( RTP® ) from the network creator, enroll today in the fall conference ! The upcoming EPCOR Payments Conference- Fall 2018 is a great place for you to get up to speed about real-time payments. Bank services powered by RTP® create a better customer experience – one that aligns with the real-time way people live and work today. It takes ...
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What are "faster payments"?

By Brian Laverdure
What are “faster payments”? Do you have an answer to that question if senior leadership comes to you and asks about the faster payment initiatives the financial institution should pursue? If you cannot think of an answer to that question now, then EPCOR can help! For all the talk about faster payments in the past few years, many still do not understand why the industry perceives a need to accelerate payments or what a move to faster payments will mean for ALL financial institutions regardless of size. While some of the largest financial institutions are forging ahead, we know that EPCOR’s membership tends to prefer a “wait and see” strategy; our recent 2017 ...
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Wire Fraud

By Marcy Cauthon
Over the last 12 months it seems I am hearing more and more about different types of Wire Fraud occurring. Sometimes fraudulent wires are sent from instructions from a spoofed email or you might have an account holder that has been instructed to deposit a fraudulent check and wire a portion of the check amount out. Whatever the reason, this growing issue has come up on the EPCOR Education Committees radar and we are developing tools and webinars to talk about what is going on. Earlier this year EPCOR came out with a Wire Audit Checklist for institutions to utilize when periodically doing a review of their Wire Transfer Area. Doing a periodic review can help an ...
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CFPB Public Field Hearing on Payday Lending - "Fascinating"

By Jennifer Kirk
When the invitation came out for the June 2nd CFPB Public Field Hearing on payday lending Ann Marie, our CEO , said' 'That sounds FASCINATING!' You should fly to Kansas City and go. I could have never in a million years predicted how accurate the word 'fascinating' would be to describe the experience. The mayor of Kansas City spoke about how adamant he was that payday loans were out of control and regulatory help was needed; CFPB Director, Richard Cordray, presented a number o f facts on the amount of payday loans that go unpaid because of the high interest rates being charged by predatory lenders; a panel of 4 panelists spoke in ...
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Same Day ACH: Ah-ha, or OMG, Moments from an ACH Auditor

By Jennifer Kline
I’ve finally gotten “on-board” with Same Day ACH. For my part, it was not a quick, immediate buy-in, but a slow process. I realize now that after 40 years, and the fact that other countries are already there, the U.S. needs a faster ACH Network. And, while there are still other industry task forces looking to speed up payments like the Faster Payment Initiatives, Same Day ACH is an important step. I’m all in now. I’ve been anticipating this exciting change to the ACH Network and I’m ready for it to happen already. Recently I’ve had some Ah-ha moments, and after the Ah-ha sunk in, I thought, Oh My Gosh! The biggest Ah-ha moment was when I realized that ...
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Duplicate Claim Playground

By Marcy Cauthon
In the last few days I have received numerous member calls stating that they had received a letter from the same large financial institution stating they would like to receive a credit from our EPCOR member for a duplicate charge they received from the Federal Reserve Bank. Each letter stated that the EPCOR member was found to be the source of the first presentment of the item they were charged for and the second presentment was negotiated at the large financial institution. The letter went on to say that if our EPCOR member was not going to send a credit, then the large financial institution was requesting that the EPCOR member send a complete source of receipt ...
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The Truth about Handling Forged, Counterfeit and Altered Check Returns

By Marcy Cauthon
I am often asked how long an institution is allowed to return a check. The answer is simple, 24 hours, which is based on UCC and Regulation CC. However, I often get a heavy sigh from folks that are dealing with counterfeit, forged or altered items. They believe that the return timeframe should be longer. Well, I agree, but check laws were written so long ago and these old timeframes still apply in today’s environment. I would also agree that most account holders will not know within 24 hours if a check is counterfeit, forged or altered. Most won’t know until their statement cuts and even then, they might not notice it right away. An institution may obtain ...
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Is the magic number 15, 3 or 0.5?

By Karen Sylvester
Over the last few months you probably heard these numbers - perhaps at Payment Systems Update , maybe on a webinar or in the 2015 ACH Rules Revisions. Technically, they all become the magic number on September 18, 2015. But, what does that mean to you? It means the Overall Return Threshold (15%), the Administrative Return Threshold (3%) and the Unauthorized Return Rate Level (0.5%) are all going into effect. The unauthorized return rate level which has been at 1% for the past few years is being lowered to 0.5%. These numbers are all based on each Originator and not on your financial institutions overall origination. There are two different ways to calculate ...
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Mass Re-issue of ODFI Origination Agreements

By Amy Donaghue
Are you thinking about updating your Originator/Third-Party Sender agreements? Just a couple of helpful hints… Depending on the number of Originators and Third-Party Senders your financial institution has, this can become a cumbersome process. Some things to take into consideration prior to the mass re-issue of agreements: • Who and how will the process be tracked? • Who will be responsible for reviewing the new agreements for completeness? • Who can answer questions from Originators and Third-Party Senders about information contained in the new agreement? • If Originators or Third-Party Senders want to modify the new agreement, who will have ...
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ACH Rules Audit - Can you prove it?

By Tricia Longo
The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) has always had the right to request proof annual ACH audits are being completed ( Appendix 8 – Rule Compliance Audit Requirement ), and have begun requesting such information from randomly chosen Depository Financial Institutions. An annual ACH audit must be conducted no later than December 31 of each year and retained for a period of six years from the date of the audit. This audit must be performed under the direction of the audit committee, audit manager, senior level officer, or independent (external) examiner or auditor of the Participating DFI, Third-Party Service Provider, or Third-Party Sender. ...
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