Blogs

Federal Reserve’s RFI on the Future of the Federal Reserve Banks’ Check Services

By Shelly Sipple posted 2 days ago
On December 9, 2025, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather feedback on the future of the Reserve Banks’ check services. The RFI seeks input on two key areas: (1) Potential actions regarding the Reserve Banks’ check operations and (2) the broader continued use of checks. We would appreciate your feedback on this important issue, which you can share by completing a 23-question survey by January 21. Your responses will help shape our comment letter, which we will submit to the Federal Reserve Board on behalf of our membership. Before taking the survey, you may want to review the ...

Top 10 Stories to Watch for 2026

By Trevor Witchey posted 17 days ago
We’re nearing the end of 2025, which was a busy year with the GENIUS Act passing stablecoin regulations, multiple ACH Rules updates, Fedwire ® and National Settlement Services (NSS) expanding to Sundays and weekday holidays and other regulatory changes. 2026 promises to be an exciting year for the payments and financial industry. To help frame what’s ahead, I have compiled a list of payments stories I've been following and think are worth monitoring. This is not an officially vetted list, but rather a perspective on important topics gaining momentum. To prepare, here’s a look at the top 10 payments and financial stories to watch ...

Wishing Christine Harris a Happy Retirement! 🎉

By Stephanie Mareski posted 17 days ago
I’ve got some bittersweet news to share, the amazing Christine Harris, AAP, APRP, NCP, Senior Manager, Member Support is retiring from EPCOR on December 31, 2025, after 15 incredible years with us! Christine has been a huge part of EPCOR’s success, always going above and beyond to support our members. Her knowledge and expertise have been a huge asset, and we’re going to greatly miss her. I know many of you have your own Christine stories—maybe she helped you untangle a tricky Rules question, gave you ACH origination advice or walked you through an ACH raw file like it was a stroll in the park. If you’d like to share ...

Join us in Welcoming our New Members! 🥳

By Hoot-E posted 17 days ago
We have welcomed an additional five new member organizations into the EPCOR family! Please join us in welcoming the following: Erie Community Federal Credit Union in Sandusky, OH Joplin Metro Credit Union in Joplin, MO Legends West Bank in Nlewellen , NE PayRecs in St. Louis, MO Ramp Business Corp in New York, NY

Meet Ashley Franks

By Hoot-E posted 17 days ago
We’re excited to announce that @Ashley Franks has joined our flock! Ashley lives in Nixa, MO, just outside of Springfield. She comes to EPCOR with a background in franchise development, where she began in lead qualification and worked her way up to Director of Franchise Development. While payments is a new industry for her, Ashley is eager to bring her expertise in process development to the team. Regarding her new role at EPCOR, Ashley shares, “I’m thrilled to be learning a new industry and contributing to a team that values collaboration, innovation and exceptional member service.” What drew Ashley to EPCOR was the culture, which ...

Leveraging Technology to Bring the Personal Touch Back to Your Client Payment Portfolio

By Brandie Thacker posted 12-01-2025
The world of banking is changing at lightning speed, especially when it comes to how our clients pay for transactions. Gone are the days when a simple checking account and a debit card were enough. Today's clients expect seamless, instant and personalized experiences, all while feeling that their financial institution understands their individual needs. For banking staff, this means modernizing our approach to client payments, not by sacrificing the personal touch, but by enhancing it with cutting-edge technology. The pandemic supercharged the shift to digital-first behaviors and innovative Fintechs have introduced new ways to pay, like real-time ...

Navigating the Next Wave of Payments Changes

By Emily Nelson posted 12-01-2025
As we look ahead to 2026, it’s clear that while 2025 was relatively stable in terms of rule changes, a flurry of updates and new regulations is on the horizon. Organizations in the payments space will not only need to navigate the changes of the upcoming year but also prepare for the transformations expected in 2027 and 2028. Understanding these changes is crucial, as they will present opportunities for enhanced efficiencies and require a commitment to education and training. One of the most significant announcements from the Federal Reserve this year was the official expansion of operating days for two major payment services: the Fedwire ® Funds Service ...

When Payments Don’t Follow the Pattern

By Trevor Witchey posted 12-01-2025
According to IBM , anomaly detection is the “identification of observations, events or data points that deviate from what is usual, standard or expected, making them inconsistent with the rest of a data set.” In the payments world, anomaly detection helps financial institutions and ACH or wire Originators identify activity that is unusual compared to historical ACH or wire transfer patterns. Most of your organization’s transactions are likely recurring with the same employees, vendors, utilities, accounts payable/receivable recipients or lenders. Anything that deviates from this baseline stands out as atypical and may warrant ...

The Machines Are Rising in Payments

By James Kallergis posted 11-14-2025
If you’ve ever watched movies like The Terminator , you know the fear — artificial intelligence (AI) taking over, humans sidelined…even in the payments space. Using AI in the industry is a double-edged sword. It’s hard not to see the benefits of AI as a tool. It can spot fraud faster than any human, help financial institutions personalize products and even improve client experience. But there’s a flip side: AI can also “hallucinate,” producing results that look correct, but are actually wrong. And in compliance, “almost right” can still mean noncompliant. Potential Benefits AI offers several advantages in the ACH space. It can answer basic ACH ...

EPCOR Members Featured on Most Powerful Women in Banking List

By Hoot-E posted 11-03-2025
The following article originally appeared on October 7, 2025, on AmericanBanker.com. Financial institutions went into 2024 already juggling seismic change. Throughout the year and into 2025, executives were forced to prioritize trade-offs between growth, innovation-fueled transformation and safety in their strategic decision-making, capital allocation and appetite for risk. Several economic and market factors directly influenced how payments professionals framed their growth strategy. Higher-for-longer interest rates drove up net interest income but raised deposit costs and pressured borrowers, making loan growth a balancing act. Consumer ...

Ask Hoot-E: Tips for a Fraud-Free Holiday

By Hoot-E posted 11-03-2025
Special thanks to @Trevor Witchey , AAP, APRP, NCP, Senior Director, Payments Education for helping me write this blog! It’s no surprise fraudsters made Santa’s naughty list. The holiday shopping rush means increased transactions, which gives them the perfect chance to hide scams, steal information and disguise fraudulent activity. Your account holders are at greater risk this season as they use their debit cards more frequently, shop online through unsecured websites and send money ...

Third-Party Sender Audits: What Should ODFIs Be Doing?

By Matthew Wade posted 10-31-2025
Nacha issued ACH Operations Bulletin #3-2025 on September 11 th announcing that, beginning in October 2025, proof of audit requests will move to an automated process and will be sent directly to the ODFI, which must provide the requested documentation. This change will make requests more efficient and secure while allowing Nacha to increase the total number of audit requests, including those for Third-Party Senders. With the first batch of automated requests having gone out recently, now is a great time for our financial institution members to review their processes for verifying Third-Party Sender ACH Audit compliance. Many of our ...

Paymentspalooza Rocks the Payments World! 🎶

By Hoot-E posted 10-20-2025
EPCOR Payments Conference – Fall 2025 hit all the right notes, bringing together nearly 300 payments professionals and industry experts for three days of high-energy education, networking and insights into the latest trends shaping the payments landscape. From preconference workshops to deep-dive panels and live demonstrations, our members with actionable strategies, amplified skills and fresh inspiration. Preconference Workshops Set the Stage Paymentspalooza kicked off with two preconference workshops. ACH Reclamations and Garnishments , led by Shelly Sipple, ...

Rule Change Rundown: Nacha and the Federal Reserve’s Latest Updates

By Trevor Witchey posted 10-20-2025
The Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) on October 9 th and Nacha on October 14 th announced rule and regulatory updates that could impact your organization. Leading up to these announcements, both the FRB (in 2024) and Nacha (in 2024–2025) released Requests for Comment (RFCs) and Requests for Information (RFIs) to gather feedback. EPCOR also hosted Special Industry Update webinars to collect member feedback, and we submitted responses to both the FRB and Nacha on behalf of our members. Let’s review each of these potential changes and how you can incorporate them into your strategic planning ahead of their proposed or expected effective dates. ...

🎉 Cheers to Our New APRPs!

By Hoot-E posted 10-16-2025
An Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) is an individual who has demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of risk management strategies, concepts and mitigation techniques within the payments ecosystem. Earning the APRP credential demonstrates a mastery of the complexities of risk management for ACH, check, wire, debit, credit and prepaid cards and emerging and alternative payments. We are excited to welcome 34 new Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRPs) into the EPCOR family! Congratulations to the following: Max Anderson, APRP of Embers Credit Union Melissa Asher, AAP, APRP of EPCOR Crystal Bilquist, APRP of Hawthorn ...

Ask Hoot-E: Implementing Organization-Wide Payments Education

By Hoot-E posted 10-03-2025
Special thanks to @Marcy Cauthon , AAP, AFPP, APRP, NCP, Senior Director, On-Demand Education for helping me write this blog! EPCOR saw strong growth in 2024 and 2025 in the number of members purchasing the Electronic Resource License , which provides an organization’s entire staff access to on-demand payments education courses. With the license, organizations can access over 125 on-demand courses and recorded webinars. While courses are also available individually, the license provides a comprehensive ...

From Chaos to Clarity: How Documentation Impacts Audit Results

By Amy Donaghue posted 10-03-2025
The old saying “garbage in, garbage out” holds true when it comes to audit results. Most audit processes require organizations to provide a list of requested documents for review by your auditor(s). Based on experience, if the staff handling the documentation is unfamiliar with your processes, policies, procedures, system capabilities or supporting materials, it can increase the risk of audit findings. Experienced staff offer the advantage of providing documentation that is accurate, complete and well-organized, helping audits run more smoothly and efficiently. Yet, many organizations unintentionally make mistakes that can slow down the process or lead to audit ...

Defend, Detect, Educate: Cybersecurity Awareness Month

By Hoot-E posted 10-03-2025
October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month , a national initiative aimed at highlighting the importance of protecting personal and organizational data against an ever-evolving landscape of threats. For financial institutions, this month serves as both a reminder and a call to action: fraudsters are constantly innovating, and defending against them requires vigilance, education and the right tools. Fraud tactics shift with technology, but many schemes remain effective because they exploit human behavior, system gaps and outdated security practices. Some of the most prevalent threats financial institutions face today include: Phishing and Business ...

Navigating the Future of Payments: Insights from the Faster Payments Council Meeting

By Brandie Thacker posted 09-19-2025
I recently had the privilege of attending the Faster Payments Council Meeting , an event that always provides invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of financial services. I'm excited to share some of my key takeaways, particularly as they relate to our work at EPCOR and the broader industry. The Global Perspective: U.S. vs. The World A recurring theme was how other countries have surpassed the U.S. in faster payments adoption, even when faced with significant challenges. For example, in Indonesia, nearly a third of the population is unbanked, yet their faster payments infrastructure has flourished. This highlights that while the U.S. ...

Five Imperatives for Payments Strategy in 2026 and Beyond

By Brandie Thacker posted 09-15-2025
I’ve been in the payments game for a long time, and constant change is the one thing you can always count on. But what we’ve seen in the last five years is different. It’s been a perfect storm of digital adoption and groundbreaking innovation. With a click, the pandemic forced us all into a digital-first mindset. At the same time, Fintechs and new payment rails like FedNow ® have come in, not just to compete, but to redefine what’s possible. For the rest of us, the question isn’t if we need to change, but how quickly we can. This isn't just about keeping up; it's about navigating a new reality where traditional playbooks are being torn up. As you shape ...