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Episode Summary
This episode was recorded live at the Annual Payments Management Conference, this year NEACH celebrated its 50th Anniversary.

In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali welcomes Jordan Bennett from Nacha to delve into the intricacies of risk management for ACH payments. They discuss the evolving role of the Risk Management Advisory Group and how it aids financial institutions in mitigating risks on the ACH network. In addition, Jordan shares insights the current Nacha Request for Comment on proposed Rule Changes, emphasizing the importance of feedback and adjustments to perfect the system.

The conversation takes a deeper dive into the proposed rules for combating fraud. Jordan explains the potential use of reversals to return funds to the originator, which could significantly impact how financial institutions handle fraudulent transactions. They also discuss the new use of a return code, R 17, to specifically flag suspicious transactions.

Towards the end, the discussion shifts to the future of ACH payments, with Jordan and Joe pondering the possibility of continuous settlement and the implications for risk management. The episode concludes with Jordan's advice for professionals in operations, encouraging them to stay aware of organizational changes and fill gaps where necessary.

Guest:
Jordan Bennett, AAP, APRP
Senior Director, Network Risk Management
Nacha

Key Insights
The Evolving Role of the Risk Management Advisory Group
The Risk Management Advisory Group plays a crucial role in mitigating risks on the ACH network. Jordan explains how the group is continuously refining rules and regulations to ensure the safety and efficiency of transactions. The process involves gathering feedback and making necessary adjustments to perfect the system. This insight underscores the importance of dynamic risk management in the rapidly evolving payments industry.

Proposed Rules for Combating Fraud
Jordan discusses the potential use of ACH REVERSALs to return funds to the originator in cases of fraudulent transactions. This proposed rule could significantly change how financial institutions handle fraud. Additionally, the introduction of a new return code, R17, is discussed. This code would specifically flag suspicious transactions, providing another layer of security in the ACH payment process.

The Future of ACH Payments
The conversation shifts towards the future of ACH payments, with Jordan and Joe pondering the possibility of continuous settlement. This could have significant implications for risk management in the payments industry. Jordan also encourages professionals in operations to stay aware of organizational changes and fill gaps where necessary, highlighting the importance of adaptability in this rapidly changing field.

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Episode Summary
In this episode, our host delves into the timely topic of ACH's proposed rule changes with guest expert, Sean Carter. The conversation digs into the specifics, including the revised rules around defining entries as ‘PURCHASE’ or 'PAYROLL'. They discuss the implications these modifications could have on the e-commerce and payroll sectors, while acknowledging the necessity of such standardization for seamless data analysis.

The dialogue gets particularly thought-provoking when the discussion shifts towards the potential challenges presented by the proposed standardization of individual names on transactions. Both host and guest candidly express their concerns about the complexity of implementation and compliance with this rule.

The conversation concludes with a strong call to action, urging listeners to voice their opinions during this crucial rulemaking process. Both the host and Sean emphasize the importance of industry feedback in shaping fair and balanced rules. A must-listen for anyone navigating the changes in the payment industry.

Guest-at-a-Glance
Name: Sean Carter
What they do: CEO
Company: NEACH
Noteworthy: Pioneering advocate for modernization in the payment industry.
Where to find them: LinkedIn

Key Insights
The Role of NEACH in the Payments Industry. Both Sean Carter and Joe Casali represent NEACH, an organization focused on enhancing the payments ecosystem. In the episode, they discuss NEACH's efforts to provide resources, educate stakeholders, and drive innovation in the payments arena. They also highlight the organization's role in aiding businesses navigate regulatory changes and how they are actively inviting feedback to help shape their approach.

Episode Highlights
An Invitation to Influence Rule Changes
The podcast delves into the power companies have in shaping regulations that directly impact their operations. Sean emphasizes the importance of participating in the Request for Comment (RFC) process and providing valuable feedback on proposed rules.

"Don't just sit back and let these rules happen to you. It's much better to have an active role in shaping them."

NEACH's Role in Navigating Regulatory Changes 
Both Sean and Joe talk about the role NEACH plays in aiding businesses navigate through regulatory changes. They highlight NEACH's commitment to educating and providing resources to stakeholders, especially when it comes to understanding AML regulations.

"We're here to help, obviously, if you wanna to have us jump on a call with a couple of your staff to go through these things, we do that all the time."

The Permanent Change in the Payments Arena 
The podcast concludes with a strong message about the permanence of changes in the payments industry. Joe underlines that these shifts, particularly in regulations and the rise of RTP, are not temporary disruptions but rather lasting transformations.

"This is changing now, and this is, uh, it's, it's permanent. This is how things will be. If, if, uh, if they all get approved without any comments."

 Top Quotes 

1. Sean Carter [00:20:00]: "Don't just sit back and let these rules happen to you. It's much better to have an active role in shaping them."

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Episode Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred innovation and modernization across different businesses and industries, and banking is one of the fields that had no choice but to keep up. However, innovation is an ongoing process that requires leveraging both new and existing resources effectively.

In this episode of the Wrestling Payments podcast, our host Joe Casali welcomes Linda Cooper, the VP & senior operations manager at Gorham Savings Bank. They talk about the ways to optimize processes and better leverage existing resources, how COVID has driven significant changes in the banking space, and the importance of continuous improvement.

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Guest-at-a-Glance
Name: Linda Cooper
What she does: She's the VP & senior operations manager at Gorham Savings Bank.
Company: Gorham Savings Bank
Noteworthy: Although Linda has been with the Gorham Savings Bank for ten years, she's not a lifelong banker. She has experience in multiple industries, including retail and manufacturing.
Where to find Linda: LinkedIn

Key Insights 
⚡ We need to leverage existing resources better. Implementing new tools is not enough; we also need to leverage the existing resources more effectively. Linda explains, "Something new I've been thinking about as sort of backward innovation, meaning review, as things slow down. The economy’s slowing down; interest rates are up; a lot of us are seeing a decrease in volume of loan activity or whatever. I think that it's a prime opportunity to really review the usage of existing software to make sure you're leveraging all the functionality that's there. A lot of us implement systems for a specific reason or to cover a specific thing. And, 'Oh, we'll get to that later' — the new stuff — and then later never comes. And so, I think that to formalize that a little bit and create the bandwidth and get the right people around the table to really look at those things, to see what we're missing." 

⚡ COVID spurred innovation in the banking industry. If there's anything that the pandemic taught us is that traditional ways don't always work best. Linda says, "People that just would not consider or couldn't wrap their heads around any changes to how we do things — removing paper from the process, doing things electronically — all of a sudden we did it, and we're like, 'Oh, wow. That works pretty well.' And so, it increased the appetite, I think, for change in a way that I'm not sure anything else would have done because we were forced into it. Now, that's not to say that there aren't people that went right back to their paper files, and they're so happy to be printing things, but a vast majority of us, I think, got on that bandwagon, which has changed the appetite, the environment for innovation."

⚡ Modernization is a continuous process. Modernization is ongoing and open-ending. There are no boundaries to innovation, even in the banking space. Linda says, "With the modernization, how can we better leverage these? And it's almost an ongoing process. Continuous improvement, I guess, is really what it is, in order to make sure that you're always using, always thinking, never settling for, 'Yeah, this is good enough.' Always looking to see, 'Is there a better way?'"

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• How the Finance Industry Is Adopting Instant Payments
• Introducing FedNow in New England and How the System Will Affect the Instant Payment Strategies of FIs
• NEACH Survey: Are FIs in an Either-Or Situation With RTP and FedNow?

Episode Summary

NEACH recently conducted a survey with 145 participants about how the finance industry is adopting instant payments in New England. The respondents answered questions about available instant payment solutions and how they affect their strategy.  

In this episode of Wrestling Payments, host Joe Casali touches upon FedNow, a new instant payment system, and shares participants' take on how this new solution will add to their operations. 

Joe also discusses when participants plan to implement their chosen instant payment solution and their biggest concerns regarding the process.


Podcast Insights

🎙65% are either working on or have an instant payment strategy. The survey involved 145 participants answering questions regarding available solutions and a soon-to-be-launched system, FedNow. 

🎙53% of all participants said they are interested in FedNow ''send and receive.'' That means they not only want to receive transactions via the system but also take advantage of the sending option.

🎙About 20% are interested in implementing it in 2023. The same percentage of participants said that they are considering implementing it next year. Around 1.5% want to do it by 2025, while 50% have an undefined timeframe. ''In the financial institution industry, there's a lot of waiting and seeing, 'I want someone else to make the mistakes, and then I'll participate.'''

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• How to Manage ACH Notifications of Change With Joe Casali of NEACH 
• Joe Casali of NEACH on Educating Staff on the Importance of Properly Fixing NOCs 
• Joe Casali of NEACH: Three Tips on How to Avoid Unpleasant Scenarios Caused by Neglecting Notifications of Change

Episode Summary

Welcome to another episode of Wrestling Payments. We dedicate this session to Notifications of Change (NOCs), or as many refer to them, No One Cares. In this episode, our host Joe Casali shares three cases where receiving financial institutions wrestled with NOCs.

 As part of the analysis, Joe describes the causes and the consequences of not addressing the issues. Finally, he shares valuable tips on how to prevent unpleasant scenarios caused by ignoring NOCs.

 *Names have been changed to protect the actors in the cases.


Podcast Insights

🎙Educate your originators on what notifications of change are. While analyzing the background, including the response and the consequences of the first case (you can find out more about it in the highlight section below), Joe says that ODFIs must train their originators on how to act regarding NOCs. Otherwise, they risk penalties. ''They have to know what a NOC is. They have to know how to deal with it. They have to be set up right to get the information.'' 

 🎙If you receive entries you must wrestle with, file a notice of possible rule violation. Based on a case initiated on the suspicion that an originator acted against the norms, Joe suggests notifying Nacha, or ''You can say something directly to an ODFI, not just as a contact registry. You can reach out, but the system fines and rules enforcement will make it official if you need to escalate it to that point.''

 🎙You must receive NOC reports regularly. That's the third and final tip Joe shares in this episode, adding: ''If you don't have any NOCs, something's wrong. That may not be totally true, but you should probably get at least one NOC over a year or two. So check to confirm that you're getting the NOC report, understand what it's saying, and make the changes as soon as possible.''

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Welcome to the first episode of Wrestling Payments by NEACH, a member-based payment association for financial institutions in other organizations supplying payment-related services. NEACH is a recognized and licensed ACH education, publications, and support provider. 

In the show's first episode, we are joined by Sean Carter, the president & CEO, and Sandy Ortins, the SVP of Operations, at NEACH. Sean and Sandy reveal why they decided to start a podcast, who it is for, the issues they will tackle, the guest list, and how they came up with the name.