Electronic Funds Transfer Enrollment Process

For agencies and eligible entities desiring to participate in the State Controller’s Master Services Agreement (MSA) Between the State of NC and Bank of America Dated June 24, 2013 Contract Number ITS-007062

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Enrollment Process Steps

Identify EFT Project Execute Enrollment Forms OSC Acts on Request DST Acts on Request Bank of America Acts on Request CPS Involvement & Testing Establish Fiscal Procedures

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Step 1 – Identify EFT Project

Obtain information about EFT (ACH) from OSC’s Web site

 E-Commerce Statutes and Policies  EFT Overview and EFT-101

Identify potential payment applications for ACH

 Outbound Transactions (Vendor payments, payroll, etc)  Inbound Transactions (ACH debits) Determine what mechanisms will be used to process ACH files   Database of payee names and bank account information Method of transmission of ACH files to bank (CPS or direct) Develop an internal statement of work, considering the program requirements, work effort, cost and benefits Obtain assistance from OSC – Use Project Implementation Plan Obtain assistance from ITS if CPS will be utilized Obtain approval from OSC if third party gateway is envisioned Determine project feasibility and obtain management approval

Step 2 – Execute Enrollment Forms

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Master Services Agreement (MSA)

  Agency Fiscal Office reviews Legal reviews if deemed necessary

Agency Participation Agreement (APA)

   Allows for agency to participate in MSA Executed electronically by Agency CFO Submitted to OSC for approval and obtaining of additional signatures

EFT Participant Setup Form

  Provides OSC, DST, and Bank of America with information necessary to setup ACH file transmission, bank settlement accounts, invoicing, statement rendering, etc.

Executed by Agency CFO and submitted to OSC

Routing of Forms Upon Receipt

   OSC signs and routes APA and Setup form to DST DST signs and routes APA and Setup form to Bank of America Returned executed copies are received through DocuSign

Step 3 – OSC Acts on Request

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Approves or disapproves of participation Request additional information if necessary Advises agency of approval Forwards appropriate forms to DST and Bank of America Involves CPS if necessary DST is administrator for CashPro On-line

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Setups up agency users as specified on EFT Participant Setup Form

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Advises agency users of User-ID, initial password, and instructions

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Step 4 – DST Acts on Request

Executes APA on behalf of the State Treasurer

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Only if participant is an Agency depositing funds with the State Treasurer Authorizes Bank of America to establish a settlement bank account Ascertains if fees for account are to be paid by Agency or DST If a State Agency participant and Inbound payments

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Assigns a CIT account on Core Banking System (CB$) for certifying deposits on CMCS

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Advises agency via Official Depository Designation Letter If a State Agency participant and Outbound payments

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Assigns an Electronic Warrant template number on CB$

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Allows for debit to disbursing/STIF account and funding of ACH credit file on settlement date

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Step 5 – Bank of America Acts on Request

Executes APA on behalf of the bank

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Establishes file transmission profile for participant

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Performed directly with bank, or

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Performed via CPS Setups up required bank accounts

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Assigns a settlement bank account number

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Assigns a Returns account (If inbound ACH debit file) Advises DST of the account numbers Sets up invoicing – to agency or DST Setups CashPro On-line for participant

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DST established as administrator; or

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Agency established as own administrator

Step 6a – CPS Involvement

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If the Common Payment Service (CPS) gateway is to be utilized, participant should follow the steps outlined in the CPS Agency Work Plan Template Participant conducts a Security Risk Assessment (SRA) for the proposed Agency application Participant submits the SRA to the Office of Information Technologies Services (ITS) as part of the technical architecture review requirements ITS will advise of the approval of the SRA and arrange for testing Agency develops its application, including interface(s) to CPS, and request ACH Profile set-up in the CPS test environment Agency documents test results and proceeds to next steps (Performance Acceptance Testing)

Step 6b – CPS Verification Testing

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At least two weeks prior to an application deployment, the participant must develop an Acceptance Checklist:

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Test Plan / Script Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Internal Agency Policies and Procedures OSC reviews the checklist and supporting documents and approves deployment if no issues Participant migrates application into production, and conducts “production verification” test

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Using a limited number of live transactions for at least two weeks Verify settlement of funds into bank account If production verification is adequate, participant opens (announces) the service to the public (if Internet application)

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Step 7 – Establish Fiscal Procedures

Complete Internal Policies & Procedures Template Develop Fiscal Office procedures

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For outbound – Procedures for funding the settlement account For inbound – Procedures for reporting receipt of funds Procedures for obtaining “ACH Authorizations” from payees / payors Procedures for “ACH returns” Procedures for reconciling settlement bank account Verify connectivity to CashPro On-line to access settlement account If State agency, update Cash Management Plan

More Information

Office of the State Controller Web Site

http://www.osc.nc.gov/SECP/index.html

Support Services Center (919) 707-0795