As electronic payments have grown, so has their use across national borders. To ensure that cross-border payments are both efficient and secure, Nacha worked with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to develop a new ACH format that includes information on all parties to the transactions. This format allows RDFIs to easily comply with the Rules and streamline international payments.

International ACH Transactions (IATs) are now regulated under a Rule, which includes two major points:

• It requires Gateway Operators to classify payments that are transmitted to or received from a financial agency outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. as International ACH Transactions (IAT).
• It includes information on all parties to the ACH transactions.

The Rule benefits RDFIs by making it easier to determine whether a transaction is domestic or international. It also allows those institutions to comply with legal obligations by including additional data and screening indicators, making it easier for RDFIs to intercept unlawful transactions.