It’s been more than three years now—July 2020, to be exact—since the ACH Contact Registry went live. And as recently as August of last year, Nacha let everyone know it’s running spot checks on the data within the registry.

Those checks are about to be ramped up. 

“We’re increasing our efforts to verify the data in the ACH Contact Registry,” said Lorie Nash, AAP, APRP, Nacha Senior Director, Compliance, noting one of the most important things Nacha will be looking at is, “Are financial institutions getting responses as needed?” To ensure the answer is “yes” there are several other questions to ask. 

“We’re going to be looking at things like whether calls are being answered. Are calls being returned if you leave a voicemail? Is information still valid?” said Nash. 

Under the Nacha Rule which created the ACH Contact Registry, financial institutions must provide phone numbers and email addresses for ACH operations and fraud/risk management which are monitored during business hours. Additionally, contacts need to be current, with any changes made within 45 days, so if you haven’t checked lately to see who’s listed, now is the time. 

And if you’re among the many who detest the “press 1 for this, press 2 for that” phone tree—only to get nowhere—Nacha feels your pain—and will be checking for those rabbit holes. 

“If you’re going to be on the phone, and then dropped off after pressing 10 buttons, that’s not good,” said Nash. 

“These are random checks,” said Nash. “Based on what we find, we’re likely going to increase processing Rule violations related to this.” Nash stressed that processing Rules violations is really a last resort for Nacha. What’s preferred is what’s best for every financial institution using the ACH Contact Registry: Getting the correct information and appropriate responses in a timely manner.

To update your bank or credit union’s information on the ACH Contact Registry, go to Nacha’s secure Risk Management Portal.

For assistance, Nacha’s Portal support number is 703-349-4556, or email rmportal@nacha.org.