It doesn’t seem that long ago we sent out an email heralding the launch of the ACH Contact Registry. Now we’re at the point where the ACH Contact Registry has been open three months, with another very important milestone literally days away.

October 30 is the deadline for financial institutions to register their contact information. That’s coming up fast, and while procrastination may be fine for some things (the weeds in your lawn will still be there next weekend), it’s not for this. 

First and foremost, compliance is required by the Nacha Rules. But it’s really not a heavy lift. In fact, the checklist for the ACH Contact Registry is fairly short. 

Your financial institution needs to compile contacts for ACH operations as well as fraud and risk management. You can pick primary and secondary contacts, or a department contact. Just make sure phone numbers and emails are monitored during your normal business hours. After all, the goal of the ACH Contact Registry is to make it easy to find help at another financial institution, eliminating a major pain point. 

Then head to Nacha’s secure Risk Management Portal and follow the prompts. If you need assistance, no worries! Nacha’s Portal support number is 703-349-4556, or you can email rmportal@nacha.org. 

Already, 17,500 have been registered by financial institutions nationwide, and Nacha is grateful to those who have checked this off their to-do list. 

But if it’s still on your list, now’s the time. Do it because it’s a Rule, but also do it for that counterpart at another financial institution who may need your help one day. After all, you may need their help some day—and that’s when you’ll be glad they entered their information.