Conducting the ACH Risk Assessment and Developing an Effective Risk Management Program
Speaker: Donna K Olheiser, AAP
Speaker Designation: VP of Education & Founder, Dynamic Mastership
Speaker: Donna K Olheiser, AAP
Speaker Designation: VP of Education & Founder, Dynamic Mastership
As a Financial Institution (ODFI & RDFI), a Third-Party Service Provider (TPSP), or a Third-Party Sender (TPS) – including “nested” TPS (due to a recent Rules Amendment in 2022), processing ACH transactions, you can encounter a variety of risks. Risk DOES exist in the ACH Payment System, as in all payment systems. The major risks that need to be examined are Operational, Credit, Compliance, Fraud, Return, and Reputational Risk. According to the Nacha Operating Rules, financial institutions must assess and manage all ACH risks, including developing a Risk Management program. Most ACH risks can be mitigated through proper due diligence for all originating customers (KYC) and strict adherence to ACH origination and credit policies, which includes monitoring ACH activity.
This webinar will identify the areas of ACH Risk that ODFI’s and RDFI’s are exposed to when originating, receiving, or processing ACH transactions. ACH Risk awareness and responsibility still falls on the ODFI even when outsourcing these activities to a third party. Discussion on ODFI Risk Management Requirements from the Nacha Operating Rules Book (Articles 1 and 2) such as due diligence, exposure limits, auditing, and monitoring (to name a few), plus how the SEC Code being used by the Originator or TPSP or TPS determines specific risk management requirements and warranties. Included will be the details for the TPS and “nested” TPS conducting their ACH Risk Assessment due to the recent update to the Nacha Operating Rules with “Third-Party Sender (TPS) Roles and Responsibilities”, effective Sept 2022.
Details on the Nacha Operating Rules for conducting an ACH Risk Assessment and developing an effective Risk Management Program for the participants in the Network who are required to perform this task. The trainer will outline the key components of an effective ACH Risk management Program. Other topics include ACH Policies and the importance of them and reporting to the Board regarding your ACH program. In addition, the details for the NEW Nacha Rule Amendment on “TPS – Roles & Responsibilities” – effective Sept 2022 (which identifies the TPS and nested TPS to conduct a Risk Assessment)
Conducting an ACH risk assessment and developing an effective risk management program is essential for financial institutions to safeguard their ACH operations. By thoroughly understanding and addressing the risks associated with ACH transactions, institutions can protect themselves from financial losses, maintain regulatory compliance, and ensure the continued reliability of the ACH network.
Donna founded Dynamic Mastership, LLC in December 2014 in an effort to utilize her 24+ years’ experience in the financial services industry, by sharing her passion for training financial institutions and organizations on the Rules and processes for electronic payments (with her specialty being ACH payments). She holds the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) designation (achieved in 2004). Donna’s experience before founding Dynamic Mastership, includes 9 years' serving as the Education Service Director at a Regional Payments Association (RPA), where she managed and facilitated the entire Education program for nearly 800 financial institution members. Prior to that, Donna spent 14 years with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in various departments, where she started her training career as the Training and Development Specialist in 2003.
Donna is a certified Master Trainer who continually uses her extensive knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and passion for transferring payment processing details, while using the adult learning theory is remarkable! Her training style has helped many payment professionals remain consistently informed of the NEW and ever-changing NACHA Operating Rules and explaining how the Rules apply when performing daily operational tasks including complex return and exception processing. She incorporates scenarios and examples in her detailed training, so the Rules are easy to comprehend and apply to real-life day-to-day ACH processing. Donna's ability to engage the learner through the entire training event helps the adult learner apply what they've learned during and after each training session.
