§ 210.2 Definitions.

For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply. Any term that is not defined in this part shall have the meaning set forth in the ACH Rules.

(a) ACH Rules means the 2021 Operating Rules & Guidelines, including Supplement #1–2021, (both incorporated by reference, see § 210.3(b)) published by Nacha, a national association of regional member clearing house associations, ACH Operators, and participating financial institutions located in the United States.

(b) Actual or constructive knowledge, when used in reference to an RDFI's or agency's knowledge of the death or incapacity of a recipient or death of a beneficiary, means that the RDFI or agency received information, by whatever means, of the death or incapacity and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on such information or that the RDFI or agency would have learned of the death or incapacity if it had followed commercially reasonable business practices. For purposes of subpart B of this part, an agency is presumed to have constructive knowledge of death or incapacity at the time it stops certifying recurring payments to a recipient if the agency:

(1) Does not re-initiate payments to the recipient; and

(2) Subsequently initiates a reclamation for one or more payments made to the recipient.

(c) Agency means any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, or a corporation owned or controlled by the Government of the United States. The term agency does not include a Federal Reserve Bank.

(d) Applicable ACH Rules means the ACH Rules, except:

(1) Subsections 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 1.2.5 and 1.2.6; Appendix Seven; Appendix Eight; and Appendix Nine (governing the enforcement of the ACH Rules and claims for compensation);

(2) Section 1.14 (governing the Participating DFI Contact registry);

(3) Section 2.10 and section 3.6 (governing the reclamation of benefit payments);

(4) The requirement in Appendix Three that the Effective Entry Date of a credit entry be no more than two Banking Days following the date of processing by the Originating ACH Operator (see definition of “Effective Entry Date” in Appendix Three);

(5) Section 2.2 (setting forth ODFI obligations to enter into agreements with, and perform risk management relating to, Originators and Third-Party Senders) and section 1.6 (Security Requirements);

(6) Section 2.17.2.2–2.17.2.6 (requiring reduction of high rates of entries returned as unauthorized);

(7) The requirements of Section 2.5.8 (International ACH Transactions) shall not apply to entries representing the payment of a Federal tax obligation by a taxpayer; and

(8) Until March 19, 2022, the requirement of section 2.5.17.4(a) that the Originator utilize a fraudulent transaction detection system that validates an account to be debited for the first use of such account number and for any subsequent change(s) to the account number.

(e) Authorized payment agent means any individual or entity that is appointed or otherwise selected as a representative payee or fiduciary, under regulations of the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Railroad Retirement Board, or other agency making Federal payments, to act on behalf of an individual entitled to a Federal payment.

(f) Automated Clearing House or ACH means a funds transfer system governed by the ACH Rules which provides for the interbank clearing of electronic entries for participating financial institutions.

(g) Beneficiary means a natural person other than a recipient who is entitled to receive the benefit of all or part of a benefit payment.

(h) Benefit payment is a payment for a Federal entitlement program or for an annuity, including, but not limited to, payments for Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Black Lung, Civil Service Retirement, Railroad Retirement annuity and Railroad Unemployment and Sickness benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation and Pension, and Worker's Compensation.

(i) Federal payment means any payment made by an agency. The term includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Federal wage, salary, and retirement payments;

(2) Vendor and expense reimbursement payments;

(3) Benefit payments; and

(4) Miscellaneous payments including, but not limited to, interagency payments; grants; loans; fees; principal, interest, and other payments related to United States marketable and nonmarketable securities; overpayment reimbursements; and payments under Federal insurance or guarantee programs for loans.

(j)

(1) Financial institution means:

(i) Any insured bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank which is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);

(ii) Any mutual savings bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank which is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);

(iii) Any savings bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank which is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);

(iv) Any insured credit union as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752) or any credit union which is eligible to apply to become an insured credit union pursuant to section 201 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1781);

(v) Any savings association as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) which is an insured depository institution as defined in such Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) or is eligible to apply to become an insured depository institution under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.); and

(vi) Any agency or branch of a foreign bank as defined in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 3101).

(2) In this part, a financial institution may be referred to as an Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) if it transmits entries to its ACH Operator for transmittal to a Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI), or it may be referred to as an RDFI if it receives entries from its ACH Operator for debit or credit to the accounts of its customers.

(k) Government entry means an ACH credit or debit entry or entry data originated or received by an agency.

(l) Green Book means the manual issued by the Service which provides financial institutions with procedures and guidelines for processing Government entries.

(m) Notice of reclamation means notice sent by electronic, paper, or other means by the Federal Government to an RDFI which identifies the benefit payments that should have been returned by the RDFI because of the death or legal incapacity of a recipient or death of a beneficiary.

(n) Outstanding total means the sum of all benefit payments received by an RDFI from an agency after the death or legal incapacity of a recipient or the death of a beneficiary, minus any amount returned to, or recovered by, the Federal Government.

(o) Recipient means a natural person, corporation, or other public or private entity that is authorized to receive a Federal payment from an agency.

(p) Service means the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Department of the Treasury.

(q) Treasury means the United States Department of the Treasury.

(r) Treasury Financial Manual means the manual issued by the Service containing procedures to be observed by all agencies and Federal Reserve Banks with respect to central accounting, financial reporting, and other Federal Government-wide fiscal responsibilities of the Treasury.

[64 FR 17478, Apr. 9, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 18869, Apr. 7, 2000; 66 FR 10580, Feb. 16, 2001; 67 FR 17902, Apr. 11, 2002; 68 FR 33829, June 5, 2003; 70 FR 67366, Nov. 7, 2005; 73 FR 52584, Sept. 10, 2008; 76 FR 59030, Sept. 23, 2011; 79 FR 42980, July 24, 2014; 82 FR 42608, Sept. 11, 2017; 85 FR 15720, Mar. 19, 2020; 87 FR 46, Jan. 3, 2022]