ACH Direct Payments & Deposits FAQs

When should I send in my file when direct deposits are due on a weekend or holiday?

Do I need to have a signed agreement with customers whose account I debit from? Where do I find a copy of the agreement form?

When should I send in my file when direct deposits are due on a weekend or holiday?

For direct deposits, payments that are due on a weekend or holiday should be submitted one business day prior to the due date. Some Financial Institutions will ensure funds are available Saturday morning or the holiday morning.

If you want to ensure your customer/employee is credited by the due date, it is recommended that you change your due date to the business day prior to the weekend or holiday. You will also need to submit your file at least one business day prior to the revised due date.

Refer to the Bank Holiday Schedule for further details.

Do I need to have a signed agreement with customers whose account I debit from? Where do I find a copy of the agreement form?

Yes, a signed agreement must be in place, as stated in the ACH Direct Payments & Deposits Rules of Operation.

The agreement is between you and your customers, therefore must be drawn up by your company.

Sample agreements for payments in Canada can be obtained from the Canadian Payments Association at http://www.cdnpay.ca/imis15/pdf/pdfs_news/rule_h1_appendix_2.pdf.

For payments from the U.S., refer to section Getting Permission to Debit or Credit Your Customers’ Accounts for more details.

My customer(s) have not received their payment. Why not?

There are several reasons that a customer did not get their funds:

1. Check your Input Verification & Edit Report to ensure that your file was received and processed without any errors.
2. Check your Returned Items Report to ensure that the payment(s) have not been returned.
3. A trace request may be required if it is only one or two customers who advised they did not receive their funds.
4. Contact the Help Desk at 1-800-769-2535.

Why has my file not been processed?

Check your Input Verification and Edit report. Details regarding the status of your file are on this report. If you did not receive your report or do not understand the reason provided, please call 1-800-769-2535.

I have put money into my account. Why has my file not processed?

RBC only checks the available balance in your account once an hour at the bottom of the hour. Depending on the timing of your deposit, your account may not have been checked yet.

Furthermore, depending on how you deposited the funds, our system may not recognize the deposit. Please call your Account Manager to check your available balance.

Your file may also have been blocked for other reasons. Check your Input Verification and Edit report, which will provide details regarding the status of your file. If you did not receive your report or do not understand the reason provided, please call 1-800-769-2535.

My file is blocked. What do I do?

The Input Verification and Edit Report will display the reason for your blocked file. A blocked file is an input file that has been received and is blocked from processing. For example, the file cannot be processed due to various conditions such as File Creation Number is duplicated.

Upon receipt of your instructions, your input file can be either unblocked for processing or deleted.

Ensure that an authorized contact faxes the Input Verification and Edit Report the Cash Management Client Support Centre with clear instructions indicating:

• Request to either UNBLOCK or DELETE the respective file
• Provide name, contact number and signature

Confirmation

• A new Input Verification and Edit Report will be produced at the time the file is unblocked
• A File Error Report will be produced at the end of the day when a file has been deleted, unblocked or dropped. This report is your confirmation as to what action has been taken on your input file.

My file is rejected. What do I do?

The Input Verification and Edit Report will display the reason for your rejected file. A rejected file is an input file that has been received but cannot be processed. You must correct and resubmit the file.

Confirmation

• A File Error Report will be produced at the time the file is deleted

My file is in-excess. What do I do?

Transactions with a status of (“I” in Excess) are those transactions that have exceeded your daily limit. These transactions are held from processing and are not included in the total of transactions to be distributed. In-excess transactions will remain pending with RBC for up to 3 business days from the initial value date.

A detailed listing of these transactions is reported on the Daily Limit- Payment Details Report. This report will also indicate the required date range and additional amount required to release the payments.

Please speak to your Account Manager to establish a Temporary Increase to your Daily Limit for the required date range and amount. Once a sufficient limit is detected on our system, payments will be re-classified as valid and available for processing.