Overview

The purpose of this ACH chapter is to give you an overview of the various aspects of Evolve's ACH origination and receiving services.

Are you an Evolve customer and looking for deeper documentation? See our Evolve Enterprise Plus documentation site, accessible only via password authentication.

What is ACH?

Evolve’s ACH solution enables an exchange of funds between accounts of different banks through the ACH network, where one bank originates the transfer and the other receives the transfer.

The bank that originates the transfer is the ODFI (Originating Depository Financial Institution). The bank that receives the transfer is the RDFI (Receiving Depository Financial Institution). Funds can be debited, credited, and returned via ACH transfers.

ACH Origination vs. ACH Receiving

ACH Origination

Evolve collects Nacha formatted batch entries from the Customer and originates the ACH on behalf of the Customer (the "Originator"). The ACH file is passed through the ACH Network to an RDFI, where the debits and credits are applied to the account at the other bank.

• Evolve serves as the ODFI (Originating Depository Financial Institution)
• Transaction can be scheduled for Same Day, Next Day, Late Night, Sunday, and Future Dated
• Customers can originate debits, credits, and returns

Receiving Returns

If an ACH originated by the Customer is refused by the RDFI, Evolve will receive a Return from the other bank. Evolve passes this data to the Customer via an Incoming ACH Return file. The Customer will use this information to update the Subledger to reverse the previously originated debits and credits of the End User.

ACH Receiving

Evolve processes files received from other originating banks via the ACH network. The credits and debits are reviewed and applied to the accounts listed in the file. Settlement typically takes place at the end of the day of the scheduled ACH transaction.

• Evolve serves as the RDFI (Receiving Depository Financial Institution)
• Transactions are assumed good, given there are funds available in the debited account
• Evolve delivers the received files on the day that the files are received and posts the funds on the effective date.

Originating Returns

In the event that an End User refuses the transaction, the Customer would originate a Return to reverse the refused transaction. The Customer passes the return data to Evolve via an ACH Return Generator file. Evolve uses this data to format and originate a return on behalf of the Customer.

Quick Stats

• Available for domestic transactions only
• Estimated Implementation Time: 1 month*
• All End Users must meet all Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) requirements.

*This time estimate does not include vAccount integration. vAccount ACH estimated implementation time is 3 months.

Release Notes

Version 7 - effective 07.15.2022

1. Revised the Table of Contents and page number references
2. ACH Origination chapter:
   1. Section B: Updated the “Same Day” ACH limit to $1 million and added the note about limit adjustments
3. Implementation chapter:
4. Section A: Specified that test files should have .achtest as the extension and NOT .ach. The .ach extension files will not be accepted during testing.
5. We added a new chapter of content: “Requests for Return.” This section outlines the incoming and outgoing procedures for requesting returns and proofs of authorization (POAs). We included some important sections from the Nacha Operating Rules for quick reference.

Version 6 - effective 10.14.2021

1. Added an Effective Date, which indicates the date these changes will become effective. Evolve will communicate to our customers all changes 30 days prior to the effective date.
2. Changed “Platform” to “Customer” throughout the document. Added a note specifying that throughout this document, the term Customer can refer to either a Third Party or Platform, depending on how their program is configured for ACH.
3. Revised the Table of Contents and page number references.
4. Changed references to “Data Extracts” to “File Layouts” throughout the document.
5. ACH Origination chapter:
   1. Added “On-Us ACH” section.
   2. Added “Notifications of Change” section and table outlining the change codes.
   3. Moved the “ACH Debit Return Rate Monitoring” section from the File Layout chapter to the ACH Origination chapter. Added clarification that these are debit return rates and added additional information about exceeding thresholds.
   4. Added “ACH Audits and Risk Assessment” section.
   5. Changed “Data Extracts” section to “File Layouts.” Fixed a typo. Added a note that Evolve will not generate a
      Production Trace Number for on-us ACH transactions.
   6. Changed the “Platforms” section to “Customer Requirements.”
6. ACH Receiving chapter:
   1. Added “On-Us ACH” section.
   2. Originating Returns section - Fixed an error.
7. File Transfer chapter:
   1. Moved the “ACH Return Rate Monitoring” section to the ACH Origination chapter.
8. Implementation chapter:
   1. ACH Line Count section - Revised the header record examples. Moved the example text under each header. Added explanatory language to the example.