Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Created on: 
Feb 11 2016

See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.

What is Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

EFT is an option provided to clients to have cash benefits directly deposited into their own checking or savings account at any financial institution that accepts EFT transactions.

Who may receive cash assistance by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

Clients receiving cash assistance from the following programs can choose to have EFT:

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (AF)
  • Consolidated Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP)
  • Aged, Blind, or Disabled Cash Assistance (ABD)
  • Refugee Assistance (RF)
  • State Supplemental Program (SSP)

When are Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) issuances available to clients?

Monthly issuance - funds are available the first banking day of the month.

Example: The first banking day of January is 1/4/2016, funds are available on that day and not on 1/1/2016.

Daily issuances - funds are available after 9:00 a.m. on the third banking day from the issuance date.

Banking days are Monday - Friday excluding Federal holidays.

Example: Worker processes a supplemental issuance on Friday, October 7th. 
In this case, 10/8 is a Saturday, 10/9 is a Sunday and 10/10 is a Federal holiday (Columbus Day).
The three day count starts on 10/7. The funds would be available in the account after 9:00 a.m. on 10/12.

Can Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) benefits be voided or canceled?

Once an EFT benefit has been deposited in an account, it cannot be voided or canceled. This is true even if the benefit is not yet available to the client.

What letters are used to notify clients and payees of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) issuances and returns?

Authorized representatives are notified by Letter 038-02 (Cash Assistance Payee Remittance) each time an EFT benefit is generated for the Assistance Unit (AU).

Letter 039-01 (Reject Pre-Note / Direct Deposit) is used to notify the client of a rejected pre-note or returned deposit.

When should an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) pre-note be deleted?

Field staff should delete an EFT pre-note when information is received that the account has been closed or changed.

How does ACES determine the Issuance Method Type on a reopened or reinstated cash AU previously coded with EFT information?

ACES determines the Issuance Method on reinstated or reopened cash Assistance Units (AUs) based on the following rules:

  • AUs closed 12 or more months - The Issuance Method Type is either Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) or warrant (depending on AREP information).

Example #1:

  • A cash assistance unit (AU) closes with a 5/2016 paid thru date.
  • The original issuance method of the AU was Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
  • The AU is being reopened using an application date of 8/1/2017

Because the original AU closed more than 12 months ago, the issuance method will be EBT (or warrant depending if the worker coded an Authorized Representative (AREP) in the case when finalizing.)

In the above scenario, the issuance method will continue to display in ACES as EFT until nightly batch runs, where the method will flip to EBT or warrant.

  • AUs closed less than 12 months - This Issuance Method Type is EFT
    • unless the EFT information was deleted from the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration (EFTR) screen.  If the EFT information was deleted from the EFTR screen the benefits will issue via EBT.  

Example #2:

  • A cash assistance unit (AU) closed with a 1/2017 paid thru date.
  • The original issuance method for the AU was EFT.
  • The AU is reopened using an application date of 8/1/2017.

Because the AU has been closed less than 12 months, when the AU is finalized, the issuance method will be EFT - unless EFT information was deleted from the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration (EFTR) screen, then benefits will be issued via EBT. 

Online Processing

How do I view Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) enrollment and bank status information?

EFT enrollment information displays on the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page. To view the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Welcome back page in the Quick Navigation section, complete the following fields:
  • Select a Type of ID field - Select Assistance Unit from the drop down menu.
  • Enter an ID field - Enter the [Assistance Unit ID].
  • Select a Page field - Select Issuances from the drop down menu
  1. Click Go and the Issuances page displays.
  2. On the Issuances page, select the appropriate issuance number in the Issue Number section.
  3. On the Details page, click on Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) in the Issuance Details section.

Who can enter or update Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information?

EFT Direct Deposit information can only be entered or updated by designated Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) / EFT staff, and only upon receipt of DSHS form 14-432 (Direct Deposit Enrollment).

Field staff can view the EFT information using the following options on the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page in aces.online.

How do I delete an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

This feature is not currently available in aces.online. For more information, see Mainframe Processing - How do I delete an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

How can I view historical Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) enrollment information?

Historical EFT enrollment information can be view on the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page in aces.online. For more information on how to view this information, see How do I view Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) enrollment and bank status information?

How is an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) pre-note processed?

Once an Assistance Unit (AU) is active and an Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page has been created, ACES generates a prenote during nightly processing.

The Prenote Sent Date field is filled the day after central office inputs information.

The pre-note is sent to the client's financial institution to confirm that the account number, routing number, and account type are valid for that institution. When the pre-note is accepted by the financial institution the EFT Registration Status field changes from Prenote Pending (PP) to Prenote Successful (PS) within ten banking days from the pre-note input date. Once a pre-note is successfully processed, the first EFT deposit is made the first of the month following the ongoing month at the time the pre-note is completed.

State Supplemental Program (SSP) auto enrollment requires State Office EFT to manually update EFT Registration Status to SSP Prenote Authorization (SA).

Example: The pre-note is sent on August 15, 2015 and the ongoing month is September. The first EFT month is October. The monthly issuance for October and any future issuances are EFT.
Example: If the same pre-note is sent on August 27, 2015 when the ongoing month is October. The first EFT month is November. The monthly issuance for November and any future daily issuances are EFT.

How is a worker notified that Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information does not match the bank information listed in ACES?

When there is a discrepancy in account information between the Electronic Funds Transfer Registration page in aces.online and the Liquid Resource page in ACES 3G, Alert 075 - EFT / RES1 BANK ACCOUNT MISMATCH - COMPARE EFTR /RES1 is generated as this may be an eligibility factor.

Mainframe Processing

How do I view Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) enrollment and bank status information?

EFT enrollment information displays on the EFTR screen.

To view the EFTR screen, complete the following:

  1. On the AMEN screen in the Selection field, enter [1] - EFT Registration.
  2. <TRANSMIT> and the EFTM screen displays.
Note: The EFTM screen can also be accessed from the STAT, AREP, or RES1 screens by pressing <F16> .
  1. On the EFTM screen, complete the following fields:
  • Selection field - Enter [A] - EFT Prenote Inquiry.
  • AU ID field - Enter the [Assistance Unit number].
  1. <TRANSMIT> and the EFTR screen displays.

Who can enter or update Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information?

EFT Direct Deposit information can only be entered or updated by designated Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) / EFT staff, and only upon receipt of DSHS form 14-432 (Direct Deposit Enrollment).

Field staff can inquire or delete EFT information using the following options on the EFTM screen:

  • Option [A] - EFT Prenote Inquiry.
  • Option [C] - EFT Prenote Delete.

How do I delete an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

To delete an EFT, complete the following steps.

  1. On the AMEN screen in the Selection field, enter [1] - EFT Registration.
  2. <TRANSMIT> and the EFTM screen displays.
Note: The EFTM screen can also be accessed from the STAT, AREP, or RES1 screens by pressing <F16>.
  1. On the EFTM screen, complete the following fields:
  • Selection field - Enter [C] - EFT Prenote Delete.
  • AU ID field - Enter the [Assistance Unit number].
  1. <TRANSMIT> and the EFTR screen displays.
  2. On the EFTR screen, enter [Y] - Yes in the Del field.
  3. Press <F24> to commit the data.

How can I view historical Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) enrollment information?

  1. On the EFTM screen complete the following fields to view historical EFT enrollment information:
  • Selection field - Enter [A] - EFT Prenote Inquiry.
  • AU ID field - Enter the [Assistance Unit number].
  • As of Date field - Enter the [appropriate date that is less than three years in the past].

How is an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) pre-note processed?

Once an Assistance Unit (AU) is active and an EFTR screen has been completed, ACES generates a pre-note during nightly processing.

The Prenote Sent Date field is filled the day after central office inputs information on the EFTR screen.

The pre-note is sent to the client's financial institution to confirm that the account number, routing number, and account type are valid for that institution. When the pre-note is accepted by the financial institution the EFTR Status changes from [PP] - Prenote Pending to [PS] - Prenote Successful within ten banking days from the pre-note input date. Once a pre-note is successfully processed, the first EFT deposit is made the first of the month following the ongoing month at the time the pre-note is completed.

State Supplemental Program (SSP) auto enrollment requires State Office EFT to manually update EFTR Status to [SA] - SSP Prenote Authorized.

Example: The pre-note is sent on August 15, 2015 and the ongoing month is September. The first EFT month is October. The monthly issuance for October and any future issuances are EFT.
Example: If the same pre-note is sent on August 27, 2015 when the ongoing month is October. The first EFT month is November. The monthly issuance for November and any future daily issuances are EFT.

How is a worker notified that Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information does not match the bank information listed in ACES?

When the account number and account type entered on the EFTR screen does not match the account number and type entered on RES1 screen workers receive Edit 1961 - EFT ACCOUNT AND RES1 ACCOUNT DON'T MATCH.

Note: Edit 1961 - EFT ACCOUNT AND RES1 ACCOUNT DON'T MATCH also displays when an active EFT account number is being deleted off of the RES1 screen. The purpose of the edit in this situation is to make the user aware that they are about to delete an account that ACES is depositing funds to.

When there is a discrepancy in account information between the EFTR and RES1 screens, Alert 075 - EFT / RES1 BANK ACCOUNT MISMATCH - COMPARE EFTR /RES1 is generated as this may be an eligibility factor.

 

See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.