Six straightforward steps get you started with Direct Deposit:

1. Sign Up

Your employees, stockholders or retirees complete a standard enrollment form, authorizing your company or organization to make a Direct Deposit payment into one or more of their accounts.

2. Test

Your company may perform a test deposit with no dollar amount to make sure the account numbers have been recorded correctly. The financial institution will notify you if an entry can't be posted or if any changes need to be made to the account information.

3. Post

Your company processes the Direct Deposit transactions by delivering or transmitting an ACH file to your financial institution.

4. Transact

Your company's financial institution processes the Direct Deposit file through the ACH Network one or two days prior to the payday or payment date.

5. Pay

On or before the Direct Deposit date, your company's financial institution debits your account for the total amount of the Direct Deposit transactions that were on the ACH file. The financial institutions that receive the Direct Deposit transactions credit your employees', stockholders' or retirees' accounts and report the transaction on their account statements.

6. Confirm

You should provide a paper or electronic statement of the Direct Deposit payment. In the case of Direct Deposit of payroll, the statement would include the same information you provide on a paycheck stub, including deductions and the net pay amount.