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How Direct Deposit Works

1. Sign Up

Individual customers complete a standard enrollment form with the payroll department at their
place(s) of employment, providing authorization to make a Direct Deposit payment into one or more of their accounts.

See how it works from a consumer perspective

2. Test

Your business customers may send your institution a test through the ACH Network to verify the accuracy of individuals' account information. If any specific individual account information represented by your financial institution cannot be posted, or any changes need to be made to the account information, you alert your business customers.

3. Post

Your business customers transmit an ACH file to your institution for live processing, providing six banking days have passed between the test entry and the first live entry.

4. Process

Your financial institution processes the ACH file, extracting any transactions for individual accounts at your institution, and delivering the remaining transactions for distribution through the ACH Network one or two days prior to the Direct Deposit date.

5. Transact

On or before the Direct Deposit date, you debit your business customers' accounts for the total amount of the Direct Deposit transactions that were on the ACH file. If your financial institution is receiving Direct Deposit transactions, you credit specific individual accounts and report the transaction on the customer's monthly account statement.

6. Confirm

Your business customers should provide a paper or electronic statement of the Direct Deposit payment. In addition, the account statements you provide your customers will list details of the ACH transactions, including date and amount of debit or credit.

Did You Know

The City of New York achieved a 74% increase in Direct Deposit participation among its employees in six weeks, going from 76,440 employees to 132,540 using Direct Deposit. The city achieved this immense success by distributing stuffers and brochures to its employees with an individualized letter, which included an authorization form.

What People are Saying

"Direct Deposit is a win-win for employees and companies. One year ago, a severe ice storm in New Jersey literally froze the mail service! This affected employees who received traditional paper paychecks. Our payroll department had to stop payment and reissue these checks - a major inconvenience.

Our Direct Deposit users had their money on time as scheduled. Direct Deposit is a reliable and safe method for payroll distribution."

- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.,
Stamford, Conn. (54,000 employees)