Fundtech Adopts Standard to Advance Straight-Through-Processing for B2B Payments

The new standard, called EPN 820, specifies up to 10 required data elements depending on the type of payment, such as customer name, account number, gross invoice amount and amount paid, to be included with the electronic payment for as many invoices being paid. EPN 820 rationalizes the complexity of the ANSI 820 payment standard by defining the required data elements to be included with the payment. Developed from extensive research and working with industry groups, software providers, banks and businesses, the EPN 820 standard is approved by ASC X12 F. Fundtech is the first cash management software company with plans to adopt the EPN 820 in their next software release. The EPN 820 standard was reviewed by the AFP Payments Advisory Group (PAG) which represents a broad cross-section of corporate treasury and finance professionals. The lack of a single standard format for remittance information was highlighted in the 2004 AFP Electronic Payment Survey Report as a major barrier for business-to-business electronic payments. The EPN 820 standard addresses this barrier. A Federal Reserve study showed that of the 3.9 billion business-to-business remittance payments each year, only 14% are executed electronically. EPNs own research found that only 32% of electronic payments can be posted automatically. EPN 820 removes barriers that should improve these percentages. Another feature developed by EPN to remove electronic payment barriers is the Universal Payment Identification Code, or UPIC, a secure and easy way for companies to receive electronic payments. The UPIC looks and acts like a standard bank account number. The UPIC can be proactively disseminated on invoices or websites to encourage the receipt of electronic payments without exposing the actual bank account number, providing an important safeguard against fraudulent access to account information. A similar feature, the UID, is available in CHIPS, the large value wire system also offered by The Clearing House.