The Federal Reserve Financial Services has launched a new ACH risk management service to help financial institutions in their fraud detection efforts. Specifically, the Federal Reserve Financial Services introduced FedDetect Anomaly Notification for FedACH Services.

This service aims to assist financial institutions in identifying anomalous activities within FedACH transactions, complementing their existing fraud detection tools. In essence, financial institutions can now receive secure email notifications when unusual FedACH activity is detected through this addition to FedACH Risk Management Services. In the company press release, representatives from FRFS highlighted the significance of providing timely information to financial institutions regarding day-to-day FedACH transaction anomalies.

They talked about the service's value in aiding institutions to promptly address potential fraud and enhance operational efficiency, without incurring additional costs. How does the new system work? The FedDetect Anomaly Notification service supports financial institutions in detecting potential fraud attempts by facilitating account verification through micro-entry return and forward-entry monitoring. Additionally, it assists originating financial institutions in adhering to Nacha rules related to notifications of change, thus mitigating the risk of rule violations in the future.

Representatives from the ACH Network Administration at Nacha stressed the importance for originators to establish a baseline for normal forward and return volumes of micro-entries. They also highlighted the service's role in helping organisations use micro-entries to recognise and prevent suspicious activity. Moreover, they addressed compliance challenges, emphasising the opportunity the service provides to improve compliance with Notifications of Change (NOCs) and improve the overall quality and efficiency of the ACH Network.

More information about Federal Reserve Financial Services Federal Reserve Financial Services focuses on providing payment services and supporting the stability, integrity, and efficiency of the country's monetary, financial, and payment systems. Their selection of payment and information services includes the FedNow Service, FedACH Services suite, Fedwire Funds Service, Fedwire Securities Service, Check Services, FedCash Services, National Settlement Service, and FedLine Solutions, enabling direct access to these services for financial institutions. The Federal Reserve launched the FedNow Service, a system for instant payments, in the US in July 2023.

Following this launch, banks and credit unions no matter their sizes were enabled to sign up and leverage the tool to instantly transfer money for their customers at any time of day and year. In the initial stage, 35 early adopting banks and credit unions, together with the US Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, were able to offer instant payments capabilities via the FedNow Service. .