Accepting Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs)

Accepting Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs)

This article outlines the procedures required for departments to accept electronic transfers of money.

Key Concepts

Departments can accept an electronic funds transfer (EFT) either in the form of an ACH (Automated Clearing House) or wire transfer.

  • Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. It can take a few days for the money to be transferred. ACH transfers are less expensive than wire transfers. Many ACH transactions have only a small fee or no fees.
  • Wire Transfer is a method of electronic funds transfers that moves value from one bank account to another bank account through the Federal Reserve System. Wire transfers can take place in near real time. Due to the funds' availability and speed of the transaction, wire transfer fees are typically more expensive than ACH transfers.
    • Wire transfers are costly.
    • There is a banking fee associated with this service charged by the remitter’s bank and if the remitter does not pay the fee upfront, their bank will deduct the fee from the payment before transferring the payment to our University bank account. In light of this fee, departments may want to incorporate fees into billing. The fee varies from bank to bank and for domestic versus international transfers. Therefore, an exact amount cannot be determined up front. However, the average is approximately $25.00.

On a daily basis, UCSF receives both international and domestic funds in the form of Automated Clearing House credits (ACH) and wire transfers. These funds are deposited into UCSF’s bank accounts and subsequently recorded in the general ledger. Funds are often intended for campus departments, and recipient departments often do not know when their funds are deposited into the campus bank accounts. See Identifying and Handling Unclaimed Payments for more information on how to identify and claim incoming payments.

Remittance Procedures

To ensure accurate and prompt accounting for EFTs, departments must provide the correct payment remittance instructions based on payment type:

For all other receivables, follow the steps outlined below.

Step 1: The remitting agency or person (remitter) must provide the banking information to the sending bank:

For Wires

  • Bank and Bank Address
    Bank of America
    100 West 33rd Street
    New York, NY 10001
  • ABA Routing No - 026009593
  • Bank Account Name - Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
  • Bank Account No. - 12335-23601
  • SWIFT Code (International only) – BOFAUS3N for incoming wire transfer in U.S. dollars; BOFAUS6S for incoming wire transfer in foreign currency

For ACH

  • Bank and Bank Address
    Bank of America
    2000 Clayton Road
    Concord, CA 94520
  • ABA Routing No. - 121000358
  • Bank Account Name - Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
  • Bank Account No. - 12335-23601
  • SWIFT Code - Not applicable

Step 2: The remitter must provide their bank with the following addendum information:

  • The name and phone number of the UCSF department contact person
  • The name of the agency that is remitting payment
  • Purpose of the EFT and identifying information required for the payment type (sponsored research, department accounts receivable, etc.)

Step 3: Provide the remitter with a copy of the Bank of America Account/Routing Number Confirmation Letter if a bank certification letter is required.