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 sponsored research, see Payment Remittance Procedures for Sponsored Research.
- For department accounts receivable invoices, see Department Accounts Receivable Remittance Information.
- For wire transfer donations, contact UCSF Foundation’s Gift Administration Team.
- For auxiliary services invoices, see Auxiliary and Administrative Services Remittance Information.
- For student payments, see Student Accounting Remittance Information.
For all other types, contact the Cash Operations team.
If a bank certification letter is required, provide the remitter with a copy of the corresponding Bank of America Account/Routing Number Confirmation Letter confirming bank information needed to accept incoming Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT).