Accept Regulation E Elections Online

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Consumers are required to opt in to have ATM and everyday debit card transactions considered for authorization using the overdraft limit. The request can be submitted, in person, through the mail, over the phone, or electronically.

If institutions do not already offer an electronic Reg E opt in or opt out option, ODP Manager can be set up to allow customers to submit their request online. In the hosted software, the Reg E Opt In Form and Reg E Opt Form will be created to match the content on the ODP Manager letter templates. Links to the forms will then be added to an institution’s website to direct customers to submit their Reg E election. Email confirmations are generated and sent to the customer and to the ODP Manager user who will retrieve the submissions and update the accounts accordingly.

In ODP Manager, users will link the request to the customer’s account and the customer’s electronic submission will be retained in the Account Inquiry Attachments for the account. Users can download a list of the submitted requests to perform the maintenance to the account’s Reg E election in the core processing system. The account should be updated in the core to be opted in or opted out of the ATM and everyday debit card transactions according to the customer’s request. By default, new responses will show in the list in the hosted software. Prior responses are also retained and can still be viewed after they have been downloaded.

If you have any questions about setting up the online Reg E Opt In or Reg E Opt Out forms in ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Is it Time to Reevaluate your Overdraft Payment Process?

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Strunk’s Overdraft Privilege program has been around for over 30 years and many banks still take advantage of the strategy that turned out to be one of the best fee income programs in our industry’s history. Other financial institutions decided to go back to the old “ad hoc” program. Now is the time to rethink that decision.

Consumers want a choice when handing their finances and ODP gives that choice to them. Do customers want their debit card transactions to be authorized at point of sale or do they want the transaction denied? Virtually all consumers want their paper checks paid rather than returned to the merchant. Strunk’s formal ODP program allows financial institutions to make this happen in a simple and compliant fashion.

Non-sufficient fund and overdraft fees have dropped dramatically over the past decade and today they are about a third of what they were in 2010. Electronic transactions make up about 95% of all debits that a bank processes which is considerably more than what it was at the turn of the century.

Running a compliant, efficient, automated daily overdraft program is good for both the customer and the bank. Consumer complaints regarding paying overdrafts and charging a published fee are very small. After over three decades of helping financial institutions enhance customer service and fee income at the same time we have learned a lot about consumer banking.

Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or email at info@strunkaccess.com to learn how we can help you make more money efficiently.

Generate ODP Manager Letters by Account Number

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In the hosted ODP Manager software, there are three letter types: Collection, Custom, and Ad Hoc. Collection letters are sent to accounts that are currently overdrawn. Custom letters are letters that are providing customers with information about their Overdraft Privilege program and options. The third letter type, Ad Hoc letters, allows users to generate specific letter templates as needed.

Ad Hoc letters do not require an account event to trigger the letter to show as due. They also can be used for situations where the file does not contain the necessary data to show a letter as due. In either of these situations, when an ODP Manager user has identified an account or accounts that should receive a letter, they are able to generate the letter by entering the account number(s). Letters can be generated one account at a time, or multiple account numbers at once.

Ad Hoc letters can benefit institutions in two ways. First, generating the Ad Hoc letter in ODP Manager allows users to eliminate the manual process of populating a letter with a customer’s name, address, and other account information – the hosted ODP Manager software can pre-fill this information once the account number is entered. Second, generating the Ad Hoc letter directly in ODP Manager allows users to track and retain the letter in the software – just like the Collection and Custom letters generated. This allows users to have a single location to look for letters that have been generated on an account.

The inherent flexibility of the Ad Hoc letter template feature may allow institutions to accommodate all Overdraft Privilege Program-related letters – not just letters included in the standard Collection and Custom letters. If users need to close and charge off an account before the standard number of days overdrawn, they can use an Ad Hoc letter to generate an Account Closed letter. If there are ODP-related letters that are sent in specific situations other than those covered by the standard letter templates, Strunk can create the letters as Ad Hoc letter templates. Ad Hoc letters can also be used to generate Fresh Start Repayment Plan agreements.

If you have any questions about using Ad Hoc letter templates in ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Periodic Review of Accounts for Overdraft Privilege

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To run a successful Overdraft Privilege program, at least 90% of eligible checking accounts should have an OD Limit. Strunk recommends that institutions periodically review accounts not currently in the ODP program to determine if the accounts now qualify for Overdraft Privilege. Performing this review at least quarterly (or more frequently if able) will help to maintain higher participation in ODP.

The Status Tracking report in ODP Manager includes all open accounts in status codes that indicate the account does not currently have an OD Limit assigned. The ODP Status Code indicates the reason that the account did not qualify for ODP. Users should review the Status Tracking Report by ODP Status Code to determine if any of the accounts now qualify for ODP, or if not, to verify or update the reason the account does not qualify. Reviewing the accounts grouped by ODP Status Code allows a more efficient process and allows users to review certain status codes more frequently if needed.

The ODP Requalification group on the report shows accounts that are no longer overdrawn and have a certain level of deposits in the last 30 days. These accounts likely will requalify for ODP unless the account has other circumstances that prevent it from being in good standing.

When an account meets the qualifying characteristics and is assigned an OD Limit, ODP Manager will show the accounts as due for a Welcome letter or Reinstatement letter.

If you have any questions about ODP Manager’s Status Tracking report, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Managing Fresh Start Repayment Plans in ODP Manager

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Fresh Start Repayment Plans may be available to customers to allow them to repay an overdrawn balance in up to 4 payments while still retaining the use of their checking account. Fresh Starts may also assist financial institutions in collecting on overdrawn accounts which may have been charged off otherwise. When requested, accounts are reviewed to determine if the account meets criteria to qualify for the Fresh Start.

Once an account has qualified, users can choose to enter and track Fresh Start Repayment Plan information in ODP Manager. Entering the repayment schedule start date, balance, and number of payments will allow the correct payment amounts and dates to be determined. The Fresh Start agreement can be populated directly from the repayment schedule. The individual account’s Fresh Start information can also be exported as a PDF. Individual payment reminders are created and will show when due/overdue in ODP Manager. This reminds users to check the core system to verify if the payment was made as agreed. If so, users can enter payment dates and amounts in ODP Manager.

If a customer’s Fresh Start payment is not paid as agreed (ten or more days past due), the Fresh Start is in default, and the checking account should be closed and charged off. The Fresh Start Default letter in ODP Manager can be generated by entering the customer’s account number to prefill the name and address. This letter notifies the customer that the account has been closed, charged off, and reported to the appropriate agencies.

ODP Manager also includes a Fresh Start Tracking report which will list all accounts currently assigned a Fresh Start ODP Status Code. The Fresh Start ODP Status Code should be assigned to accounts when the ODP Limit is removed when the Fresh Start Repayment Plan is initiated. In addition, ODP Manager can display a list of all currently entered Repayment Plans that can assist users in tracking loan amounts, payments made, and outstanding balances. This summary reporting can be exported to PDF or Excel.

If you have any questions about ODP Manager’s Fresh Start Repayment Plan features, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Time to Revitalize your Overdraft Payment Process

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Recently the CFPB backed off guidance for overdraft payment programs and now is the time to consider revitalizing your bank’s overdraft payment services. While the regulators scared off some banks from offering a formal overdraft program, many banks and consumers have benefited from them for over 30 years.

Consumers create overdrafts…banks do not. Banks are faced with decisions each morning to either pay a customer’s non sufficient fund item or return it to the merchant. Providing a consistent method with these decisions eliminates problems and streamlines the process. Strunk’s program covers all aspects of offering a compliant overdraft privilege service to consumers and small businesses.

Beginning in 2010, debit card transactions that would overdraw an account could not be authorized at point of sale unless the consumer “opted in” and “signed-off” for this service. This was a great idea that came from the Federal Reserve. So, how do formal overdraft programs benefit consumers?

  • Allows consumers to decide how they want their bank account handled when it comes to overdrafts
  • Reduces returned check charges from merchants
  • Allows consumers to take home the groceries or prescription drugs when otherwise their debit card transaction would be denied
  • Keeps a bank from discriminating on daily pay and don’t pay decisions
  • Keeps a bank for discriminating on waives and refunds

Contact Strunk at 800-728-3116 or email at info@strunkaccess.com to learn more about revitalizing your overdraft payment process at your bank.

 

Using and Customizing Account Inquiry

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The hosted ODP Manager software allows users to view information about accounts that have been imported into ODP Manager. This information can be viewed as a list of multiple accounts or the account details for a single account can be selected. Account Inquiry is organized to allow users to select which data columns are displayed by choosing a View. Users can also select Groups to display accounts that meet certain criteria, or they can apply individual filters to display only the desired results. Once the list of accounts has been created, the data can be exported to Excel. This information can be used in addition to ODP Manager’s standard reporting and may be an alternative to creating customized reports.

Users are able to view the details in Account Inquiry for a single open or closed account. In order to manage the account or to address inquiries, users can use Account Inquiry to review basic ODP Information, contact details, or event history. If Fresh Start Repayment Plans, Charge-off Items, or Reg E Opt-In or Opt-Out information has been created or attached to the account, they can be accessed at the individual account level. Comments and Reminders can also be viewed. The individual account information can be aggregated and viewed as a PDF as well.

When viewing lists of accounts, institutions have two available options to customize Account Inquiry. The default Group assigned when users click Account Inquiry is Open Accounts. This will display all accounts that were included in the most recent file imported. The amount of time it will take for the results to load and display will vary depending on the number of accounts included. If an institution would prefer a different Group to load initially, Strunk can designate a different default Group. Also, Strunk can update the Account Inquiry behavior so that accounts do not show in the list until additional column filters have been entered. This may be useful for institutions with larger numbers of Open Accounts that are primarily searching for specific account numbers in Account Inquiry most frequently.

If you have any questions about using or customizing Account Inquiry, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Options for ODP Manager Access

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Institutions should regularly review ODP Manager accounts to remove accounts that no longer need access to ODP Manager, whether because their roles have changed, or because they are no longer employees. Also, the existing roles assigned to users can be reviewed to confirm that they are still appropriate. ODP Manager includes four different roles that control access to the different features in the ODP Manager software.

ODP User rights should be assigned to users who will need to access all software features but will not need to make administrative software setup changes. If a user is assigned the ODP Admin role, they will be able to perform all the functions performed by ODP Users, and are also able to add and change users, revert imported files, and make or request software setup updates. For users that do not need to generate letters or import the extract file, ODP Report User rights will allow them to access ODP Manager Reports and Account Inquiry.

If an institution would prefer to separate User Administration from other ODP Admin functions, users can be assigned User Admin rights if they need to add or change ODP Manager users. Users that need to be able to revert imported files or make and request other software setup changes should be assigned ODP Manager rights.

When users no longer need to access ODP Manager, there are two ways for ODP Admins or User Admins to remove access. If the user is no longer employed by the financial institution, the user status can be updated to Former Employee and no rights will need to be removed. If the user is still an employee but no longer needs the ODP Manager access, the assigned ODP Admin, ODP Manager, ODP User, ODP Report User, or User Admin role can be removed.

If you have any questions about User Administration and Roles in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Overdraft Privilege Continues to be an Important product for Consumers

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With the ongoing negative perception and strict regulations surrounding overdraft privilege, financial institutions find it increasingly challenging to offer this service. Most adults in the U.S. consider overdraft privilege a valuable resource at a reasonable price, highlighting the significant disconnect between regulators and public sentiment.

Overdraft privileges help consumers avoid declined transactions, which can lead to late payment fees and non-sufficient funds (NSF) charges. Consumers feel it is essential to have overdraft privileges to ensure that large payments, such as mortgages or rent, are covered and paid on time if these payments overdraft their accounts. Generally, overdraft privilege is more affordable than some short-term credit alternatives, like payday loans. This is why most consumers have not seriously considered giving up their overdraft privilege. While some consumers with a buffer amount in their checking accounts may not need overdraft privilege, for most Americans, it is necessary to prevent essential transactions from being declined.

When surveyed, banks have found that consumers appreciate that banks covered payments that would have otherwise been declined. Consumers have an easier time checking their account balances than ever before. With access to their accounts via websites or mobile apps, many Americans can monitor their account balances to avoid overdrawing their accounts and incurring fees.

For decades, Strunk has supported financial institutions in delivering a convenient overdraft privilege to their clients while enhancing fee income and ensuring full compliance. Our consulting services for overdraft privilege, combined with top-notch software, can help your institution’s program thrive. Given the increasing regulatory scrutiny, our compliance guarantee is becoming even more crucial. As regulators focus on returned checks and re-presentment, our Overdraft Privilege (ODP) program provides excellent service to customers by covering item costs instead of returning them.

Click here for more information or to contact Strunk for a demonstration.

Using ODP Manager to Review Your Overdraft Privilege Program Information

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Strunk’s hosted ODP Manager software is updated daily with information contained in an extract file generated from your core system. After the daily import, users can generate letters, review management reports, and access additional information to effectively manage a compliant ODP program.

Percent of accounts with an assigned overdraft limit and percent of accounts opted in for Regulation E are important metrics to monitor for the success of an ODP Program. This importance is highlighted on the Dashboard which is displayed after each ODP Manager login. Trends in the Percent with Limit and Percent Opt In are shown over several months. Monthly benchmarks for the Percent with Limit and Percent Opt In are compared to other Strunk clients by the 25th, 50th, and 75TH percentiles. Overdraft Fee and Overdraft Limits are also benchmarked against other Strunk client percentiles. The Utilization Analysis report and the Opt-In Impact report allow users to further review the percentages summarized by branch and by deposit product.

On reports that include account-level details, users can apply filters or select groups to further examine data. Once the filters are applied, the filtered results can be exported to PDF or Excel for additional review or discussion. Reports that show account details include Overdraft Aging, New Accounts, ODP Status Tracking, Fresh Start Tracking, and ODP Heavy Users.

In the Account Inquiry area in ODP Manager, users can apply column filters and groups. If users need to create a list of accounts meeting certain criteria, Account Inquiry gives them the flexibility to build the list and export it to Excel. This flexibility allows users to access all the data included and mapped from the daily import file.

ODP Manager also allows users the ability to search for specific events that occur during a date range. This can help users compile a list of letters sent, OD limits assigned or removed, or Reg E opt ins or opt outs.

If you have any questions about ways to view or export the data in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

An independent certified public accountant has examined Strunk’s operations and found them to be in compliance with the AICPA’s Trust Service Principles. It was determined that Strunk meets the Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy criteria for SOC 2 established by the AICPA.