Strunk

Managing Fresh Start Repayment Plans in ODP Manager

July 23, 2025/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

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.

Regulation E and ODP Manager

June 18, 2025/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

Consumers are required to opt in to include their ATM and everyday debit card transactions in Overdraft Privilege. Customers should be given the ODP Policy and A-9 Consent Form to opt in for Reg E at account opening but they may also opt in later. The four options to opt in for the ATM and everyday debit card coverage are: in person at a branch, over the phone, by mail, or electronically. Businesses are not required to opt in to have their ATM and everyday debit card transactions covered by Reg E.

For financial institutions that provide an account’s Reg E Opt In flag in the extract file, ODP Manager can determine if a consumer account has already opted in or has not yet responded with a Reg E election. If a customer has already opted in for Reg E coverage, their Welcome and Reinstatement letters will remind them that their Overdraft Privilege service includes coverage of ATM and everyday debit card transactions. When a Welcome, Reinstatement, or Followup letter is mailed to accounts that have not yet opted in, these letters include the A-9 Consent Form to Overdraft Services and the information about opting in by mail, in person or over the phone, or electronically. By allowing customers the Reg E opt-in information when overdraft limits are assigned, when overdraft limits are reinstated, or annually in the Followup letter, ODP Manager may allow customers to have more opportunities to opt in for Reg E.

ODP Manager can also allow customers to submit their Reg E Opt-in election electronically. Strunk can create an online form that mirrors an institution’s A-9 form. This form would then be linked directly from an institution’s website. Email confirmations are generated when forms are submitted. The submissions are tracked in ODP Manager so that users can generate a list of accounts that need an updated Reg E election.

If you have any questions about Regulation E and ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Using and Customizing Account Inquiry

May 21, 2025/in Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

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

April 24, 2025/in Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

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.

ODP Manager Comments and Reminders

March 12, 2025/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

Hosted ODP Manager allows users the option to create comments or reminders as needed. If institutions do not already have a robust method of tracking notes, they can choose to use this useful feature. The comments and reminders are created for the individual account. They are retained in the individual account view and are printed with the Account Summary PDF as well.

After speaking to the customer or reviewing the account, users can add notes that can be viewed by all ODP Manager users. Comments can be used to document information. Reminders can be used to identify items that need follow up as of a certain due date. Attachments can be added in comments or reminders as needed.

Comments or reminders are created by clicking the Calendar or Speech icons when viewing the accounts listed in Account Inquiry. The Calendar and Speech icons can also be used in the letter generation screens, or on the Overdraft Aging, New Accounts, Status Tracking, Fresh Start Tracking, or Heavy OD Users Reports. When viewing an individual account’s reminders or comments, the Add Reminder or Add Comment buttons can be clicked.

Overdue reminders are displayed in the Events section which users can access by clicking Events in the purple bar in ODP Manager. Upcoming reminders can also be displayed. Once reminders are completed, they can be marked as closed.

If you have any questions about using comments or reminders in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Using ODP Manager to Review Your Overdraft Privilege Program Information

February 19, 2025/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

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.

Save Reports Automatically After Each Import

January 22, 2025/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

The hosted ODP Manager software includes a comprehensive suite of standard reports. These reports should be reviewed periodically to assist with Overdraft Privilege program management and maintenance. These reports are updated after the daily extract file is imported into ODP Manager. Reports can be viewed in the browser or can be exported to a PDF or Excel file.

In addition to allowing users to review reports for the last seven as of dates in the browser, ODP Manager also offers a Report Archive feature. This allows past reports to be automatically retained so that they are available for future review, analysis, or comparison as needed.

Institutions can select which reports they would like to archive. After each import succeeds, the selected reports are saved as a PDF and stored within the ODP Manager software. The reports can be retrieved from the Archived Reports section in Reports and are organized by as of date. If users would prefer to download the reports to store on a network drive, the Archive feature can be configured to allow a Download Report Archive link instead.

If you have any questions about setting up or using the Report Archive feature in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Reporting on Charge-Off Items and Recoveries

December 11, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

ODP Manager generates the Account Closed letters necessary to notify customers when accounts are closed and charged off due to unpaid and outstanding overdrafts or due to a default on a Fresh Start Repayment Plan for outstanding overdrafts. Closed accounts typically no longer appear in the daily extract file imported into ODP Manager; however, users are still able to manually track charged-off accounts and recoveries in the hosted software.

Once the account is charged off, a user can create a charge-off item that includes the date, charge-off principal, charge-off fees, charge-off reason, and item status. Notes can be added to the item at the time of charge-off and notes can continue to be updated throughout the recovery process. As recoveries are made, they can be entered in ODP Manager. This will reduce the charge-off balance remaining.

The C/O Items and Recoveries summary page can be accessed under the Account Inquiry menu. This page, by default, displays the charge-off items for the last year. If a different timeframe should be displayed, institutions can request a customized default timeframe. The start and end date for the charge-off items can also be changed by the user at any time.

The summary reporting displays basic account and charge-off information and can be exported as an Excel file or as a PDF. The PDF format also includes overall totals and totals by branch.

If you have any questions about using the Charge-off Items and Recoveries feature in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Save Consumer Reg E Opt-In and Opt-Out Documentation

November 13, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

In order to provide evidence that consumers have provided confirmation to opt in for ATM and everyday debit card transactions, Strunk recommends that financial institutions have consumers sign or initial the A-9 form (Consent for Overdraft Services) for opt-ins by mail or in person, record and retain consumer opt-ins by phone, and store opt-in transactions and electronic signatures for consumers who opt in online or by mobile device.

ODP Manager has added the capability to help institutions attach and organize this information in the hosted software. Each account will now have an Attachments tab in the account view which will allow users to manually upload or link the proof of a consumer’s Reg E election. For each attachment, users will select the Type of attachment (Opt In / Opt Out / Other), the attachment Source (Scan / Recording / Other), and the Attachment Date. PDF, image file, and audio file formats can be attached and saved. Once saved, these files can be viewed or listened to when viewing an account’s attachments.

For institutions that use Strunk’s online opt-in process, ODP Manager now will display open accounts that match the consumer’s submitted partial account number(s). Users can use the displayed name, address, phone, and email information to identify the correct account number to update the Reg E election in the core accordingly. Once the ODP Manager user has identified the matching account number, the transaction and electronic signature record can also be linked to the account in the hosted software and the verification will display on the Attachments tab.

Strunk has added these new options in ODP Manager to provide financial institutions with additional methods to organize and track their Reg E-related documentation. If you have any questions about using the new Attachments feature in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Streamline Hosted ODP Manager File Import

October 23, 2024/in Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

For ODP Manager to obtain updated account information, an import of the ODP Manager extract file from the core system must be committed each day. Although many institutions manually import the file, there is an option for the upload to occur automatically overnight.

If your core is able to generate your updated extract file automatically to a specific file location at your institution, Strunk can help you set up the Automatic Upload process to run overnight. When your users log in at the beginning of their workday, the updated information is already available, and your users can proceed directly to generating letters and reviewing daily reports.

To use the Automatic Upload, there is a one-time setup process. First, the client that performs the upload will need to be installed. Second, the configuration file needs to be updated with institution-specific information like the user performing the import and the file name. Finally, a scheduled task is created that will run overnight at your institution – initiating the import process at a scheduled time after the close of business.

After the import process completes, users will be notified by email if the process succeeded or failed. Email notifications can be sent to a group email address or to specified individuals. Users will still retain the opportunity to manually import the file. This allows users the option to proceed with a manual import to review the Preview screen for troubleshooting. It also allows them to manually import the file while additional changes may be made to the automatic upload process.

Implementing an Automatic Upload should streamline the file import process and should allow your users to focus efforts on the daily tasks of letters and report review.

If you have any questions about setting up and using the Automatic Upload process in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.