Options to Display Your ODP Manager Information

Strunk’s hosted ODP Manager software features customized letters, comprehensive reporting, and advanced history tracking. It helps you access your financial institution’s overdraft program information in a format that is flexible and easy-to-use.

After the daily extract file has been imported into ODP Manager, letters due and management reports are updated and ready to view. This gives your users the freedom to decide whether they would rather generate letters first or review daily reports first.

Monitoring the percent of accounts with an overdraft limit and the percent of accounts opted in for Regulation E is important for maintaining or improving your ODP program’s performance. Strunk puts these important metrics on your ODP Manager dashboard. The Utilization Analysis and the Opt-In Impact reports also include more detailed information by branch and by product. Daily reports are accessible for the most recent seven import dates. If you choose to use the Report Archive feature in ODP Manager, you are able to have copies of your reports automatically saved in the ODP Manager software after each import is complete.

How are you able to view the data in ODP Manager at a more granular level? Filters on Reports and Account Inquiry allow you to limit your results to accounts that share specified criteria. You can search events to identify activity during a certain timeframe or to generate a list of specific letters sent or events tracked in ODP Manager. You can navigate to individual account details from your letter generation screens, from a report, or you can directly search for open or historical account data in Account Inquiry.

Hosted ODP Manager allows you to take advantage of multiple methods to view the data imported from your extract file and the information tracked in the ODP Manager software. Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or for more details.

Repayment Plan Tracking in ODP Manager

ODP Manager requires you to update the software daily with the updated deposit information from your core processor but can it also help you manage information not included in your daily extract file?

Included in ODP Manager, you can choose to track your Fresh Start Loan repayment schedules within the hosted software. After completing your Fresh Start Repayment Plan assessment and approval process, you can enter the repayment schedule information directly in ODP Manager. The schedule can be used to populate your Fresh Start Loan agreement and will streamline generating the document for your customer to sign.

The repayment plan will automatically leverage Strunk’s Reminder feature to create reminders when each payment is due. This will help your Strunk software users remember to check your core system to see if the payments have been made as agreed. Once you’ve verified the payment receipt and entered the data, ODP Manager will show the payments made and the outstanding balance on the repayment plan.

Each repayment plan can be viewed individually for each account. All repayment schedules are also summarized in a list that can be exported to PDF or Excel for reporting purposes.

By using the repayment plan tracking feature, you may be able to make managing Fresh Start Loan payments easier and facilitate reporting. Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or to find out more.

Event Tracking in ODP Manager

A benefit of Strunk’s hosted ODP Manager is that certain significant account events are automatically tracked. There are three main types of events stored in an account’s history.

Each time a user imports an updated extract file into ODP Manager, significant account status changes are marked. If an account is now closed, if it is now overdrawn, or if it has now moved into good standing, an event is recorded. If overdraft limits have been assigned or removed or if an account has changed its Reg E election to opt in or opt out, ODP Manager will note the account.

Each time a user generates a letter, the hosted software updates the account’s history. The letter type, description, and date are recorded. A PDF of the letter is also retained and linked to the event history.

What happens if there are important events related to ODP that are not already marked based on the import or by a letter? ODP Manager users have the ability to create their own comment or reminder events. Notes can be saved to the account as a comment. Reminders can be created for follow-up items with a specific due date. Both comments and reminders are accessible to all users and can include attachments.

Within ODP Manager, events can be reviewed for a specific account or they can be looked up for a specified date range. The results can be exported to a PDF or Excel file.

Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or to find out more about ODP Manager’s advanced event history tracking.

For Clients: Account Details in ODP Manager

In Strunk’s hosted ODP Manager Account Inquiry section, you are always able to review the account level data that is imported daily from your core extract file. Account Inquiry is also where ODP Manager retains the historical information about closed accounts.

Users are able to combine different column views, query groups, and filters to identify accounts that meet desired criteria. Once the list is compiled, it can be exported to Excel to be saved or for distribution. Users can use this ability to get account level detail to supplement ODP Manager’s existing standard reports.

In addition to allowing ad hoc lists of accounts, Account Inquiry will also allow you to access the information for a single account, whether the account is open or closed. You may need to review an account’s contact information, event history, reminders, or comments to manage the account. If the account is under a Fresh Start Loan or has charged off, you may need to view the related repayment schedule or charge-off items and recoveries.

Make it easier for users to access information, review, and manage ODP Manager accounts by utilizing the Account Inquiry feature. Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or to find out more about Account Inquiry.

Do Business Accounts Have To Opt In To Reg E?

Over the years Strunk has been asked a number of times, “do business accounts that have overdraft privilege have to opt into Reg. E to have their debit card point of sale and ATM transactions covered in the program?” To understand this you must first understand that most consumer protection rules do not apply to deposit accounts held by a business. It is also important to understand that a business-purpose account can be held by a legal entity, such as an LLC or a corporation, or by individuals operating a business themselves as a sole proprietorship.

We need to take a look at Regulation E and break it down regarding this topic. The coverage of Reg. E is stated in section 1005.3(a). It applies to “electronic fund transfers” that debit or credit a “consumer’s account.” Paragraph 1005.2(b) (1) defines an “account” as a consumer asset account established primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Paragraph 1005.2(e) defines a “consumer” as a natural person. The result is if an individual is using their deposit account for the purposes of operation a sole proprietorship or an account is held by a legal entity, it would not be covered by Reg. E either.

Reg. E coverage means that the “opt-in” for overdraft coverage of debit card point of sale and ATM transactions only applies to consumer accounts. Any application of the concept to other accounts (such as business accounts) is a matter of bank policy and should be addressed in the bank’s deposit account agreement for such accounts.

Help Your Customers Opt In for Regulation E Online

ODP Manager includes letter templates that allow your customers the opportunity to opt in for Regulation E so they can authorize Overdraft Privilege service for ATM withdrawals and everyday debit card purchases. Did you know that ODP Manager can also help you offer your customers the option to opt in on your website?

Strunk can create a Reg E opt in form and Reg E opt out form that mirrors the content in your ODP Manager letters. You would then add links to these forms to your website.

When your customer submits the Consent Form for Overdraft Services or the Consent to Opt-Out, the opt in or opt out request is tracked in ODP Manager. The customer also is emailed a confirmation of their Reg E submission. Periodically, you review the new customer responses in ODP Manager and generate a list of the accounts that need the Reg E election updated. You perform the appropriate maintenance in your core software – updating the account record to either opt in or opt out the customer’s requested account. The ODP Manager software always shows you the most recent responses that you have not yet reviewed. The list of submissions is retained so you can look up past responses.

Let ODP Manager expand your options to allow your customers to choose Overdraft Privilege coverage for ATM and everyday debit card transactions. Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or to find out more about using this feature.

Charge Off Items and Recoveries

ODP Manager includes the letters that you need to notify customers that their account has been closed and charged off due to unpaid and outstanding overdrafts or due to a default on a Fresh Start Loan for outstanding overdrafts. Did you know that with Strunk’s most recent software releases, ODP Manager now includes tools that may help you manage your charge off and recovery process after the account has been closed?

At the account level, you can create a charge off item to track the charged off principal and fees. Users are able to add relevant notes and any updates will be logged. As recoveries are made, the recovery can be entered in ODP Manager and will reduce the overall balance tracked.

By default, users will view the Charge Off Items for the last year. If needed, users can select a different timeframe by specifying a start date and an end date. For reporting purposes, the summary of the Charge Off Items can be exported as a PDF.

Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com with any questions or to find out more about using this feature.

Excessive Use Notification Options

FDIC regulated institutions are expected to give customers who overdraw their accounts on more than six occasions where a fee is charged in a rolling twelve-month period a reasonable opportunity to choose a less costly alternative and decide whether to continue with fee-based overdraft coverage. Non-FDIC regulated institutions also can choose to communicate alternatives to ODP to their customers.

ODP Manager is able to assist you with sending these letters advising your customers of the alternatives to Overdraft Privilege.

There are two options to use these letters. One option is to update your ODP Manager import file to add a field from your core that indicates when the account has qualified by exceeding the threshold. Alternatively, if you are able to identify the appropriate accounts using an existing core report or other method, you can generate the letter as needed as an Ad Hoc letter.

By using ODP Manager as part of your Excessive Use notification process, you can benefit from the software’s letter tracking and retention.

Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com to find out more about implementing or using this feature.

The Importance of Understanding your Reg. E Opt-In Form

In 2010 there were changes to the laws and regulations for financial institutions regarding overdraft privilege programs.  Certain Regulation E rules took effect July 1, 2010.  Under these rules, financial institutions must provide notice and reasonable opportunity for customers to opt-in to the payment of automated teller machine (ATM) and one-time point-of-sale (POS) overdrafts provided in exchange for a fee.

Even though this regulation is over 10 years old, there are still misunderstandings from financial institutions regarding the way to present the Reg. E options to consumers, and also the way financial institutions should disclose to their consumers.  Not disclosing Reg. E opt-in correctly to your customers/members could be costly to your institution and also hurt the institutions reputation.  Recently a Bank was hit with $122 million in restitution and penalties to resolve claims that it charged U.S. consumers fees without consent.  The CFPB stated that in some cases the bank required new customers to sign its overdraft notice with the ‘enrolled’ option pre-checked without mentioning the Reg. E service to the consumer.  In other cases the CFPB found that new customers were enrolled in Reg. E without requesting the customer’s oral enrollment decision.

Reg. E opt-in disclosures are highly sensitive matters with regulators and strict compliance is required.  Strunk is the leader in overdraft privilege services and we have a great understanding on how to establish and implement policies and procedures that align with the laws and regulations around Reg. E opt-in. If you have any questions regarding your disclosures or your procedures, reach out to Strunk so we can assist you.

Create Letters On Demand with ODP Manager Ad Hoc Templates

ODP Manager allows you to easily generate your organization’s Collection or Custom letters based on specific criteria that is updated by importing your core extract file each day. There are situations where these criteria may not always be sufficient for each and every letter that you need to send.

What should you do if there is a letter that you want to send that doesn’t meet your existing letter criteria? Have you ever needed to send an Account Close letter to close an account before your standard number of days overdrawn? Do you have other ODP related letters that you’ve been sending manually?

Strunk Support can configure Ad Hoc letters within ODP Manager for your institution. This flexibility lets you send the letter as needed – it doesn’t rely on an account event to trigger it. When you need to generate the letter on demand, simply enter the account number and the letter will prefill with the information from the software, just as it would in a standard template. Once it is generated, ODP Manager tracks and retains the letter just like your Collection and Custom letter templates.

Please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com to make the most of your ODP Manager solution and learn more about implementing or using this feature.