Payments and Transfers

Electronic payments overview

Electronic payments and transfers are fast, low-cost methods of moving funds from one person or company to another person or company. Through UltraBranch Business Edition, your business can take advantage of online ACH batch payments, federal tax payments, and wire transfers.

All three processes involve the use federally-governed tools that are used by the Federal Reserve Bank and every other financial institution, nation-wide, every day. These include the Automated Clearing House (ACH), the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), and Fedwire®.

ACH payments

• An ACH is like a batch of electronic checks paid at one time to different people, who may bank at different financial institutions.
• An ACH is intended to handle multiple transfers in a single transaction, which makes it ideal for payroll processing or other recurring payments.
• ACH batches are typically used for future-dated settlements.
• An ACH batch must be created and funded by the specified business account at least two full business days before the funds are required by the payee.
• It may be possible to reverse a single ACH entry and recapture funds if the reversal is completed within five days following the ACH effective date.

Tax payments

• A tax payment is a type of ACH payment.
• Only federal taxes can be paid.
• In UltraBranch Business Edition, there is a separate section for tax payments, since specialized payment forms are used.
• Before you can submit a electronic tax payment, you must enroll in the federal government’s EFTPS system.

Wire transfers

• Funds are sent by FedWire®
• Wires are typically used for making single transfers with same-day settlement
• You must authorize an additional “release” of funds after you set up a transaction
• Wires can be sent the same day they’re created as long as the wired funds are available in the specified business account by 11:30 a.m. of the day the wire is to be sent
• Wires created after 11:30 a.m. must be dated the following day.
• Wired funds are withdrawn from the business checking account when the wire is sent.
• Wires cannot be reversed.

Limits and Approvals

To help you maintain control over your budget, all electronic payments are subject to company specified limits. You may authorize users to exceed these limits with approval, in which case the Primary Contact or Company Administrator must approve the payment before it can be processed. It is very important to review electronic payments pending approval on a regular basis.