OTCnet News and Updates
Register Now: OTCnet Overview and 2024 Updates Webinar
Receive a comprehensive overview of OTCnet’s offerings in our ongoing webinar series! Join us on Thursday, September 12th for a brief review of OTCnet's payment options, latest release, Training site, and updates about the TGA 25-by-25 initiative. Register to join and view other sessions.
OTCnet Training
OTCnet’s Training Site offers User Guides, step-by-step Printable Job Aids, and training tutorials for key OTCnet user roles to help Agencies, Financial Institutions (FIs), and the Federal Reserve Bank with a wide range of topics and user tasks. Our Training Resources offer user-friendly guidance to onboarding, OTCnet updates, and current training offerings.
Tip: Need guidance with accessibility in OTCnet? Treasury is committed to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in everything we do. Check out some tips on accessibility to help you navigate the OTCnet resources. Other materials on our Resources page include Narrator/JAWS keyboard commands and JAWS training materials and tutorials.
OTCnet Check Processing: Discontinued RDM Scanners
RDM has ended the production of two check scanner models: RDM EC9611f and RDM EC9703. The vendor has decided to discontinue these models, though there were no issues with their quality or performance. If you currently use either of these models, your connectivity will not be impacted, and you may continue use with OTCnet. OTCnet now offers three alternative models: RDM EC9603, Panini Vision 1, and Panini Vision X. Users can be assured these models match the previous scanners’ level of quality and performance. See more information on our current offerings.
Fiscal Year 2024 Deadline for Hardware Orders
As we near the end of the Fiscal Year, agencies should submit their hardware orders to OTCnet by August 23, 2024. This deadline only applies if placing an order with the OTCnet Deployment Team, and not directly through the vendor.
Update Agency Address in OTCnet
To best support agency users, Treasury asks Accounting Specialists to ensure the agency address information is accurate and up to date within OTCnet. Agencies should update their information in every address field of an OTCnet Endpoint by August 31, 2024. To review an OTC Endpoint’s address, please view the Printable Job Aid (PJA), entitled "View an OTC Endpoint" on the OTCnet Training website. For further instructions on how to modify an OTC Endpoint, including the address information, please refer to the PJA entitled “Modify OTC Endpoint information.”
Check Processing ACR Requests
The ACR Request process for Check Processing has transitioned to the Debit Gateway Operations Team. Users should e-mail Check Processing ACR Requests to CLEV.ACR.Requests@clev.frb.org, and be sure to exclude all Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Please note, the ACR submission process for Deposit Processing will remain the same. Users can continue sending ACR Requests for Deposit Processing to FiscalService.OTCChannel@citi.com. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the OTCnet Customer Support Team.
Card Processing: Verifone M440 Card Reader
OTCnet’s card processing solution now supports the Verifone M440 multimedia card terminal, offering high-definition color display, touch screen, and full audio and video capabilities. The Verifone M440 model was chosen to ensure all terminals are PCI DSS compliant at the time of purchase. Also, it has the Secure Commerce Architecture (SCA) needed to secure Card Processing transactions. For more information, please refer to Getting Started: Card Processing. For agencies that own the Verifone MX925 device, payments can still be processed on OTCnet, but this model is no longer sold through Verifone.
Moving from Paper Collections to Electronic Collections
The U.S. Treasury is strongly recommending agencies to move away from collecting cash and checks and move to electronic solutions (i.e. Pay.Gov, Online Bill Payment, ACH Credit/Debit) for collections. When you are working on transitioning to an electronic solution, please use Mobile or OTCnet Check Capture to electronically scan checks instead of depositing at a TGA bank. The OTCnet team has a goal of cutting paper deposit volume by 25% by the end of the fiscal year 2025.
Throughout 2024, Fiscal Service worked with agencies to start reporting individual currency and check denominations on each new TGA deposit voucher. As of August 1, 2024, almost all agencies using Deposit Processing have been updated in OTCnet to report denominations for each new deposit voucher. If you do not see the reporting denomination changes in your deposit voucher creation process, more information will be sent out to your agency Accounting Specialists and Deposit Processing Users in the coming weeks, if applicable. Please contact the OTCnet Team at FiscalService.OTCDeployment@citi.com with any questions on this Fiscal Service initiative.