FR 3066a

Federal Reserve Payments Study

FR3066a_2022_i

FR 3066a

OMB: 7100-0351

⚠️ Notice: This form may be outdated. More recent filings and information on OMB 7100-0351 can be found here:

2025-02-20 - No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection

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The Federal Reserve
Payments Study
Survey Period: Calendar Year 2022
The Depository and Financial Institutions Payments Survey
(DFIPS) includes:
 Institution profile

•

•
•

 Check profile, payments, deposits, and outgoing returns

 ACH profile, originations, receipts, and outgoing returns

 Wire transfers originated

 Debit and general-purpose prepaid cards

 General-purpose credit cards

 Cash withdrawals

 Alternative payment initiation methods

Using this Glossary
This glossary is organized by section (Institution profile, Check, ACH, Wire, etc.). Within each section there is
first a 'General Terminology' subsection and then a 'Survey Items' subsection. Each 'General Terminology'
subsection contains definitions for terms used in that section of the survey. Each 'Survey Items' subsection
contains additional information and examples for each question in that section.
You can keyword search the document but be sure to refer to the definition within the survey section you are
currently working in, as some terms and definitions may differ between payment types.
This pdf file contains navigation 'tag' features. If your pdf reader supports them, the navigation tags will allow you
to quickly look up the glossary entry for a particular item. To use this feature in Adobe Acrobat, click the
bookmark icon near the top left, which will toggle open a bookmarks pane. Finding and clicking on the item's title
in the bookmarks pane will jump to that item's entry in the document. For example, clicking '5. Total checks
drawn on your institution = 5.a + 5.b' from the navigation pane under the 'Checks' heading will quickly jump to
the glossary entry for that item on page 12.

---- Glossary with Examples ----

Glossary with Examples
Institution Profile
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Note: If your institution represents a third-party processor responding on behalf of a depository institution that was
sampled for this study, please ensure that your response reflects transaction activity of accounts at the participating
institution only and does not include data from other institutions for which your institution processes payments.
Average of Monthly Totals
Average of monthly totals means the average end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022. For the average of
monthly totals calculations, please sum the number or balance of accounts at the end of each month and then divide
by 12.

Account type definitions
Consumer account
An account for personal use by an individual or household from which payments are commonly made.
Business/government account
An account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository financial institution, or not-for-profit
organization) from which payments are commonly made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.

General-purpose prepaid card
General-purpose prepaid cards are network-branded "open-loop" prepaid cards that are capable of being processed
through a dual-message network as well as one or more single-message networks.
General-purpose credit card
General-purpose credit cards, include charge cards or co-branded credit cards, are capable of being processed
through a credit card network.
Virtual card
Virtual cards are used for online or over the phone purchases and do not require the accountholder to have a
physical card. Virtual cards may provide greater security than a physical card because they use a unique card
number, expiration date, and security code that is only valid at specific merchants or for a specific amount of time.
Virtual cards may be issued for single or multiple transaction use, and they may or may not be loaded to digital
wallets.

SURVEY ITEMS
DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS
Did your institution issue general-purpose prepaid cards and hold accounts associated
with them in 2022?
If "Yes," please include such accounts in totals, as appropriate, in items 2 and 3 below. If your institution
partnered with another depository institution that issues the card on your behalf (sometimes called a "whitelabel issuer"), please report "No" to this question and zero for general-purpose prepaid card program accounts
and balances in items 2 and 3 below.
Please ensure your answer on this page is consistent with your answer to item 3 in the Debit and GeneralPurpose Prepaid Cards section. If your answer on this page is "No," please report "No" for item 3 and "0" for
items 5.b and its subsets, and 6.b and its subsets in the Debit and General-Purpose Prepaid Cards section.
Transaction deposit accounts (including Demand Deposit Accounts (DDAs)) = 2.a + 2.b
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
A transaction deposit account is a deposit account for personal use by an individual or household or owned by
an organization from which payments are commonly made.
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals.
We use your institution's deposit balances as a sizing measure which contributes to the accuracy of our
estimates of national aggregate payment volumes.
Include:
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



Checking accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
Share draft accounts
General-purpose prepaid card program accounts associated with cards for which your institution is the
issuer, including accounts of your individual customers or prepaid accounts managed by a third party
(Note: The inclusion of prepaid card program accounts in transaction deposits differs from previous
surveys which requested that such accounts be excluded)

Do not include:
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Savings accounts
Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs)
Certificates of deposit (CDs)
Prepaid card program accounts issued on your institution's behalf by another institution
Credit card accounts
Accounts of foreign governments and official institutions
Accounts of other depository institutions
Retail sweep program accounts (item 5 below)
Wholesale sweep program accounts (item 7 below)

► Example 1: Assume your institution had only one customer in 2022. Your customer had a student
checking account that was open the entire year. He also had a savings account and a credit card with your
institution, but that is not relevant as these types of accounts are not included. The accountholder had an endof-month balance of $1,000 from January through August. From September through December, he had an
end-of-month balance of $1,500. Please report 1 transaction deposit account with a balance of $1,167. For
accounts, the calculation is as follows: (1 account x 12 months open) / 12 months in 2022 = 1 account. For
balances, the calculation is as follows: ($1,000 end-of-month balance x 8 months + $1,500 end-of-month
balance x 4 months) / 12 months in 2022 = $1,167 in balances.
► Example 2: Assume your institution had only two customers in 2022, Joe and Jill. Your customer, Joe,
has a checking account open for the months of January through June with a balance of $1,000 at the end of
each month, and closed his account on June 30. Your other customer, Jill, has a checking account open from
July through December, with a balance of $3,000 at the end of July and then $0 at the end of each month
thereafter. In this example, report 1 account = (1 account x 6 months open + 1 account x 6 months open)/12
months in 2022 with a balance of $750 = ($1,000 end-of-month balance x 6 months + $3,000 end-of-month
balance x 1 month + $0 end-of-month balance x 5 months) / 12 months in 2022 for the 2022 calendar year.
Alternatively, if Joe had not closed his account but maintained a $0 balance from July to December, report 1.5
accounts = (1 account x 6 months open + 2 accounts x 6 months open) / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of
$750 = ($1,000 end-of-month balance x 6 months + $3,000 end-of-month balance x 1 month + $0 end-ofmonth balance x 5 months) / 12 months in 2022.
2.a

Consumer accounts
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
► Example: Your only customer has a student checking account with an average monthly balance of
$2,000 at your institution that was open during the entire year of 2022. He also has a savings account
and a credit card with your institution. In this example, please report 1 consumer account = 1 account x
12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $2,000 = $2,000 end-of-month balance x 12
months / 12 months in 2022 for the 2022 calendar year. The $2,000 balance reported is the average of
end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022.

2.b

Business/government accounts
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government
accounts.
► Example: Your customer has a business checking account with an average monthly balance of
$6,000 at your institution that was open during the entire year of 2022. He also has a corporate credit
card account with your institution. In this example, please report 1 business/government account = 1
account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $6,000 = $6,000 end-of-month
balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022 for the 2022 calendar year. The $6,000 balance reported is
the average of end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022.

Transaction deposit accounts (including Demand Deposit Accounts (DDAs))
(repeat item 2) = 3.a + 3.b
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Repeat item 2 above. A transaction deposit account is a deposit account for personal use by an individual or
household or owned by an organization from which payments are commonly made.
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average
of monthly totals.
Include:





Do not include:

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

► Example 1: Your customer has a student checking account with an average monthly balance of $3,500 at
your institution that was open during the entire year of 2022. He also has a savings account and a credit card
with your institution. Please report 1 transaction deposit account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in
2022 with a balance of $3,500 = $3,500 end-of-month balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022. The $3,500
balance reported is the average of end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022.
► Example 2: Your customer, Joe, has a checking account open for the months of January through June
with a balance of $1,000 at the end of each month. Your other customer, Jill, has a checking account open
from July through December, with a balance of $3,000 at the end of July and then $0 at the end of each month
thereafter. In this example, report 1 average checking account = (1 account x 6 months open + 1 account x 6
months open) / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $750 = ($1,000 end-of-month balance x 6 months +
$3,000 end-of-month balance x 1 month + $0 end-of-month balance x 5 months) / 12 months in 2022 for the
2022 calendar year.
3.a

General-purpose prepaid card program accounts
These are accounts for both reloadable and non-reloadable open-loop prepaid cards for which your
institution was the issuer. Your customer may or may not be able to add additional funds to this card
after it has been issued and use these funds to shop, transfer money, or pay bills. If your answer is "No"
to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Include:











General-purpose prepaid card programs managed by both your institution and a third-party
Individual and pooled general-purpose prepaid card program accounts for which your institution is
the issuer. (Count each pooled account as 1 account.)
Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop reloadable prepaid card program
accounts
Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop non-reloadable prepaid card
program accounts
Open-loop gift card accounts
Payroll prepaid card program accounts
FSA/HSA medical card accounts
Government-administered general-purpose open-loop prepaid card program accounts
Customer refund and incentive card accounts
Consumer and business/government general-purpose prepaid card program accounts for which
only virtual cards are issued (no physical card)

Do not include:
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

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

Closed-loop prepaid card program accounts (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a
debit card network)
Debit card accounts
ATM or ATM-only card accounts
Electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card accounts
Credit card accounts

► Example: John has an open-loop prepaid card issued by your institution that he reloads every
month for his grocery shopping. His prepaid card account contains an additional prepaid card used by
his spouse. In this example, you would report 1 general-purpose prepaid card account = 1 account x 12
months open / 12 months in 2022 its respective average end-of-month balance.

3.b

All other accounts
Include:




Checking accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
Share draft accounts

Do not include:
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Prepaid card program accounts
Savings accounts
Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs)
Certificates of deposit (CDs)
Credit card accounts
Accounts of foreign governments and official institutions
Accounts of other depository institutions
Retail sweep program accounts (item 5 below)
Wholesale sweep program accounts (item 7 below)

► Example: Your customer has a student checking account with an average monthly balance of
$3,500 at your institution that was open during the entire year of 2022. He also has a prepaid card
account and savings account with your institution. Please report 1 transaction deposit account = 1
account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $3,500 = $3,500 end-of-month
balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022. The $3,500 balance reported is the average of end-of-month
totals for each of the months in 2022.
Did your institution or any of its affiliates employ the use of a retail sweep program (i.e.,
reserve sweep program) during calendar year 2022?
Understanding if your institution used a retail sweep program will help inform our estimation process. In a retail
sweep, a depository institution transfers funds between a customer's transaction accounts (both consumer and
business/government) and that customer's savings and money market deposit accounts (MMDAs) up to six
times per month by means of preauthorized or automatic transfers, typically in order to reduce transaction
account reserve requirements while providing the customer with access to the funds. This practice does not
adversely impact the accountholder but allows the institution to reduce nonearning assets.
See http://www.federalreserve.gov/BOARDDOCS/LegalInt/FederalReserveAct/2007/20070501/20070501.pdf
for a regulatory opinion of what approaches may be used to implement these programs.
Do not consider wholesale sweep program accounts (item 7 below). If your answer to this question is "No,"
please report "0" for item 5 below.
Retail sweep program accounts (i.e., reserve sweep program accounts)
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals. If your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.
We use your institution's sweep account balances as an additional sizing measure to improve the accuracy of
national aggregate payment volumes.
Include:


Savings and money market deposit accounts (MMDAs) associated with retail sweep programs (include
both consumer and business/government accounts)

Do not include:

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





Checking accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
Share draft accounts
Transaction deposit accounts (item 2 above)
Wholesale sweep program accounts (item 7 below)
Accounts and balances of any savings-type account not associated with transaction deposit accounts
under a sweep program
General ledger accounts (the sub-accounts that have sweeps tied to them should be reported individually,
rather than as one general ledger account)

► Example: Your customer has a student checking account with an average monthly balance of $3,500 at
your institution. He also has a savings account with an average monthly balance of $15,000 with your
institution, which includes a sweep to his checking account as needed to cover payments. Your institution also
has a corporate customer with a savings account with an average monthly balance of $30,000 which includes
a sweep to the company's checking account. Please report 1 consumer sweep account = 1 account x 12
months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $15,000 = $15,000 end-of-month balance x 12 months / 12
months in 2022. The $15,000 balance reported is the average of end-of-month totals for each of the months in
2022. Please report 1 business/government sweep account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in
2022 with a balance of $30,000 = $30,000 end-of-month balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022. The
$30,000 balance reported is the average of end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022.
Did your institution provide a wholesale sweep program (i.e., corporate sweep program)
to your business accountholders during calendar year 2022?
Wholesale sweep program accounts, also known as corporate sweep program accounts, are accounts in
which funds from your business accountholders are swept overnight into investment instruments. Common
investments used in wholesale sweeps are repurchase agreements, Master Notes, offshore Eurodollar
deposits, and mutual funds.
Do not consider retail sweep program accounts (item 5 above). If your answer to this question is "No," please
report "0" for item 7 below.
Wholesale sweep program accounts
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals. If your answer is "No" to item 6 above, please report "0" here.
We use your institution's sweep account balances as an additional sizing measure to improve the accuracy of
national aggregate payment volumes.
Include:


Corporate sweep accounts in which funds from your business accountholders are swept overnight into
investment instruments.

Do not include:







Checking accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
Share draft accounts
Transaction deposit accounts (item 2 above)
Retail sweep program accounts (item 5 above)
Accounts and balances of any savings-type account not associated with transaction deposit accounts
under a sweep program

► Example: Your corporate customer has a business checking account with an average monthly balance of
$3,500 at your institution. The company also has a business savings account with an average monthly balance
of $50,000 with your institution, which includes an overnight sweep into an investment account. Please report
1 wholesale sweep program account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of
$50,000 = $50,000 end-of-month balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022. The $50,000 balance reported is
the average of end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022.
CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS
Did your institution issue general-purpose credit cards and hold accounts associated
with them in 2022?
If "Yes," please include the number of and balances for these accounts in items 9 and 10 below. If your
institution partnered with another depository institution that issues the cards on your behalf (sometimes called
a "white-label issuer"), please report "No" to this question and zero for accounts and balances in items 9 and
10 below.
Please ensure your answer on this page is consistent with your answer to item 1 in the General-Purpose
Credit Cards section. If your answer is "No" on this page, please report "No" for item 1 and "0" for items 4
through 9 in the General-Purpose Credit Cards section.

Total general-purpose credit card accounts = 9.a + 9.b
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals.
Include general-purpose credit card accounts for which your institution was the issuer. Please report account
totals, not cards (e.g., if a customer and their spouse both have a card under the same account, please report
as 1 account). If your answer is "No" to item 8 above, please report "0" here.
Include:




All general-purpose credit card accounts, including zero-balance active accounts, with a credit line and the
ability to transact
Accounts for general-purpose credit cards your institution issues on behalf of another institution
Virtual general-purpose credit card accounts

Do not include:
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Any credit card accounts for which your institution was not the card issuing institution
Private-label credit or charge card accounts whose cards can only be used at a limited set of merchants
and that do not use one of the four major credit card networks
Debit or prepaid card program accounts
Transaction deposit accounts
Closed accounts

► Example: Tom, your consumer customer, has one credit card issued by your institution. Joe's Diner, your
corporate customer, has a corporate credit card account with separate cards for each of their ten employees.
In this example, you would report 2 credit card accounts = 2 accounts x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022.
9.a

Consumer accounts
These include all credit card accounts that are for consumer accountholders. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:


All credit card accounts for consumer accountholders with credit card accounts for which your
institution was the issuer

Do not include:


Business/government credit card accounts

► Example: Tom used his credit card issued by your institution to buy a $40 pair of jeans. His wife
then used another card linked to the same account to buy $15 worth of candy. In this example, you
would report 1 consumer credit card account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022.
9.b

Business/government accounts
These include all credit cards accounts that are for business/government accountholders. Please see
the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:


All credit card accounts for business/government accountholders with credit card accounts for
which your institution was the issuer

Do not include:


Consumer credit card accounts

► Example: Your corporate accountholder made a purchase of $500 with a corporate credit card
issued by your institution. An employee of the same institution then used her own credit card linked to
the same account to make a purchase of $100. In this example, you would report 1
business/government credit card account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022.

Consumer general-purpose credit card accounts (repeat item 9.a)
= 10.a + 10.b + 10.c + 10.d
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals.
Please repeat item 9.a above. Include general-purpose credit cards for which your institution was the issuer. If
your answer is "No" to item 8 above, please report "0" here. If you are unable to report items 10.a, 10.b, 10.c,
and 10.d below, please explain in the comments field. In this case, report "NR" for those items and report
balances for items 10.d.1 and 10.d.2 below.
Report interest-free balance transfers and interest-free spend (e.g., on introductory card offers) under current
balances for the duration of the interest-free period.
10.a With zero balance (no current balance, no revolving balance)
These are accounts with zero balance at the end of the billing cycle and have no purchase activity.
► Example: Joe has a credit card issued by your institution. He has never made a purchase on this
card, although the card account has been activated. In this example, you would report 1 credit card
account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $0 = $0 end-of-month
balance x 12 months / 12 months in 2022.
10.b With current balance only (nonzero current balance, no revolving balance)
These include the total number of accounts in which there is an amount owed on the credit card up to
the end of the most recent billing cycle. This is the balance that needs to be paid by a certain due date
so that no interest is applied.
Include:



Balances associated with balance transfers received for which interest has not started accruing yet
New accounts for which there is a promotional period of interest-free spend

► Example: Jay has a credit card issued by your institution, and he is a transactor (i.e., he pays the
balance in full each cycle). He uses this card to make purchases occasionally and had $300
outstanding at the end of last cycle. Jay has until the end of the next billing cycle to pay the balance
before interest is applied. Sarah also has a credit card issued by your institution. She has carried a
balance of $500 on her account for the past two cycles; however, her card is currently in a promotional
period of interest free spend. In this example, you would report 2 credit card accounts = 2 accounts x 12
months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $800 = $300 end-of-month balance + $500 end-ofmonth balance.
10.c With revolving balance only (no current activity)
These include the total number of accounts in which there is an amount owed on the credit card for
which interest was applied already. This is the balance which was not paid by its due date.
► Example: Rachael has a credit card issued by your institution, and she is a revolver (i.e., she
carries a balance from one cycle to the next). She frequently uses this card to make purchases, and she
had a balance of $500 that was outstanding at the end of the prior month, of which interest was applied
to her bill this month. She did not make any purchases on the card this month, so the total balance at
the end of this cycle is still $500. In this example, you would report 1 credit card account = 1 account x
12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $500 end-of-month balance. Do not include
interest.
10.d With current and revolving balances = 10.d.1 + 10.d.2
These include the total number of accounts in which there is an amount owed on the credit card which
includes interest that was applied already, as well as a current balance owed on the most recent billing
cycle. Include both the balance that was not paid by its due date, as well as the balance that needs to
be paid by a certain due date to avoid incurring an interest expense.
► Example: Sarah has a credit card issued by your institution. She frequently uses this card to make
purchases, and she had a balance of $500 that was outstanding at the end of the prior month, of which
interest was applied to her bill this month. She then spent an additional $200 on the same card this
month, of which interest has not yet been applied. In this example, you would report 1 credit card
account = 1 account x 12 months open / 12 months in 2022 with a balance of $700 = $500 end-ofmonth balance + $200 end-of-month balance.
►

Current balance
Total amount owed on the credit card up to the end of your most recent billing cycle. This is the
balance that you need to pay by a certain due date so that no interest is applied.
► Example: Sarah has a credit card issued by your institution. She frequently uses this card
to make purchases, and she had a balance of $500 that was outstanding at the end of the prior
month, of which interest was applied to her bill this month. She then spent an additional $200
on the same card this month, of which interest has not yet been applied. In this example, the
current balance would be $200.
Revolving balance
Total amount owed on the credit card on which interest was applied already. This is the
balance which was not paid by its due date.
► Example: Sarah has a credit card issued by your institution. She frequently uses this card
to make purchases, and she had a balance of $500 that was outstanding at the end of the prior
month, of which interest was applied to her bill this month. She then spent an additional $200
on the same card this month, of which interest has not yet been applied. In this example, the
revolving balance would be $500. Do not include interest.

Checks
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Checks paid
A negotiable instrument drawn on a depository institution. For this study, please follow these guidelines:
Checks paid include…










Checks paid do not include…

Checks written by individuals, businesses or
government entities
Traveler's checks drawn on your institution
Money orders drawn on your institution
Cashier's checks drawn on your institution
Official checks drawn on your institution
Teller's checks drawn on your institution
Payable through drafts drawn on your institution
Truncated checks (i.e., image exchange)
Checks paid that were subsequently returned
(outgoing)








Deposit slips
General ledger tickets
Other non-check documents, such as payment
coupons
Courtesy checks on credit card accounts
Checks converted to ACH (i.e., ARC, POP, BOC
transactions)
Payable through drafts drawn on another
institution (not your institution)

Bank of first deposit
The first depository institution in which a check is deposited. The "bank of first deposit" may be a bank or credit union
and may not be your institution.
"On-us" correspondent deposits
Checks drawn on your institution that are deposited at your institution by a correspondent banking customer, which is
the "bank of first deposit." A correspondent banking relationship is when your institution holds balances for an
unaffiliated depository institution in a due-to account and performs check clearing services on its behalf.
Account type definitions
Consumer account
A transaction deposit or savings account for personal use by an individual or household from which check payments
can be made.
Business/government account
A transaction deposit or savings account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository
financial institution, or not-for-profit organization) from which check payments can be made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. The measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud attempts;
rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions are able to
penetrate the payment system and effect settlement between banks, or create a book transfer of funds if the
transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes that may
or may not include a loss to various entities, but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds transfer, if
only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your institution. The
definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud includes at
least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
CHECK PROFILE
Did your institution outsource check processing to another organization (i.e., its
"processor") during calendar year 2022?
If your institution cannot process checks internally and outsources this process to a third-party vendor, please
answer "Yes" to this question. If your institution outsourced check processing for part of 2022, please answer
"Yes."
If your answer to this question is "No," please "Not applicable" for item 1.a below.
Note: If your answer to this question is "Yes," please request the necessary data from your institution's
payments processor, or provide them with a PDF copy of the survey so that they may respond on your behalf.
If your institution outsourced check processing for part of 2022, please also request the necessary data from
your institution's payments processor and combine it with check totals that were processed by your institution.
1.a

If your answer is "Yes, in all cases" or "Yes, in some cases" to item 1 above, are
you able to include these outsourced portions in your answer below?
If possible, please report your institution's check volume processed by another organization. If your
answer is "No" to item 1.a above, please report all check volume processed by your institution and
explain in the comments box at the end of this section.

Are you able to exclude non-check documents from "total checks drawn on your
institution" in items 5 below?
Non-check documents are "other" items processed on check sorters (e.g., batch headers, general ledger
tickets, cash-in or cash-out tickets, deposit slips). Even if you are unable to exclude non-check documents,
please report all check volumes drawn on your institution, including non-check documents.
Are you able to report checks deposited at one affiliate of your institution but drawn on
another affiliate of your institution as "on-us" volume in item 5.b below?
Some institutions call this "on-we" volume, which should be reported entirely under item 5.b below if possible.
Even if you are unable to report "on-us" volume in item 5.b, please report all checks drawn on your institution
in item 5 below.

Did your institution process checks for an unaffiliated depository institution as part of a
correspondent banking relationship during calendar year 2022?
As a "correspondent bank," your institution holds balances for an unaffiliated depository institution or
"respondent bank" in a due-to account and performs check clearing services on its behalf.
► Example: Bank A received deposits at its branches. Rather than processing and forwarding transit checks
for collection itself, Bank A deposited the checks into a due-to account at Bank B. Bank B cleared Bank A's
checks on its behalf. In this example, Bank B is a correspondent processor and would answer "Yes" to this
question.
CHECK PAYMENTS
Checks drawn on your institution. Your customer is the payer.
Total checks drawn on your institution = 5.a + 5.b
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border checks (or share drafts) for which your institution
was the paying bank as defined by Federal Reserve Regulation CC: Availability of Funds and Collection of
Checks (Reg. CC).
Note: Count each unique check only once, and avoid these two common mistakes: 1) Do not double-count
electronic check presentment (ECP) items if your institution received an electronic file with paper to follow, and
2) if your institution performed proof-of-deposit processing, do not calculate total checks drawn on your
institution as the difference between prime pass and transit check volumes. Prime pass volume includes noncheck documents, which should be excluded.
Include:


Usually, the personal and business checks written by your accountholder customers, as well as checks
written on behalf of your institution. Do not forget the following:
o Controlled disbursement checks, if applicable
o Official checks, including cashier's checks, teller's checks, and treasurer's checks (i.e., those
guaranteed by your institution and drawn on your institution's account)
o Checks presented to your institution as paying bank but were subsequently returned unpaid to the
"bank of first deposit" or its designated processor (i.e., outgoing returns) or chargebacks to the
depositing customer if your institution was the "bank of first deposit" (i.e., "on-us" returns)

Do not include:




Checks drawn on other institutions (i.e., transit checks)
Checks that your institution received as a "pass-through correspondent" for which another institution was
the paying bank
Non-check documents—such as batch headers, general ledger tickets, cash-in or cash-out tickets, and
deposit tickets—that were processed on check sorters

► Example: Your customer wrote a check for $57 to pay her water bill. If your institution has a depository
relationship with this water company, these checks are "on-us" deposited checks. In this example, you would
report 1 check with a value of $57 in items 5 above and 5.b below.
5.a

Checks drawn on your institution for which another institution was the "bank of
first deposit"
These are all checks drawn on your institution for which another institution was the "bank of first
deposit."
Note: Do not double-count electronic check presentment (ECP) items if your institution received an
electronic file with paper to follow.
Include:




Inclearings and "on-us" checks deposited by correspondent customers
Checks received from the Federal Reserve or via clearinghouses and image exchange networks, or
in direct presentment for same-day settlement
Controlled disbursement checks if applicable

Do not include:





Checks for which your institution was the "bank of first deposit" or checks drawn on other
institutions
Checks drawn on an unaffiliated depository institution that were deposited at your institution (i.e.,
outbound transit checks)
Checks drawn on your institution for which your institution was also the "bank of first deposit" (i.e.,
"on-us" checks for which your institution was the "bank of first deposit," item 5.b below)
Checks deposited and drawn on different affiliates of your institution (some call this "on-we"
volume)

► Example: Your customer wrote a check for $125 to pay for her groceries. The grocery store has a
depository relationship with an unaffiliated depository institution. After processing the grocer's deposit,
that institution (i.e., the "collecting bank") presented the check through the Federal Reserve, through a
local clearinghouse, or directly for same-day settlement to your institution for payment. In this example,
you would report 1 check with a value of $125.
5.b

"On-us" checks for which your institution was the "bank of first deposit"
These are all checks drawn on your institution for which your institution was the "bank of first deposit."
Note: If your institution truncated checks at the teller line, please include those checks in this volume.
Include:


All checks cleared between your affiliates, which include but are not limited to the following:
o Checks deposited in your branches
o Checks received from other internal departments (e.g., wholesale or retail lockbox,
currency/coin vault operations, loan payments processing operations)
o Checks deposited by corporate clients (typically in the evening) directly to your item-processing
operations (i.e., pre-encoded or un-encoded deposits or remote capture deposits)
o Checks deposited and drawn on different affiliates of your institution (some call this "on-we"
volume)

Do not include:



Inclearings received from the Federal Reserve, a clearinghouse, or another institution (i.e., sameday settlement)
Checks deposited by correspondent customers, even if they were drawn on your institution. These
are "on-us" correspondent deposits and should be counted in item 5.a above

► Example: Your customer wrote a $65 check to her babysitter, who also happened to be your
customer. When the babysitter deposited the check, your institution was both the collecting institution
and the paying institution on this check. In this example, you would report 1 check with a value of $65.
Total checks drawn on your institution (repeat item 5) = 6.a + 6.b
Repeat item 5 above. These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border checks (or share drafts) for
which your institution was the paying bank as defined by Federal Reserve Regulation CC: Availability of Funds
and Collection of Checks (Reg. CC).
Note: Count each unique check only once, and avoid these two common mistakes: 1) Do not double-count
electronic check presentment (ECP) items if your institution received an electronic file with paper to follow, and
2) if your institution performed proof-of-deposit processing, do not calculate total checks drawn on your
institution as the difference between prime pass and transit check volumes. Prime pass volume includes noncheck documents, which should be excluded.
Include:


Do not include:




► Example: Sarah, your customer, wrote a check for $57 to pay her water bill. The water company is also a
client of your institution, and they wrote a check to their power company for $2,000. In this example, you would
report 2 checks with a value of $2,057 in item 6 above, 1 check with a value of $57 for item 6.a below, and 1
check with a value of $2,000 in item 6.b below.
6.a

From consumer accounts
All checks paid from consumer accounts of any kind. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:




Consumer checks, no matter what kind of consumer account they were written on
Any money orders, cashier's checks, or official checks paid on behalf of consumer accountholders
through any type of account set up for that purpose
Both inclearings and on-us checks

Do not include:


Checks paid from business/government accounts

► Example: Your consumer customer, Joe, wrote a check for $1,400 to pay his rent last month. In
this example, you would report 1 check for $1,400.
6.b

From business/government accounts
All checks paid from business/government accounts of any kind. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:





Checks the institution pays itself on its own accounts
Any money orders, cashier's checks, or official checks paid on behalf of business/government
accountholders through any type of account set up for that purpose, and any checks your institution
paid on its own behalf
Small business accounts under business/government accounts
Both inclearings and on-us checks

Do not include:


Checks paid from consumer accounts

► Example: Your corporate customer, Joe's Shoes, wrote a check for $3,000 to one of his suppliers.
In this example, you would report 1 check for $3,000.
Third-party fraudulent checks drawn on your institution
These are all third-party, fraudulent unauthorized checks drawn on your institution that were deposited,
cleared, and settled. Please report any third-party, fraudulent paid checks regardless of whether or not those
funds were subsequently recovered through the check return process or by other means.
Include:


Only fraudulent cleared and settled paid checks that were not authorized by your institution's
accountholders (third-party fraud)
o If a transit check, report only those fraudulent items that resulted in a transfer of funds to the
collecting bank
o If an on-us check for which your institution was the bank of first deposit, report only those fraudulent
items that resulted in funds being made available to the depositing customer

Do not include:




Check fraud prevented before settlement (transit check) or funds made available to the depositing
customer (on-us checks for which your institution was the bank of first deposit)
o If a transit check, a transfer of funds to the collecting bank did not occur
o If an on-us check for which your institution was the bank of first deposit, funds were not made
available to the depositing customers
Fraud committed by your institution's accountholders (first-party fraud), or checks authorized by a valid
accountholder as part of a scam

► Example 1: Jane and Mary are accountholders at your institution, and both of their checkbooks were
stolen. The perpetrator wrote a check for $2,000 from Jane's checkbook, which your institution paid. The
perpetrator also wrote a check for $1,500 from Mary's checkbook, which your institution did not pay per Mary's
instructions to stop all check payments from her account due to her stolen checkbook. Susan is also an
accountholder at your institution. She wrote a check for $100, which, due to a misread item, posted
erroneously to her account for $110. Only the check from Jane's account is classified as a third-party
fraudulent unauthorized check. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $2,000.
► Example 2: Daniel is an accountholder at your institution. He recently bought a TV at a retailer for $1,200
and paid with a check. After the funds transferred from Daniel's account to the retailer's account, your
accountholder claimed this transaction as fraudulent, stating that his checkbook was stolen and that a
perpetrator had written the check. Your institution made an inquiry into the fraud claim and determined that
Daniel indeed wrote the check and made a false claim of fraud. In this example, you would not report the
transaction as third-party fraud, since it is considered first-party fraud.
CHECK DEPOSITS
Checks deposited with and collected by your institution. Your customer is the beneficiary.
Total checks deposited at your institution
These include checks that were drawn on your institution (i.e., "on-us" checks for which your institution was the
"bank of first deposit," item 5.b above, "on-us" checks deposited by correspondent customers), and checks
drawn on other depository institutions (i.e., transit checks), which are not measured in this questionnaire as a
discrete question.
Include:





Checks deposited in your branches
Checks received from other internal departments (e.g., wholesale or retail lockbox, currency/coin vault
operations, loan payments processing operations)
Checks deposited by corporate clients (typically in the evening) directly to your item processing operations
(i.e., pre-encoded or un-encoded deposits or remote capture deposits)
Checks deposited by correspondent banking customers

► Example 1: A customer deposited a check by using your institution's app on his smartphone for $100.
Another customer walked into one of your institution's branches and deposited a check for $250. In this
example, both types of checks would be included for a total of two deposits in the amount of $350.
► Example 2: Multiple local retailers have a depository relationship with your institution. These retailers
received checks from their customers. Some of the retailers scanned and captured images of these checks for
deposit. Others delivered paper checks to your institution for deposit. In this example, both types of checks
would be included.
Third-party fraudulent checks deposited at your institution
These are all third-party, fraudulent unauthorized checks deposited at your institution that subsequently were
cleared and settled. Please report any third-party, fraudulent paid checks regardless of whether or not those
funds were subsequently recovered through the check return process or by other means.
Include:


Only fraudulent cleared and settled paid checks that were not authorized by the institution accountholders
(third-party fraud)
o If a transit check, report only those fraudulent items that resulted in a transfer of funds to the
collecting bank
o If an on-us check for which your institution was the bank of first deposit, report only those fraudulent
items that resulted in funds being made available to the depositing customer

Do not include:


Check fraud prevented before funds were made available to the depositing customer
If a transit check, a transfer of funds to the collecting bank did not occur
If an on-us check for which your institution was the bank of first deposit, funds were not made
available to the depositing customers
Fraud committed by your institution's accountholders (first-party fraud), or checks authorized by a valid
accountholder as part of a scam

o
o


► Example 1: Dan is an accountholder at a different institution. Dan's checkbook was stolen and the
perpetrator deposited one of the stolen checks for $2,000 into an account at your institution, which then
cleared and settled. Dan's institution notified yours about the fraudulent check that had been deposited. In this
example, you would report 1 check for $2,000.
► Example 2: Sarah is an accountholder and your institution, and she deposited a check for $500 in her
bank account. After the check had cleared, Sarah contacted your institution claiming that the deposit had misread her check, and $5,000 should have been deposited into her account. Your institution investigated the
claim and determined that the check had not been misread, and the correct amount of $500 had been
deposited into her account. In this example, you would not report the transaction as third-party fraud, since it is
considered first-party fraud.
OUTGOING RETURNS
All checks received for payment by your institution that were returned unpaid.
Total outgoing and "on-us" returned checks
These are all checks drawn on your institution that your institution returned unpaid.
Include:


All checks drawn on your institution that it returned unpaid, whether to another institution or to your own
accountholders

Do not include:


Checks drawn on another institution and returned to your institution unpaid (i.e., incoming returns)

► Example: Your customer wrote a check for $98 that was deposited (at your institution or another) and
presented for payment. Your customer's account had insufficient funds and no overdraft protection. Your
institution returned the check unpaid. In this example, you would report 1 check with a value of $98.

ACH
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
ACH entries
Transactions in this category are payment entries, originated or received by your institution and result in a transfer of
funds from an account at your institution, that are processed through an Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) platform
according to NACHA rules and format conventions. For this study, please follow these guidelines:
ACH entries include…







Debits received and credits sent
Debits originated and credits received
Direct exchange
On-us entries
Network entries
Entries that were subsequently returned
(outgoing)

ACH entries do not include…




Addenda records
Zero-dollar items (e.g., NOCs, Prenotes)
Deletes/reversals

Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI)
The depository institution that initiates and warrants electronic payments through the ACH network (or on-us) on
behalf of its customers. Some institutions refer to forward originations as "live items."
Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)
The depository institution that accepts and posts ACH transactions to customer accounts.
Network ACH entry
An ACH entry that is cleared through a network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or Electronic Payments Network
[EPN]).
In-house, on-us ACH entry (cleared within your institution and not through the Federal
Reserve or EPN)
An ACH entry for which your institution is both the ODFI and the RDFI without the use of a network operator (i.e., the
Federal Reserve or EPN) for clearing or settlement. On-us entries result in the movement of funds from one account
to another within your institution.
Direct Exchange ACH entry
An ACH entry that is exchanged directly between your institution and another without the use of a network operator
(i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). Some institutions call these "Direct Send" entries. Please include all Direct
Exchange ACH entries that result in payments from accounts at your institution.
Offset ACH entry
An on-us ACH entry used to effect settlement by an ODFI. For example, when acting as ODFI for 100 $50 credit
entries for a corporate accountholder, an ODFI might originate a single $5,000 debit entry to draw funds from the
originator's funding account. An offset ACH entry is similar to an "accounting movement of money" to settle a
corresponding ACH entry.
Using the example above, if a business account at your institution pays payroll to 100 employees for $50 each (ODFI
credit origination), this payment generates 100 credit originations for a total of $5,000. The offset transaction is 1
debit origination for a total of $5,000. The number of offset transactions may vary depending on the institution. Some
institutions might do a one-to-one offset transaction per payment origination.

Example assumptions

None of the employees bank at the same institution as the employer, thus all ACH entries must go through the
ACH network

Employer's bank (ODFI) = Bank A

Employees' bank (RDFI) = Bank B

ODFI offsets in-house on-us

"In Process" accounts are also known by some institutions as "settlement accounts" or "due-from accounts."
Balanced file
Files containing offsetting entries that automatically credit or debit the customer's demand deposit account (DDA) for
the debit and/or credit transactions on the file. The debit and credit offset entries should equal the value of the creditand debit-originated entries respectively in the received file from the accountholder.
Unbalanced file
Files that do not have an offsetting entry that automatically credits or debits the customer's DDA account for the debit
and/or credit originated. After receiving the file from the accountholder, the ODFI will then originate the offset entries
to balance the file. Most institutions prefer to receive unbalanced files.
Same-day ACH entry
An entry in which the effective entry date is the same banking day as the date on which the entry is transmitted by the
ODFI to its ACH operator, and that is transmitted by the ACH operator's deadline for same-day processing and
settlement. A same-day entry must be for an amount of $25,000 or less. An IAT (international ACH) or ENR
(automated enrollment) entry cannot be a same-day entry. Network ACH same-day credit entries became effective as
of September 23, 2016. Network ACH same-day debit entries became effective as of September 15, 2017. However,
some institutions may have used proprietary systems prior to these dates.
Account type definitions
Consumer account
A transaction deposit or savings account for personal use by an individual or household from which ACH payments
can be made.
Business/government account
A transaction deposit or savings account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository
financial institution, or not-for-profit organization) from which ACH payments can be made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. It is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud attempts; rather, it is
a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions are able to penetrate
the payment system and affect settlement between banks or create a book transfer of funds if the fraud happens
within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes, which may or may not
include a loss to various entities but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds transfer, if only
temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your institution. The

definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud includes at
least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
ACH PROFILE
Did your institution post transactions from other payment instruments to your Demand
Deposit Account (DDA) system using your ACH platform during calendar year 2022?
If your answer is "Yes," please do not include these transactions in the items below.
Note: Rather than maintaining an interface between your institution's DDA system and a particular
transaction processing system (e.g., signature-based debit card or wire transfer), your institution creates a
separate ACH entry to post each of those non-ACH transactions.
Did your institution originate forward ACH credits (not including returns or offset entries)
during calendar year 2022?
Some institutions refer to forward originations as "live items." Answer "Yes" if ACH credit originations are a
product offered to accountholder customers (i.e., your institution is an ODFI). Answer "No" if not, or if your
institution only originates ACH credits for the purpose of returning credits received from another institution (i.e.,
your institution is not an ODFI) or offsetting debit originations.
Note: If your answer is "No," please report "No" for item 5 below, and report "0" for items 6, 7, 8, and 9 and
their subsets below.
Did your institution originate forward ACH debits (not including returns or offset entries)
during calendar year 2022?
Some institutions refer to forward originations as "live items." Answer "Yes" if ACH debit originations are a
product offered to accountholder customers (i.e., your institution is an ODFI). Answer "No" if not, or if your
institution only originates ACH debits for the purpose of returning debits received from another institution (i.e.,
your institution is not an ODFI) or offsetting credit originations. If you do not originate debit entries, then you
will not receive in-house on-us debit entries).
Note: If your answer is "No," please report "0" for items 10, 11, and 14.b below. If your answer is "Don't
Know," please report "NR" for items 10, 11, and 14.b below. This applies to 14.b because your institution is
both the ODFI and RDFI for in-house on-us non-offset debit entries. Therefore, if your institution cannot
determine ODFI debits, then you will not be able to accurately calculate when your institution was both the
ODFI and RDFI for debit entries.

Did your institution originate offset ACH debit or credit entries during calendar year
2022?
An offset ACH entry is an on-us entry used to effect settlement by an originating depository financial institution
(ODFI). For example, when acting as ODFI for one hundred credit entries for $1,000 each for a corporate
accountholder, an ODFI might originate a single $100,000 debit entry to draw funds from the originator's
funding account. In most cases, institutions offset (or move) the funds from the accountholder's DDA to an "in
process" account before the funds are settled with the Fed, EPN, or internally. If your answer is "No," please
report "Not applicable" for items 4.a and 4.b below.
► Example: Your corporate customer paid 20 of its employees $1,000 each electronically through ACH. To
make the total payment of $20,000, your institution originated 1 debit ACH entry for $20,000 to "move" the
money from your accountholder's DDA to your institution's "in-process" account. (An in-process account is a
suspense account owned by your institution that settles internally or with the network operator—i.e., the
Federal Reserve or EPN.) Your institution then effected a net settlement of money with the network operator
(i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN) between incoming and outgoing payments.
4.a

If your answer is "Yes" to item 4 above, are you able to exclude offset ACH volumes
from balanced files in your answer below?
Even if you are not able to exclude all offset volumes from balanced files, please report the number and
value of your institution's forward ACH entries and third-party fraud for all items below.

4.b

If you answer is "Yes" to item 4 above, are you able to exclude offset ACH volumes
from unbalanced files in your answers below?
Even if you are not able to exclude all offset volumes from unbalanced files, please report the number
and value of your institution's forward ACH entries and third-party fraud for all items below.

Did your institution offer same-day settlement of ACH credit originations during calendar
year 2022?
The effective date for network same-day settlement of credits was September 23, 2016.
ACH ORIGINATIONS
Your institution is the originating depository financial institution (ODFI).
Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI)
The depository institution that initiates and warrants electronic payments through the ACH network (or on-us) on
behalf of its customers. Some institutions refer to forward originations as "live items."
Please include all transactions that involve a forward transfer of value. Do not include those transactions
that do not involve a forward transfer of value. This allocation maps to the following SEC code breakout:
SEC Codes to Include: ARC, BOC, CCD, CIE, CTX, IAT, POP, POS, PPD, RCK, SHR, TEL, TRC, WEB, XCK
SEC Codes to Exclude: ACK, ADV, ATX, COR, DNE, ENR, MTE, RET, TRX

CREDIT ENTRIES ORIGINATED
Total forward ACH credit entries your institution originated (ODFI credits)
= 6.a + 6.b + 6.c
Your customer is the payer.
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and direct exchange ACH credit
entries for which your institution was the ODFI. If your answer is "No" to item 2 above, please report "0" ACH
credit entries originated by your institution here.
Include:





In-house, on-us forward credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH credits originated
Network on-us credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH credit entries for which you are the ODFI

Do not include:









Returns of ACH entries received by your institution
Network offset ACH credit entries originated
In-house, on-us offset ACH credit entries originated
Direct exchange offset ACH credit entries originated
ACH entries received from other institutions
Debit ACH entries originated
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

► Example: Your corporate customer paid 15 of its employees $300 each electronically through the ACH
network. Ten of these employees have deposit accounts at your institution. To credit those ten employees'
accounts, your institution originated in-house on-us credit entries. Your institution originated the credit entries
on behalf of your customer for the five employees that do not have a deposit account at your institution and
sent them through your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). In this example, you
would report 15 transactions for $4,500.
6.a

Network
A network ACH entry is one that is cleared through a network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or
EPN). Please consider all network ACH entries, including network on-us ACH entries (those for which
your institution is both the ODFI and the receiving depository financial institution (RDFI)) and volume
sent or received by a correspondent bank on behalf of your institution via a network operator.
Include:


All ACH credit entries cleared through a network operator, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


ACH entries cleared directly between your institution and another (i.e., direct exchange ACH
entries)

► Example: Your corporate customer paid 5 of its employees $500 each electronically through the
ACH network. Your institution originated the credit entries on behalf of your customer and sent them
through your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). In this example, you would
report 5 transactions for $2,500.
6.b

In-house on-us
An in-house on-us ACH entry is one for which your institution is both the ODFI and the RDFI without
the use of a network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN), for clearing or settlement. In-house
on-us entries result in the movement of funds from one account to another within your institution.
Include:


All ACH credit entries not cleared through a network operator, for which your institution was the
ODFI and RDFI

Do not include:


In-house on-us offset ACH credit entries originated

► Example: Your corporate customer paid 200 of its employees $800 each electronically through the
ACH using your institution as its ODFI. 10 of these employees have deposit accounts at your institution.
To credit those 10 employees' accounts, your institution originated in-house on-us credit entries. In this
example, you would report 10 transactions for $8,000.
6.c

Direct exchange
A direct exchange ACH entry is one that is exchanged directly between your institution and another.
Some institutions call these "direct send" entries. Direct exchange does not include volume sent or
received by a correspondent bank on behalf of your institution. Correspondent volume should be
included with Network ACH entries.
Include:


All direct exchange ACH credit entries, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:





ACH entries received from other institutions
Debit ACH entries originated
Network entries originated, such as ACH credits your institution originated through the Federal
Reserve or EPN (item 6.a above)
In-house on-us entries, such as in-house on-us credits your institution originated (item 6.b above)

► Example: Your institution is part of a regional processing center, and you transact via direct
exchange with other institutions that are part of the regional processing center. Your corporate customer
paid 10 of its employees $750 each electronically through the ACH. These employees bank at
institutions that are also part of the regional processing center. In order to avoid clearing fees from the
Federal Reserve or EPN, your institution directs the transaction through the regional processing center
to the RDFI via direct exchange. In this example, you would report 10 transactions for $7,500.
Total forward ACH credit entries your institution originated (ODFI credits) (repeat item 6)
= 7.a + 7.b
Your customer is the payer.
Repeat item 6 above. These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and direct
exchange ACH credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI. If your answer is "No" to item 2 above,
please report "0" ACH credit entries originated by your institution here.
Include:





In-house on-us forward credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH credits originated
Network on-us credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH credit entries for which you were the ODFI

Do not include:








Returns of ACH entries received by your institution
Network offset ACH credit entries originated
In-house on-us offset ACH credit entries originated
ACH entries received from other institutions
Debit ACH entries originated
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

From consumer accounts
These are credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI and were originated from consumer
accounts. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer
accounts.
Include:


All ACH credit originations from consumer accounts, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Any ACH credit originations from business/government accounts, for which your institution was the
ODFI

► Example: Your consumer customer, Joe, initiated a one-time payment for $1,000 to his friend
through ACH. Your institution originated the credit entries on behalf of your customer and sent them
through your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). In this example, you would
report 1 entry for $1,000.

7.b

From business/government accounts
These are credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI and were originated from
business/government accounts. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the
definition of business/government accounts.
Include:


All credit originations from business/government accounts, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Any credit originations from consumer accounts, for which your institution was the ODFI

► Example: Your corporate customer, Bob's Hotel, paid 20 of its employees $1,500 each
electronically through the ACH. Your institution originated the credit entries on behalf of your customer
and sent them through your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). In this
example, you would report twenty transactions for $30,000.
Total forward ACH credits your institution originated (ODFI credits) (repeat item 6)
= 8.a + 8.b
Your customer is the payer.
Repeat item 6 above. These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and direct
exchange ACH credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI. If your answer is "No" to item 2 above,
please report "0" ACH credit entries originated by your institution here.
Include:





Do not include:








► Example: Your corporate customer paid 15 of its employees $300 each electronically through the ACH
network. 10 of these employees have deposit accounts at your institution. To credit those 10 employees'
accounts, your institution originated in-house on-us credit entries. Your institution originated the credit entries
on behalf of your customer for the 5 employees that do not have a deposit account at your institution and sent
them through your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). In this example, you would
report 15 transactions for $4,500
8.a

Same-day settlement
These are credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI and for which the payment was settled
on the same day. Please refer to the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of
same-day ACH entries. If your answer is "No" to item 5 above, please report "0" here.
Include:


All ACH credit originations settled same-day, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Any ACH credit originations settled non-same-day, for which your institution was the ODFI

► Example: Your corporate customer, Sally's Plumbing, initiated a one-time bill payment for $2,500
to one of its vendors, ABC Supplies, through the ACH network. The vendor does not bank with your
institution. Since the payment of this bill was urgent, your customer decided to use the same-day
settlement option your institution began offering on September 23, 2016. Since the ACH credit was sent
to an unaffiliated institution, your institution sent the ACH entries through a network operator (i.e., the
Federal Reserve or EPN). In this example, you would report 1 entry for $2,500.

8.b

Non-same-day settlement
These are credit entries for which your institution was the ODFI and for which the payment was settled
on a later day after the transaction cleared.
Include:


All ACH credit originations settled non-same-day, for which your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Any ACH credit originations settled same-day, for which your institution was the ODFI

► Example: Your corporate customer paid 50 of its employees $2,400 each electronically through the
ACH. Your institution originated the credit entries on behalf of your customer and sent them through
your chosen network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN). The settlement of money occurred on
a different day from the transmission of the file. In this example, you would report 50 transactions for
$120,000.
Forward ACH credit entries your institution originated and identified as third-party
payments fraud (fraudulent ODFI credits) = 9.a + 9.b
Your customer is the payer.
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH credit entries that cleared and settled, for which
your institution was the ODFI, and that resulted in transfer of funds to the RDFI. These entries are typically
fraudulent payments resulting from an account takeover by an unauthorized third party. Please report any
third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether your accountholder recovered the funds. If your answer is
"No" to item 2 above, please report "0" ACH third party fraudulent credit entries originated by your institution
here.
Include:



Only fraudulent, cleared and settled ACH credit transactions originated by your institution that were not
authorized by your institution's accountholders (third-party fraud). If the fraudulent transaction was on-us,
"cleared and settled" means that the funds were made available to the receiving accountholder.
Fraudulent on-us ACH credit transactions

Do not include:









ACH fraud attempts that were prevented before all funds were made available to the RDFI
Returns solely for reason codes R05, R07, R10, R29, or R51 (i.e., verify with your fraud department that
the unauthorized transaction was actual fraud and that the transaction settled with the RDFI)
Fraud committed by your institution's accountholders (first-party fraud)
Fraud committed by a valid accountholder (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent ACH credit entries originated and authorized by a valid accountholder as part of a scam
Fraudulent ACH credit entries that were originated by your institution and cleared and settled, but the
funds were frozen and did not become available to the perpetrator at any time
Fraudulent ACH credit entries received by your institution in which another institution was the ODFI
Fraudulent ACH debit entries

► Example 1: A small business accountholder at your institution originated vendor payments via ACH
through your online portal. His PC was compromised by malware, and his login credentials were stolen. The
perpetrator originated 10 payments for $10,000 each to an account he maintains under a false name. The
funds were then made available to the perpetrator's account after the transactions cleared and settled. One
day later, the same perpetrator attempted to initiate 5 more payments of $5,000 each. The accountholder had
already alerted your institution to the previous fraud, so your institution put a hold on the account and these
funds were never made available to the perpetrator. In this example, you would report 10 transactions for
$100,000.
► Example 2: A small business accountholder at your institution originated salary payments via ACH
through your online portal. The owner of the company fell out of favor with a recently fired employee, Joe. To
wrongly retrieve the last salary payment to Joe, the owner of the company claimed that the last ACH transfer
of funds to Joe was fraudulent. Your institution opened a fraud claim and verified that the transaction was not
fraudulent. Since this is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), do not include this transaction in
item 7 above.

9.a

Same-day settlement
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH credit entries for which your institution was
the ODFI and that resulted in a transfer of funds to the RDFI on the same day the ACH file was sent.
Please report any third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether or not your accountholder
recovered the funds. If your answer is "No" to item 5 above, please report "0" ACH credit entries your
institution originated here.
Include:


All third-party, fraudulent, ACH credit transactions cleared and settled on the same-day, for which
your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Fraudulent ACH credit entries originated and settled non-same-day

► Example 1: A small business accountholder at your institution originates vendor payments via
ACH through your online portal. His PC was compromised by malware, and his login credentials were
stolen. The perpetrator originated five payments for $1,000 each to an account he maintains under a
false name. The funds were made available to the perpetrator's account on the same day the
transactions cleared. In this example, you would report five transactions for $5,000.
► Example 2: A small business accountholder at your institution originates vendor payments via
ACH through your online portal. He recently acquired an expensive tool for his business and paid for it
via ACH, and the funds settled on the same day the file was transferred. The tool malfunctioned after
five days of use, and the vendor did not offer a warranty. Your accountholder claimed the ACH payment
as fraud, since he felt the vendor was unethical by not offering to send a replacement tool or a refund.
Since this is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), do not include this transaction in item
9.a above.
9.b

Non-same-day settlement
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH credit entries for which your institution was
the ODFI and that resulted in a transfer of funds to the RDFI on a different day from when the ACH file
was sent. Please report any third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether or not your
accountholder recovered the funds.
Include:


All third-party, fraudulent, ACH credit transactions cleared and settled non-same-day, for which
your institution was the ODFI

Do not include:


Fraudulent ACH credit entries originated and settled same-day

► Example 1: A small business accountholder at your institution originates vendor payments via
ACH through your online portal. His PC was compromised by malware, and his login credentials were
stolen. The perpetrator originated three payments for $3,000 each to an account he maintains under a
false name. The funds were made available to the perpetrator's account two days after the transactions
cleared. In this example, you would report three transactions for $9,000.
► Example 2: A small business accountholder at your institution originates vendor payments via
ACH through your online portal. He recently acquired an expensive tool for his business and paid for it
via ACH, and the funds settled two days after the file was transferred. The tool malfunctioned after five
days of use, and the vendor did not offer a warranty. Your accountholder claimed the ACH payment as
fraud, since he felt the vendor was unethical by not offering to send a replacement tool or a refund.
Since this is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), do not include this transaction in item
9.b above.

DEBIT ENTRIES ORIGINATED
Total forward ACH debit entries your institution originated (ODFI debits)
Your customer is the payee.
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and direct exchange ACH
debit entries for which your institution was the ODFI. Exclude returns. If your answer is "No" to item 3 above,
please report "0" here.

Include:





In-house, on-us forward debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH debits originated
Network on-us debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH debit entries for which you are the ODFI

Do not include:








Returns
Network offset ACH debit entries originated
In-house, on-us offset ACH debit entries originated
ACH entries received from other institutions
Credit ACH entries originated
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

► Example: Your corporate customer billed 10 of its suppliers $100 each electronically through the ACH
using your institution as its ODFI. 5 of these employees have deposit accounts at your institution. To debit
those 10 employees' accounts, your institution originated in-house on-us debit entries to avoid clearing fees
from the Federal Reserve or EPN. One employee has a deposit account with an institution in which you have a
direct exchange relationship. For this employee, your institution originated an ACH debit entry via direct
exchange. For the other four employees, your institution originated ACH debit entries through the network. In
this example, you would report 10 transactions for $1,000.
Forward ACH debit entries your institution originated and identified as third-party
payments fraud (fraudulent ODFI debits)
Your customer is the payer.
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH debit entries that cleared and settled, for which
your institution was the ODFI, and that resulted in transfer of funds from the RDFI. These entries are typically
fraudulent payments resulting from an account takeover by an unauthorized third party. Please report any
third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether your accountholder recovered the funds. If your answer is
"No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:



Only fraudulent, cleared and settled ACH debit transactions originated by your institution that were not
authorized by your institution's accountholders (third-party fraud). If the fraudulent transaction was on-us,
"cleared and settled" means that the funds were made available to the receiving accountholder.
Fraudulent on-us ACH debit transactions

Do not include:









ACH fraud attempts that were prevented before all funds were made available to the RDFI
Returns solely for reason codes R05, R07, R10, R29, or R51 (i.e., verify with your fraud department that
the unauthorized transaction was actual fraud and that the transaction settled with the RDFI)
Fraud committed by your institution's accountholders (first-party fraud)
Fraud committed by a valid accountholder (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent ACH debit entries originated and authorized by a valid accountholder as part of a scam
Fraudulent ACH debit entries that were originated by your institution and cleared and settled, but the
funds were frozen and did not become available to the perpetrator at any time
Fraudulent ACH debit entries received by your institution in which another institution was the ODFI
Fraudulent ACH credit entries

► Example: Jill is a small business accountholder at your institution. Her PC was compromised by malware,
and her login credentials were stolen. The perpetrator originated 10 fake bills for $10,000 each to ten of Jill's
suppliers. The perpetrator maintained control of your client's account while the transactions cleared and
settled, so the funds were made available to him. Two days later, the same perpetrator attempted to initiate 5
more bills of $5,000 each. The accountholder had already alerted your institution to the previous fraud, so your
institution put a hold on the account and these funds were never made available to the perpetrator. In this
example, you would report 10 transactions for $100,000.

ACH RECEIPTS
Your institution is the receiving depository financial institution (RDFI).
Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)
The depository institution that accepts and posts ACH transactions to customer accounts.
Please include all transactions that involve a forward transfer of value. Do not include those transactions
that do not involve a forward transfer of value. This allocation maps to the following SEC code breakout:
SEC Codes to Include: ARC, BOC, CCD, CIE, CTX, IAT, POP, POS, PPD, RCK, SHR, TEL, TRC, WEB, XCK
SEC Codes to Exclude: ACK, ADV, ATX, COR, DNE, ENR, MTE, RET, TRX

CREDIT ENTRIES RECEIVED
Total forward ACH credit entries your institution received (RDFI credits)
Your customer is the payee.
These include all network, on-us, and direct exchange ACH credit entries for which your institution was the
RDFI. Exclude all offset ACH credit entries received.
Include:





In-house, on-us forward credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH credits received
Network on-us credit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH credit entries for which you are the RDFI

Do not include:








Returns
Network offset ACH credit entries received
In-house, on-us offset ACH credit entries received
ACH entries originated from other institutions
Debit ACH entries received
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

► Example: Your accountholder has signed up for direct deposit with his employer that is not an
accountholder at your institution. His employer pays his salary of $7,000 through ACH each month. Your
institution receives the ACH credit entries on behalf of your customer. In this example, you would report twelve
transactions for $84,000.
Forward ACH credit entries your institution received and identified as third-party
payments fraud (fraudulent RDFI credits)
Your customer is the payee.
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH credit entries that cleared and settled and
resulted in a transfer of funds to your institution (the RDFI). These entries are typically fraudulent payments
resulting from an account takeover by an unauthorized third party that are then sent to your accountholder.
Include:





Only fraudulent, cleared and settled ACH credit transactions that were not authorized by that institution's
accountholders (third-party fraud), and were then received by your institution
Fraudulent ACH credit network entries received
Fraudulent ACH credit on-us entries received
Fraudulent ACH credit direct exchange entries received

Do not include:



ACH fraud attempts that were prevented before all funds were made available to the RDFI (your
institution)
Returns solely for reason codes R05, R07, R10, R29, or R51 (i.e., verify with your fraud department that
the unauthorized transaction was actual fraud, and that the transaction settled with the ODFI)








Fraud committed by your institution's accountholders (first-party fraud)
Fraud committed by a valid accountholder (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent ACH credit entries originated and authorized by a valid accountholder as part of a scam
Fraudulent ACH credit entries that were received by your institution and cleared and settled, but the funds
were frozen and did not become available to the perpetrator at any time
Fraudulent ACH credit entries originated by your institution, in which another institution was the RDFI
Fraudulent ACH debit entries

► Example: A small business accountholder at another institution originated vendor payments via ACH
through their online portal. His PC was compromised by malware, and his login credentials were stolen. The
perpetrator originated 10 payments for $10,000 each to accounts he maintains under a false name, five of
which were at your institution. The funds were then made available to the perpetrator's account after the
transactions cleared and settled. The accountholder's institution identified the fraud and asked your institution
to return the fraudulent payments. In this example, you would report five transactions that your institution
received for $50,000.

DEBIT ENTRIES RECEIVED
Total forward ACH debit entries your institution received (RDFI debits) = 14.a + 14.b + 14.c
Your customer is the payer.
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and direct exchange ACH
debit entries for which your institution was the ODFI.
Include:





In-house, on-us forward debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH debits received
Network on-us debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH debit entries for which your institution is the RDFI

Do not include:








Returns of ACH entries originated by your institution
Network offset ACH debit entries received
In-house, on-us offset ACH debit entries received
ACH entries originated from other institutions
Credit ACH entries received
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

► Example: Your corporate customer, a cable company, collected monthly payments of $50 from its 30
customers by originating ACH debit entries using your institution as its ODFI. 20 of those cable company
customers also have a deposit account at your institution. To debit the accounts of those customers, your
institution originated in-house on-us debit entries for $50 each. In this example, you would report 30 for
$1,500.
14.a Network
Network ACH entries: A network ACH entry is one that is cleared through a network operator (i.e., the
Federal Reserve or EPN). Please consider all network ACH entries, including those for which your
institution is both the ODFI and RDFI (i.e., network on-us ACH entries), and volume sent or received by
a correspondent bank on behalf of your institution via a network operator.
Include:


Network non-offset ACH debit entries received

Do not include:


ACH entries cleared directly between your institution and another (i.e., direct exchange ACH
entries)

14.b In-house on-us
In-house on-us ACH entries: An in-house on-us ACH entry is one for which your institution is both the
ODFI and the RDFI without the use of a network operator (i.e., the Federal Reserve or EPN), for
clearing or settlement. In-house on-us entries result in the movement of funds from one account to
another within your institution.
If your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:


In-house on-us non-offset debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI

Do not include:


In-house on-us credits your institution originated

► Example: Your corporate customer, a cable company, collected monthly payments from its
customers by originating ACH debit entries using your institution as its ODFI. 20 of those cable
company customers also have a deposit account at your institution. To debit the accounts of those
customers, your institution originated in-house on-us debit entries for $45 each to avoid clearing fees
from the Federal Reserve or EPN. In this example, you would report 240 transactions for $10,800.
14.c Direct exchange
Direct exchange ACH entries: A direct exchange ACH entry is one that is exchanged directly between
your institution and another. Some institutions call these "direct send" entries. Direct exchange does not
include volume sent or received by a correspondent bank on behalf of your institution. Correspondent
volume should be included with Network ACH entries.
Include:


All direct exchange ACH debit entries for which you are the RDFI

Do not include:



Debit ACH entries originated
In-house on-us credit entries your institution originated

► Example: A cable company that is not your corporate customer collected monthly payments of $30
from its customers by originating ACH debit entries using a different institution as its ODFI. 10 of those
customers bank at your institution. Your institution has established direct exchange relationships with
the ODFI to avoid clearing fees from the Federal Reserve or EPN. To debit the accounts of those
customers, your institution received debit entries via direct exchange. Please report 120 transactions for
$3,600.
Total forward ACH debit entries your institution received (RDFI debits) (repeat item 14)
= 15.a + 15.b
Your customer is the payer.
Repeat item 14 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and
direct exchange ACH debit entries for which your institution was the ODFI.
Include:





In-house on-us forward debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
Network forward ACH debits received
Network on-us debit entries for which your institution was both the ODFI and RDFI
All direct exchange ACH debit entries for which you were the RDFI

Do not include:








Returns of ACH entries originated by your institution
Network offset ACH debit entries originated
In-house on-us offset ACH debit entries originated
ACH entries received from other institutions
Credit ACH entries received
Addenda records
Zero-dollar entries

All ACH debits received for consumer accounts, for which your institution was the RDFI

Do not include:


Any ACH debits received for business/government accounts, for which your institution was the
RDFI

► Example: Your consumer customer, Paul, received a bill payment of $500 from his landlord, which
was sent electronically through the ACH. Your institution received the debit entry on behalf of Paul. In
this example, you would report 1 transaction for $500.
15.b For business/government accounts
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government
accounts.
Include:


All ACH debits received for business/government accounts, for which your institution was the RDFI

Do not include:


Any ACH debits received for consumer accounts, for which your institution was the RDFI

► Example: Your corporate customer, Bill's Paint Supply, received 5 bill payments of $2,000 from its
suppliers, each sent electronically through the ACH. Your institution received the debit entries on behalf
of your customer. In this example, you would report five transactions for $10,000.
Total forward ACH debit entries your institution received (RDFI debits) (repeat item 14)
= 16.a + 16.b
Your customer is the payer.
Repeat item 14 above. These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border, network, on-us, and
direct exchange ACH debit entries for which your institution was the RDFI.
Include:





Do not include:








► Example: Your corporate customer, a cable company, collected monthly payments of $50 from its 30
customers by originating ACH debit entries using your institution as its ODFI. 20 of those cable company
customers also have a deposit account at your institution. To debit the accounts of those customers, your
institution originated in-house on-us debit entries for $50. In this example, you would report 30 for $1,500.
16.a Same-day settlement
These are debit entries for which your institution was the RDFI, and the payment was settled on the
same day. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of same-day
ACH entries.

Include:


All ACH debits received and settled same-day, for which your institution was the RDFI

Do not include:


Any ACH debits received and settled non-same-day, for which your institution was the RDFI

► Example: Your corporate customer, Mike's Hardware, received a one-time bill payment for $2,500
from one of its customers, Sally's Supplies, through the ACH network. Sally's Supplies does not bank
with your institution. Since the payment of this bill was urgent, Sally's Supplies decided to use the
same-day settlement option. In this example, you would report 1 entry for $2,500.
16.b Non-same-day settlement
These are debit entries for which your institution was the RDFI, and the payment was settled on a later
day after the settlement file was transmitted.
Include:


All ACH debits received and settled non-same-day, for which your institution was the RDFI

Do not include:


Any ACH debits received and settled same-day, for which your institution was the RDFI

► Example: Your customer has set up direct debit of his checking account for a recurring, monthly
cell phone bill payment of $50. His biller, the cell phone company, originated debit entries through
another depository institution (i.e., the ODFI). Your institution received and posted these debit entries to
your customer's account. The settlement of money occurred on a different day than the transmission of
the file. In this example, you would report 12 transactions for $600.
Forward ACH debit entries your institution received and identified as third-party
payments fraud (fraudulent RDFI debits) = 17.a + 17.b
Your customer is the payer.
Third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH debit entries that cleared and settled, for which your institution was
the RDFI, and that resulted in a transfer of funds to the ODFI.
Include:


Any cleared and settled third-party fraudulent ACH transactions, regardless of whether or not your
accountholder recovered the funds.

Do not include:







ACH fraud attempts that were prevented before all funds were made available to the ODFI
Returns solely for reason codes R05, R07, R10, R29, or R51 (i.e., verify with your fraud department that
the unauthorized transaction was actual fraud and that the transaction settled with the ODFI)
Fraudulent ACH debit received and authorized by a valid accountholder as part of a scam (first-party
fraud)
Fraudulent ACH debit entries received that cleared and settled, but the funds were frozen and did not
become available to the perpetrator at any time
Fraudulent ACH debit entries originated by your institution, in which another institution was the RDFI
Fraudulent ACH credit entries

► Example 1: A fraud originator opened a commercial bank account for a fictitious housecleaning service at
another institution. He then originated unauthorized bill payments for hundreds of consumer accounts, 5 of
which were at your institution. Each of those accounts was debited once for $200. The received debit ACH
transactions cleared and settled with the ODFI. The $1,000 debited from your accountholders was made
available to the perpetrator's account. In this example, you would report 5 transactions for $1,000.
► Example 2: Jim is an accountholder at your institution. He lost his job and has not been able to find
employment in the last six months. His cellphone provider originated an ACH debit transaction for his monthly
bill of $150. The transaction cleared and settled a day later, but Jim claimed the transaction as fraudulent since
he needs the $150 to pay part of his rent. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim
of fraud), it should not be included in item 17 above.

17.a Same-day settlement
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH debit entries that cleared and settled on
the same day as the transmission, for which your institution was the RDFI, and that resulted in transfer
of funds to the ODFI. Please report any fraudulent, third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether
or not your accountholder recovered the funds.
Include:


All third-party, fraudulent, ACH debit transactions cleared and settled on the same-day, for which
your institution was the RDFI

► Example: A fraud originator opened a commercial bank account for a fictitious gardening company
at another institution and originated unauthorized bill payment for one of your accountholders for
$1,000, using the same-day settlement option. The received debit cleared and settled (on the same
day) for $1,000. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $1,000.
17.b Non-same-day settlement
These include only third-party, fraudulent, unauthorized ACH debit entries that settled on a later date
than file transmission, for which your institution was the RDFI, and that resulted in the transfer of funds
to the ODFI. Please report any fraudulent, third-party ACH transactions, regardless of whether or not
your accountholder recovered the funds.
Include:


All third-party, fraudulent, ACH debit transactions cleared and settled non-same-day, for which your
institution was the RDFI

► Example 1: A fraud originator opened a commercial bank account for a fictitious house-cleaning
service at another institution and originated unauthorized bill payments for hundreds of consumer
accounts. Five of those accounts were at your institution, and each was debited once for $200 (not on
the same day as the file transmission). The received debit ACH transactions cleared and settled with
the ODFI on a different day. The $1,000 debited from your accountholders was made available to the
perpetrator's account. In this example, you would report five transactions for $1,000.
► Example 2: Jim is an accountholder at your institution. He lost his job and has not been able to find
employment in the last six months. His cellphone provider originated an ACH debit transaction for his
monthly bill of $150. The transaction cleared and settled non-same day, but Jim claimed the transaction
as fraudulent since he needs the $150 to pay part of his rent. Since this transaction is an example of
first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), you would not include it in item 17.b above.
OUTGOING RETURNS
ACH outgoing debit returns (i.e., debit return entries your institution originated including
"on-us" debit returns)
These are ACH debit entries that your institution received and were subsequently returned by your institution,
the RDFI. Your customer is the payer for the forward debit being returned.
Include:


All outgoing ACH debit entries that your institution returned unpaid (whether to another institution or to
your own accountholders)

Do not include:


ACH entries returned to your institution unpaid by another institution (incoming)

► Example: Your customer pays his utility bill through the utility company's website. The utility company's
bank (which may or may not be your institution) originates a debit ACH entry for $86. However, your
customer's account has insufficient funds, and your institution returns the ACH entry unpaid. In this example,
you would report 1 transaction for $86.

Wire Transfers
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Account type definitions
Consumer account
A transaction deposit or savings account for personal use by an individual or household from which wire payments
can be made.
Business/government account
A transaction deposit or savings account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository
financial institution, or not-for-profit organization) from which wire payments can be made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. This measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud
attempts; rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions
are able to penetrate the payment system and affect settlement between banks or create a book transfer of funds if
the transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes that
may or may not include a loss to various entities but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds
transfer, if only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your
institution. The definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud
includes at least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
WIRE TRANSFERS ORIGINATED (OUTGOING)
Your customer is the payer. Include wires for which your institution is the payer (referred to as "settlement/bank business").
Did your institution originate wires on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution
during calendar year 2022 (i.e., correspondent volume)?
If your answer to this question is "No," please skip item 1.a below.
1.a

If your answer is "Yes" to item 1 above, are you able to exclude these volumes from
your answers below?
If your answer is "Yes, in some cases," please explain in the comments box at the end of this section.
Even if you are unable to exclude these volumes, please report all wires originated by your institution
below.

Did an unaffiliated depository institution originate wires on behalf of your institution
during calendar year 2022?
If your answer to this question is "No," please report "Not applicable" for item 2.a below.
2.a

If your answer is "Yes" to item 2 above, are you able to include these volumes in
your answers below?
If your answer is "Yes, in some cases," please explain in the comments box at the end of this section.
Even if you are unable to include these volumes, please report all wires originated by your institution
below.

Total wire transfer originations (outgoing) = 3.a + 3.b
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border wire transfers originated by your institution's
U.S. domiciled accountholders with either a domestic or foreign beneficiary.
Include:





Funds transfers originated using the large-value systems (i.e., Fedwire and CHIPS)
Payments that your institution's accountholders submitted and settled through these systems directly or
through a correspondent (i.e., wire transfers originated on your institution's behalf by a correspondent)
Book transfers (i.e., internal transfers using your institution's wire platform)
All wire transfers originated for the purpose of paying one of your institution's vendors or settling your
institution's position with another institution (i.e., settlement/bank business wire transfers)

Do not include:


Wire transfers your institution originated on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution (i.e.,
correspondent volume)

► Example: Your institution originated a $15,000 wire transfer on behalf of your corporate customer to pay
its third-party vendor via Fedwire. The vendor may or may not have a depository relationship with your
institution. The vendor may or may not have a U.S. domiciled account. In this example, you would report 1
transaction for $15,000.
3.a

From consumer accounts
All wire transfers originated from consumer accounts of any type at your institution. Please see the
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:


Wire transfers originated from consumer accounts of any type

Do not include:



Wire transfers originated from business/government accounts
Wire transfers your institution originated on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution (i.e.,
correspondent volume)

► Example: Your institution originated a wire transfer for $10,000 on behalf of your consumer
customer to pay his daughter's college tuition. Your institution originated the wire on behalf of your
customer to the school to fund his daughter's college tuition via Fedwire. The school may or may not
have a depository relationship with your institution. The school may or may not have a U.S. domiciled
account. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $10,000.
3.b

From business/government accounts
Wire transfers originated from business/government (including non-depository financial institutions)
accounts of any type at your institution. Please include small business accounts under
business/government accounts. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the
definition of business/government accounts.
Include:


Wire transfers originated from business/government accounts

Do not include:



Wire transfers originated from consumer accounts of any type
Wire transfers your institution originated on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution (i.e.,
correspondent volume)

► Example: Your corporate customer made three wire transfers of $25,000 each through your
institution's wire platform to pay his suppliers. The vendor may or may not have a depository
relationship with your institution. And the vendor may or may not have a U.S. domiciled account. In this
example, you would report three wire transactions for $75,000.
Total wire transfer originations (outgoing) (repeat item 3) = 4.a + 4.b
Repeat item 3 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border wire transfers
originated by your institution's U.S. domiciled accountholders with either a domestic or foreign beneficiary.
Include:





Do not include:

Wire transfers your institution originated on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution (i.e.,
correspondent volume)
► Example: Your institution originated a $15,000 wire transfer on behalf of your corporate customer to pay
its third-party vendor via Fedwire. The vendor may or may not have a depository relationship with your
institution. The vendor may or may not have a U.S. domiciled account. In this example, you would report 1
transaction for $15,000.
4.a

Domestic (U.S.) payee
These include all wire transfers originated by your institution's U.S. domiciled accountholders (i.e., those
accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories) to a domestic beneficiary.
Include:


Wire transfers sent to a domestic (U.S) payee

Do not include:


Wire transfers sent to a foreign payee

► Example: Your institution originated a wire transfer for $10,000 on behalf of your New York based
corporate customer to pay its third-party vendor, also located in New York, via Fedwire. Your client is a
U.S. domiciled accountholder. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $10,000.

4.b

Foreign payee
These include all wire transfers originated by your institution's U.S. domiciled accountholders to a
foreign beneficiary.
Include:


Wire transfers sent to a foreign payee

Do not include:


Wire transfers sent to a domestic (U.S) payee

► Example: Your institution originated a wire transfer for $10,000 on behalf of your New York based
corporate customer to pay its third-party vendor, located in Spain, via Fedwire. Your client is a U.S.
domiciled accountholder. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $10,000.
Total wire transfer originations (outgoing) (repeat item 3) = 5.a + 5.b
Repeat item 3 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border wire transfers
originated by your institution's U.S. domiciled accountholders with either a domestic or foreign beneficiary, sent
through a network/correspondent bank or book transfers.
Include:





Do not include:


Wire transfers your institution originated on behalf of an unaffiliated depository institution (i.e.,
correspondent volume)

Sent through a network (i.e., Fedwire or CHIPS) or a correspondent bank
These are wire transfers sent through a network (i.e., Fedwire or CHIPS) or a correspondent bank
Include:


All wire transfers sent through a network (i.e., Fedwire or CHIPS) or a correspondent bank

Do not include:


Book transfers (i.e., internal transfers using your institution's wire platform)

► Example: Your institution originated a wire transfer for $10,000 on behalf of your corporate
customer to pay its third-party vendor via Fedwire. The vendor does not have a depository relationship
with your institution. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $10,000.
5.b

Book transfers (i.e., internal transfers using your institution's wire platform)
These are internal wire transfers that were made using your wire platform.
Include:


All internal wire transfers that were made using your wire platform

Do not include:


Wires that are sent through a network (i.e., Fedwire or CHIPS) or a correspondent bank

► Example: Your corporate customer has multiple accounts at your institution, and your institution
allows this customer to transfer money among these accounts as a service. These wires are sent over
your internal wire platform rather than over a network. Your customer made a wire transfer of $25,000
through your institution's wire platform for this purpose. In this example, you would report 1 wire
transaction for $25,000.

Third-party fraudulent wire transfer originations (outgoing)
These include all third-party fraudulent unauthorized wire transfer originations that subsequently cleared and
settled. Please report any third-party fraudulent wire originations, regardless of whether those funds were
subsequently recovered through the wire return process or by other means.
Include:




Cleared and settled third-party fraudulent funds transfers originated using the large-value systems (i.e.,
Fedwire and CHIPS), including those originated on your institution's behalf by a correspondent. A
fraudulent "on-us" wire transfer is considered cleared and settled if funds were made available to the
receiving accountholder
Fraudulent book transfers (i.e., internal transfers using your institution's wire platform)

Do not include:





Fraud originations that were prevented
Fraudulent wire transfers received by your institution
Fraud committed by a valid accountholder (first-party fraud)
Wire transfers originated and authorized by a valid accountholder as part of a scam

► Example 1: A small business accountholder at your institution originated a wire payment through your
online portal. His PC was compromised by malware, and his login credentials were stolen. The perpetrator
originated a wire for $5,000 to an account at your institution and a wire for $10,000 to an account at another
institution, both of which accounts were maintained under a false name. The transactions cleared and settled,
and the funds became available to the perpetrator. One day later, the same perpetrator attempted to initiate
another wire payment of $5,000 to an account at your institution. The small business accountholder had
already alerted your institution to the previous fraud, so your institution put a hold on the account and these
funds were never made available to the perpetrator. In this example, you would report 2 transactions for
$15,000.
► Example 2: Jennifer, a small business accountholder at your institution, originated a wire payment of
$40,000 to her brother through your online portal. After a heated conversation with her brother, Jennifer
decided to recover the money that had been transferred to him. She opened a fraudulent claim with your
institution, stating that her brother had logged in to her account and made the wire transfer to his account
without her consent. Your institution was able to verify that this was a false, fraudulent claim and that there
was no wrongdoing in the transfer of funds. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim
of fraud), it should not be included in item 6 above.

Debit and General-Purpose Prepaid Cards
Note: For brevity, we will refer to "general-purpose non-prepaid debit cards" as "debit cards" and "general-purpose
prepaid debit cards" as "prepaid cards" in the glossary and the questionnaire. This section covers debit card
payments from typical transaction or "checking" accounts, and general-purpose or "network-branded" prepaid card
payments from prepaid card program accounts held by your institution.

Debit card transactions
Includes all transactions made with debit cards via any debit card network (details below) and associated with nonprepaid accounts held by your institution reported in question 3.b of the Institution Profile section of this survey.
(Prepaid card transactions are defined below.) Most debit cards are capable of being processed through a dualmessage network as well as one or more single-message networks. Includes cash-back transactions at the point of
sale but does not include cash withdrawals (typically from an automated teller machine (ATM) or over the counter at a
bank branch). Transactions may originate at a physical point of sale or remotely such as via mail order, telephone
order, or online, such as through e-commerce or bill pay sites via an app or web browser. For this study, please
follow these guidelines:

Debit card transactions include…




Transactions made with Visa, MasterCard,
Discover, or American Express branded cards
and cleared over dual-message networks. These
are typically called signature-based or offline
debit card transactions.
Transactions made with debit cards and cleared
over a general-purpose single-message network.
Transactions originated in other countries with
debit cards issued from U.S. domiciled accounts
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of
sale

Debit card transactions do not include…







ATM withdrawals
Credit card transactions
Prepaid card transactions
Transfers by a corporate customer to fund its
employees' payroll card accounts
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card
transactions made using a proprietary network
(e.g., Quest network) for that purpose
Payroll card transactions by the cardholder

Prepaid card transactions
Prepaid card transactions are the portion of debit card transactions associated with prepaid debit card accounts held
by your institution and reported in question 3.a of the Institution Profile section of this survey. Include all transactions
made with network-branded prepaid "open-loop" prepaid cards. Most prepaid cards are capable of being processed
through a dual-message network as well as one or more single-message networks. Includes cash-back transactions
at the point of sale but does not include cash withdrawals (typically from an automated teller machine (ATM) or over
the counter at a bank branch). Transactions may originate at a physical point of sale or remotely such as via mail
order, telephone order, or online, such as through e-commerce or bill pay sites via an app or web browser. For this
study, please follow these guidelines:
Prepaid card transactions include…










Prepaid card transactions do not include…

Transactions made with Visa, MasterCard,
Discover, or American Express branded prepaid
cards and cleared over dual-message networks
Transactions made with prepaid cards and cleared
over a general-purpose, single-message network
Transactions made in other countries with prepaid
cards issued from U.S. domiciled accounts
Open-loop general-purpose prepaid card
transactions
Open-loop gift card transactions
Payroll card transactions by the cardholder
FSA/HSA prepaid medical cards
Customer refund and incentive prepaid cards
Prepaid card cash-back transactions at the point of
sale








Closed-loop prepaid card transactions
ATM withdrawals
Debit card transactions
Credit card transactions
Transfers by a corporate customer to fund its
employees' payroll card accounts
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card
transactions made using a proprietary network
(e.g., Quest network) for that purpose

General-purpose prepaid card
Since general-purpose and prepaid cards function similarly to debit cards and use the same "rails" to process
payments, they are distinguished from debit cards primarily by the way your institution classifies the associated
transaction account. Functionality of prepaid card program accounts is typically limited to "loading" funds and
spending with the card. These cards are often marketed as gift cards or offered to underbanked consumers as a
checking account alternative. Some prepaid cards, such as payroll and medical benefits cards, are sponsored by
businesses as a way of transferring funds to consumers.
Prepaid card payments processed via network-branded card networks are called "general-purpose prepaid card
payments" to distinguish them from private-label, or "closed loop," prepaid cards, which should not be included in
reported volumes. Debit cards are, by design, general-purpose or "open loop" and do not have a corresponding
private-label or "closed loop" counterpart to prepaid cards.
Virtual card
Virtual cards are used for online or over the phone purchases and do not require the accountholder to have a
physical card. Virtual cards may provide greater security than a physical card because they use a unique card
number, expiration date, and security code that is only valid at specific merchants or for a specific amount of time.
Virtual cards may be issued for single or multiple transaction use, and they may or may not be loaded to digital
wallets.
Contactless card
A contactless card payment is a secure method for customers to purchase products or services via debit smartcards
(also known as chip cards) using RFID technology. To make a contactless payment, the user simply tap his or her
debit card near a POS terminal (an action sometimes referred to as "tap-and-go" or "tap-and-pay").
Account type definitions
Consumer account
A transaction deposit or savings account for personal use by an individual or household from which payments can be
made.
Business/government account
A transaction deposit or savings account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository
financial institution, or not-for-profit organization) from which payments can be made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Open-loop prepaid cards
Network branded general-purpose prepaid cards (i.e., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) which can
be used at any point of sale or for bill-pay transactions were the network is accepted. Unlike a debit card, a prepaid
card is not linked to a bank account.
Note: If your institution reports on behalf of an EFT network, please include only prepaid card transactions that carry
your network brand. Do not include reciprocal or gateway transactions that are not routed on your brand.
Any fees charged to the cards (e.g., monthly transaction fees) are not considered to be transactions and should be
excluded.
Closed-loop prepaid cards
Closed-loop prepaid cards are excluded from this survey. Include only transactions with open-loop prepaid cards in
this survey.
Closed-loop prepaid cards can only be used at certain merchant(s); these are non-network prepaid cards. Closedloop prepaid cards are also referred as "store cards" (e.g., Old Navy gift card, Home Depot gift card) and operate
between the merchant and the issuer without the use of a network.
Reloadable prepaid cards
Open-loop or closed-loop prepaid card to which funds can be added at a later time after the initial purchase of the
card.
Note: Any fees charged to the cards (e.g., monthly fees, dormancy fees) are not considered to be transactions and
should be excluded.

Gift cards
Prepaid cards that are marketed as gift-giving alternatives to cash, checks, and gift certificates or as loyalty cards
with payment capabilities. Include non-reloadable network-branded general-purpose open-loop prepaid cards in
reported totals. Do not include closed-loop prepaid cards that are typically merchant or shopping center branded.
Payroll cards
Reloadable, prepaid "ATM" cards issued to disburse employee wages; typically marketed as a means to replace
paper check or cash wages to unbanked employees.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) medical cards
Reloadable, network-branded prepaid medical cards used for health care costs referred to as "qualified expenses,"
including deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, and monthly prescription transactions. HSA contributions are
tax-deductible but can also be taken out of pretax pay. FSA contributions are pretax, and distributions are untaxed.
Both medical cards are typically used to save money on medical expenses.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. This measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud
attempts; rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions
are able to penetrate the payment system and affect settlement between banks, or create a book transfer of funds if
the transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes that
may or may not include a loss to various entities, but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds
transfer, if only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your
institution. The definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud
includes at least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
Your institution is the issuer. Your customer is the payer, accountholder, or cardholder.
Did your institution have debit cards in circulation in 2022 for which your institution was
the issuer?
An issuing bank issues the card, holds the accounts from which payments are drawn, and is responsible for
paying the acquiring bank. Also include cards issued by your institution that are managed by a third-party, and
for which your institution routes transactions over a general-use debit card network. If your answer to this
question is "No," please report "0" for items 5.a and its subsets, and 6.a below.

Include:



Debit cards associated with transaction deposit accounts reported item 3.b in the Institution Profile section
Debit cards (not including prepaid cards) that can be used to make purchases at the point of sale

Do not include:


ATM-only cards, prepaid cards, credit cards, or EBT cards

Did your institution offer its customers general-purpose prepaid cards issued by another
financial institution during calendar year 2022?
General-purpose prepaid cards include but are not limited to: payroll prepaid cards, open-loop gift cards,
government-administered open-loop prepaid cards, FSA/HSA medical cards, and open-loop customer refund
and incentive cards. If your answer is "Yes," please exclude these volumes from all items below.
2.a

If your answer is "Yes" to item 2 above, are you able to exclude card counts and
transaction volume data from general-purpose prepaid cards issued by another
financial institution from your answers below?

Did your institution have general-purpose prepaid cards in circulation in 2022 for which
your institution was the issuer?
An issuing bank issues the card, holds the account from which payments are drawn, and is responsible for
paying the acquiring bank for debit card payments. Also include cards issued for prepaid card programs
managed by your institution or managed by a third-party and that route transactions over a debit card network.
If your answer to this question is "No," please report "Not applicable" for item 3.a, and "0" for items 5.b and 6.b
below.
Include:



General-purpose repaid cards associated with transaction deposit accounts reported in item 3.a of the
Institution Profile section
Types of general-purpose prepaid cards:
o Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop reloadable prepaid cards. Examples
of reloadable prepaid cards include payroll prepaid cards, FSA/HSA medical cards, open-loop gift
cards, and government-administered open-loop gift cards
o Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop non-reloadable prepaid cards.
Examples of non-reloadable prepaid cards include open-loop customer refund and incentive cards,
open-loop gift cards, and government-administered open-loop gift cards

Do not include:





3.a

Closed-loop prepaid cards (i.e., prepaid cards that do not route transactions over a debit card network)
Debit cards
ATM or ATM-only cards
Electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards
Credit cards
If your answer is "Yes" to item 3 above, are you able to include all general-purpose
prepaid card counts and transaction volumes (as well as from business/government
general-purpose prepaid card programs) in your answers below?
If your answer is "Yes, in some cases," please explain in the comments box at the end of this section.
Even if your answer is "No," please report your data for all items below and explain in the comment box
at the end of this section.

Did your institution provide virtual debit cards or virtual general-purpose prepaid cards
as a product/service in 2022 for which your institution was the issuer? (Note: Virtual
cards are different from digital wallets.)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of virtual cards. If your answer is
"Yes," please exclude virtual cards from the counts in item 5 but include virtual card transactions for all items
from item 6 through 10 and their subsets below.
Include:




Virtual debit cards associated with transaction deposit accounts reported in the Institution Profile section
Virtual consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop reloadable prepaid cards
Virtual consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop non-reloadable prepaid cards

Do not include:


Closed-loop prepaid cards (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a debit card network),
ATM-only cards, credit cards or EBT cards

Number of physical debit and general-purpose prepaid cards = 5.a + 5.b
(Average of monthly totals)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals.
Report debit and general-purpose prepaid cards associated with transaction deposit accounts reported in the
Institution Profile section. If your answer is "No" to items 1 and 3 above, please report "0" here.
For cards in force report only debit and general-purpose prepaid cards that can be used at the point of sale,
were issued by your institution, activated by your institution's accountholders, have not expired at the end of a
month, and draw on the transaction deposit accounts reported in items 2 and 3 in the Institution Profile section.
For cards in force with purchase activity, report only debit and general-purpose prepaid cards that had at
least one point-of-sale (POS) and/or bill payment in a month. Do not include cards that were only used to
withdraw cash.
5.a

Debit cards = 5.a.1 + 5.a.2
If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Include:



Debit cards associated with both consumer and business/government transaction deposit accounts
reported in the Institution Profile section
Debit cards (not including prepaid cards) that can be used to make purchases at the point of sale

Do not include:


Virtual cards, ATM-only cards, prepaid cards, credit cards, or EBT cards

► Example: Your institution has 500 consumer and business banking accounts, with 500 debit cards
issued that are related to these accounts at the end of January through July. Of these debit cards, 450
cards have been activated and are not expired, 25 cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards have
been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual cards. Of the 450 cards that have been activated
and are not expired, 350 had purchase activity. In this example, you would report 450 debit cards in
force and 350 in force with purchase activity for January through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts with debit
cards issued to them. Of these debit cards, 480 cards have been activated and are not expired, 10
cards have not been activated yet, 6 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 4 are virtual
cards. Of the 480 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 300 had purchase activity. In this
example, you would report 480 debit cards in force and 300 in force with purchase activity for August
through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(450 cards x 7 months open) + (480
cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 463 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(350 cards x 7
months open) + (300 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 329 cards in force with purchase activity
Consumer
These include all debit cards that draw on consumer accounts. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:



Debit cards associated with consumer transaction deposit accounts reported in the
Institution Profile section
Consumer debit cards (not including prepaid cards) that can be used to make purchases
at the point of sale

Do not include:


Virtual cards, ATM-only cards, prepaid cards, credit cards, EBT cards, or any type of
business card

► Example: Your institution has 400 personal banking accounts, with 400 debit cards issued
that are related to these accounts at the end of January through July. Of these debit cards, 350
cards have been activated and are not expired, 25 cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards
have been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual cards. Of the 350 cards that have
been activated and are not expired, 300 had purchase activity. In this example, you would
report 350 debit cards in force and 300 in force with purchase activity for January through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts
with debit cards issued to them. Of these debit cards, 380 cards have been activated and are
not expired, 10 cards have not been activated yet, 6 cards have been activated but are now
expired, and 4 are virtual cards. Of the 380 cards that have been activated and are not
expired, 200 had purchase activity. In this example, you would report 380 debit cards in force
and 200 in force with purchase activity for August through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(350 cards x 7 months open) +
(380 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 362 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(300
cards x 7 months open) + (200 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 258 cards in force with
purchase activity
Business/government
These include all debit cards that draw on business/government accounts. Please see the
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:


Debit cards associated with business/government transaction deposit accounts reported in
the Institution Profile section

Do not include:


Virtual cards, ATM-only cards, prepaid cards, credit cards, EBT cards, or any type of
consumer card

► Example: Your institution has 1,000 business banking accounts, with 1,000 debit cards
issued that are related to these accounts at the end of January through July. Of these debit
cards, 900 cards have been activated and are not expired, 50 cards have not been activated
yet, 40 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 10 are virtual cards. Of the 900
cards that have been activated and are not expired, 700 had purchase activity. In this example,
you would report 900 debit cards in force and 700 in force with purchase activity for January
through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts
with debit cards issued to them. Of these debit cards, 950 cards have been activated and are
not expired, 25 cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards have been activated but are now
expired, and 5 are virtual cards. Of the 950 cards that have been activated and are not
expired, 800 had purchase activity. In this example, you would report 950 debit cards in force
and 800 in force with purchase activity for August through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(900 cards x 7 months open) +
(950 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 921 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(700
cards x 7 months open) + (800 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 742 cards in force with
purchase activity
5.b

General-purpose prepaid cards
If your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:








Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop reloadable prepaid cards
Consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop non-reloadable prepaid cards
Payroll prepaid cards
Government-administered general-purpose open-loop prepaid cards
Open-loop gift cards
FSA/HSA medical cards
Customer refund and incentive cards

Do not include:







Closed-loop prepaid cards (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a debit card
network)
Debit cards
ATM or ATM-only cards
Electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards
Credit cards
Virtual prepaid cards.

► Example: Your institution has 500 general-purpose open-loop prepaid accounts, with 500 prepaid
cards issued that are related to these accounts at the end of January through July. Of these prepaid
cards, 450 cards have been activated and are not expired, 25 cards have not been activated yet, 20
cards have been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual cards. Of the 450 cards that have
been activated and are not expired, 350 had purchase activity. In this example, you would report 450
prepaid cards in force and 350 in force with purchase activity for January through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts with prepaid
cards issued to them. Of these prepaid cards, 480 cards have been activated and are not expired, 10
cards have not been activated yet, 6 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 4 are virtual
cards. Of the 480 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 300 had purchase activity. In this
example, you would report 480 prepaid cards in force and 300 in force with purchase activity for August
through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(450 cards x 7 months open) + (480
cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 463 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(350 cards x 7
months open) + (300 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 329 cards in force with purchase activity
Total debit and general-purpose prepaid card transactions = 6.a + 6.b
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any debit or prepaid card
network for which your institution was the issuer. Include all point-of-sale or bill-pay transactions made by debit
cards or prepaid cards processed over either signature payment card networks or PIN payment card networks.
If your answer is "No" to items 1 and 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:











Both consumer and business/government debit card transactions
Both in-person and remote debit card transactions
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale
Both consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop prepaid card transactions
Payroll prepaid card transactions
Government-administered general-purpose open-loop prepaid card transactions
Open-loop gift card transactions
FSA/HSA medical card transactions
Customer refund and incentive card transactions
Cash-back transactions at the point of sale (i.e., amount of cash received at the point of sale)

Do not include:





Cash withdrawals over the counter
ATM withdrawals
Credit card transactions
Closed-loop prepaid card transactions (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a debit card
network)

► Example: Your customer bought $30 of groceries and received $20 cash back with her debit card by
entering her PIN at the checkout line, for a transaction total of $50. Later that day, she used her prepaid card
issued by your institution to purchase a $70 purse online. Your corporate customer used a virtual debit card to
purchase $200 of paper supplies. In this example, you would report three transactions for $320.

6.a

Debit card transactions = 6.a.1+ 6.a.2
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any debit card
network for which your institution was the issuer. Include all point-of-sale or bill-pay transactions made
by debit cards processed over either signature payment card networks or PIN payment card networks. If
your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Include:




Both consumer and business/government debit card transactions
Both in-person and remote debit card transactions
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale

Do not include:





Prepaid card transactions
Open-loop gift card transactions
FSA/HSA medical card transactions
Customer refund and incentive card transactions

► Example: Your customer bought $30 of groceries and received $20 cash back with her debit card
by entering her PIN at the checkout line, for a transaction total of $50. Later that day, she used the
same debit card issued by your institution to purchase a $350 smart watch online. In this example, you
would report two transactions for $400.
From consumer accounts
These include all transactions made by consumer accountholders over any debit card network
for which your institution was the issuer. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section
above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:



Consumer in-person and remote debit card transactions
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale by consumer accountholders

Do not include:



Debit card transactions made by business/government accountholders
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale by business/government
accountholders

► Example: Tom used his debit card issued by your institution to buy a $40 pair of jeans.
Later that day, he used his debit card at the ATM to withdraw $500. In this example, you would
report 1 transaction for $40.
From business/government accounts
These include all transactions made by business/government accountholders over any debit
card network for which your institution was the issuer. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:



Business/government in-person and remote debit card transactions
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale by business/government
accountholders

Do not include:



Debit card transactions made by consumer accountholders
Debit card cash-back transactions at the point of sale by consumer accountholders

► Example: Your corporate accountholder made a purchase of $500 with a corporate debit
card issued by your institution. Later that day, he withdrew $200 in cash over the counter at
one of your branch locations using the same debit card. In this example, you would report 1
transaction for $500.
6.b

General-purpose prepaid card transactions
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any prepaid card
network for which your institution was the issuer. Include all POS or bill-pay transactions made by
prepaid cards processed over either signature payment card networks or PIN payment card networks. If
your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.

Include:








Both consumer and business/government general-purpose open-loop prepaid card transactions
Payroll prepaid card transactions
Government-administered general-purpose open-loop prepaid card transactions
Open-loop gift card transactions
FSA/HSA medical card transactions
Customer refund and incentive card transactions
Cash-back transactions at the point of sale (i.e., amount of cash received at the point of sale)

Do not include:


Debit card transactions

► Example: Your customer bought $30 of groceries and received $20 cash back with her prepaid
card by entering her PIN at the checkout line, for a transaction total of $50. Later that day, she used the
same prepaid card issued by your institution to purchase a $70 jacket at a department store. In this
example, you would report 2 transactions for $120.
Total debit and general-purpose prepaid card transactions (repeat item 6) = 7.a + 7.b
Repeat item 6 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any
debit or prepaid card network for which your institution was the issuer. Include all point-of-sale or bill-pay
transactions made by debit cards or prepaid cards processed over either signature payment card networks or
PIN payment card networks. If your answer is "No" to items 1 and 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:











Do not include:





Cash withdrawals over the counter
ATM withdrawals
Credit card transactions
Closed-loop prepaid card transactions (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a debit card
network)

► Example: Your customer bought $30 of groceries and received $20 cash back with her debit card by
entering her PIN at the checkout line, for a transaction total of $50. Later that day, she used her prepaid card
issued by your institution to purchase a $70 purse online. Your corporate customer used a virtual debit card to
purchase $200 of paper supplies. In this example, you would report two transactions for $320.
7.a

In-person transactions
These include all debit and prepaid card transactions for which the card user is physically present with
the card at the point of sale.
Include:






In-person transactions
In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using near-field
communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode technology)
In-person contactless card transactions (i.e., "tap and pay" physical cards, fobs, or stickers)
In-person intermediated transactions (e.g., Square, Clover, Zettle)
In-person card-not-present transactions (i.e., key-entered transactions)

Do not include:



Remote transactions
Digital wallet in-app or browser transactions

► Example: Your customer bought a coat for $100 with his debit card by entering his PIN at the
checkout line. Later that day, he bought a $40 train ticket with his prepaid card with his digital wallet
(Apple Pay) at the checkout. For this example, you would report 2 transactions for $140.
7.b

Remote transactions
These include all debit and prepaid card transactions for which the card user does not physically
present the card to authorize the transaction, including mail-order transactions, telephone-order
transactions, and internet transactions. Please report the total transactions with either a domestic or
foreign payee.
Include:



Remote transactions (e.g., mail-order transactions, telephone-order transactions)
Digital wallet in-app or browser transactions (e.g., e-commerce transactions)

Do not include:






► Example: Your customer purchased a $500 item on a German internet website with his prepaid
card by entering his prepaid card number, name, and address. He then proceeded to buy a $65 pair of
shoes from a U.S.-based store in a mobile application not at the point of sale, paying with the same
debit card with his digital wallet (Google Pay). In this example, you would report 2 transactions for $565.
Total debit and general-purpose prepaid card transactions (repeat item 6)
= 8.a + 8.b + 8.c
Repeat item 6 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any
debit or prepaid card network for which your institution was the issuer. Include all point-of-sale or bill-pay
transactions made by debit cards processed over either signature payment card networks or PIN payment
card networks. If your answer is "No" to items 1 and 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:











Do not include:





Cash withdrawals over the counter
ATM withdrawals
Credit card transactions
Closed-loop prepaid card transactions (i.e., prepaid cards that don't route transactions over a debit card
network)

► Example: Your customer bought $30 of groceries and received $20 cash back with her debit card by
entering her PIN at the checkout line, for a transaction total of $50. Later that day, she used the same debit
card issued by your institution to purchase a $70 purse online. Your corporate customer used a virtual debit
card to purchase $200 of paper supplies. In this example, you would report two transactions for $320.
8.a

In-person contactless card transactions
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border debit and prepaid card transactions made
via a contactless card.

Include:


Transactions for which a physical card or token was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal

Do not include:



Debit and prepaid card-on-file e-commerce transactions (cardholder-initiated or merchant-initiated)
(i.e., installment payment)
Transactions made via digital wallets

► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $15 with his debit card. He physically tapped his card on
the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile
application, paying with his prepaid card via his digital wallet (Apple Pay). In this example, you would
report 1 transaction for $15.
8.b

Digital wallet transactions = 8.b.1 + 8.b.2
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border debit and prepaid card transactions made
via a digital wallet, including tokenized digital wallet.
Include:





Digital wallet debit and prepaid card transactions made by using electronic devices, such as a
smartphone, smart watch, or activity tracker, by "tapping" the device at the POS terminal (e.g.,
Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay, Masterpass)
Tokenized digital wallet debit and prepaid card transactions made by using customer's payment
credentials saved in a virtual account number. These credentials can be stored either on a
smartphone or in the cloud. When making a purchase, a substitute account number and a
transaction-specific code ("token") are used to process payments. This can include purchasing
items online with a computer or using a smartphone to make a purchase with a browser or in-app
(e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout, Amex Express Checkout)
Digital wallet debit and prepaid card NFC (near-field communication) transactions, MST (magnetic
secure transmission) transactions, QR code transactions, barcode transactions, in-app
transactions, or browser transactions

Do not include:



Debit and prepaid card-on-file e-commerce transactions (cardholder-initiated or merchant-initiated)
(i.e., installment payment)
Transactions for which a physical card or token was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal (i.e.,
contactless card transaction)

► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $10 with his debit card, which was loaded into his digital
wallet (Apple Pay). He physically tapped his phone on the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC
technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile application, paying with his prepaid card via his
digital wallet (Apple Pay). In this example, you would report 2 transactions for $40.
In-person
These include debit and prepaid card transactions for which an electronic device, such as a
smartphone, smart watch, or activity tracker, was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal (e.g.,
Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay). Such payments are considered
contactless payments, but do not use a physical card or token
Include:


In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode
technology)

Do not include:



In-app transactions or browser transactions made with a digital wallet (e.g., Apple Pay,
Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
Tokenized digital wallet transactions made by using customer's payment credentials
saved in a virtual account (e.g., Apply Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout,
Amex Express Checkout)

► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $15 with his debit card, which was loaded into
his digital wallet (Apple Pay). He physically tapped his phone on the POS device to pay for
lunch, using NFC technology. He then bought groceries for $100 with his prepaid card by
tapping his card on the POS device. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $15.

Remote
These include debit and prepaid card in-app transactions or browser transactions made with a
digital wallet. Browser transactions include both digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay,
Samsung Pay) and third-party tokenized digital wallets (e.g., PayPal, Amazon Pay, Square
Restaurants, Visa Checkout, Masterpass).
Include:



In-app transactions or browser transactions made with a digital wallet (e.g., Apple Pay,
Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
Tokenized digital wallet transactions made by using customer's payment credentials
saved in a virtual account (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout,
Amex Express Checkout)

Do not include:


In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode
technology)

► Example: Your customer purchased a $500 item on an internet website with his debit card
by entering his debit card number, name, and address. He then bought a $65 pair of shoes in
a mobile application, paying with the same debit card via his digital wallet (Google Pay). In this
example, you would report 1 transaction for $65.
8.c

All other transactions
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border debit and prepaid card transactions made
without a contactless card or digital wallet.
Do not include:



Transactions made via digital wallets
Transactions for which a physical card or token was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal

► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $10 with his debit card. He physically tapped his card on
the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile
application, paying with his prepaid card via his digital wallet (Apple Pay). Your customer then bought
dessert for $7 using the same debit card by inserting the card in the POS device. In this example, you
would report 1 transaction for $7.
Third-party fraudulent debit and general-purpose prepaid card transactions = 9.a + 9.b
These include all cleared and settled third-party unauthorized debit and prepaid card network transactions,
before any recoveries or chargebacks, for which your institution was the card issuer. Please report any
fraudulent third-party debit and prepaid card transactions, regardless of whether the transaction resulted in a
loss of funds. If your answer is "No" to items 1 and 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:



Cleared and settled debit card transactions that were not authorized by a valid card user (third-party fraud)
Cleared and settled prepaid card transactions that were not authorized by a valid card user (third-party
fraud)

Do not include:







Fraud prevented by declining a transaction
Fraud committed by a valid card user (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent credit card transactions
Fraudulent ATM withdrawals
Debit card transactions authorized by a valid card user as part of a scam
Prepaid card transactions authorized by a valid card user as part of a scam

► Example 1: Your accountholder's debit card issued by your institution was stolen. The perpetrator used
the card to make one purchase worth $1,000, which was authorized at the point of sale. The perpetrator
attempted to make another purchase worth $500 the next day. Your accountholder had already alerted your
institution to the previous fraudulent activity and a hold had been put on her account, so the perpetrator never
received funds from the second attempt. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $1,000.

► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that her debit card was stolen and used to purchase a $500 TV
in an electronics store. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your accountholder made this
purchase on her card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), it should
not be included in item 7 above.
9.a

In-person transactions
These include only third-party fraudulent debit and prepaid card transactions for which the card user is
physically present at the merchant location when card data are acquired. Include digital wallet (Apple
Pay, Samsung Pay) transactions at the point of sale only. Please report the total transactions using a
PIN and without a PIN.
Include:


In-person fraudulent transactions

Do not include:



Fraudulent remote transactions (e.g., mail-order transactions, telephone-order transactions)
Fraudulent digital wallet in-app or browser debit card transactions (e.g., e-commerce transactions)

► Example 1: Your accountholder's prepaid card was stolen. The perpetrator used the card to make
two purchases totaling $1,000 online. He then bought lunch for $35 at a restaurant using the stolen
card. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $35.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that her debit card was stolen and used to purchase a
$500 TV in an electronics store. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your
accountholder made this purchase on her card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud
(false claim of fraud), it should not be included in item 1 above.
9.b

Remote transactions
These include only third-party fraudulent debit and prepaid card transactions for which the card user
does not physically present the card to authorize the transaction. Please report any fraudulent thirdparty debit and prepaid card transactions, regardless of whether the transaction resulted in a loss of
funds. Please report the total transactions with either a domestic or foreign payee.
Include:



Fraudulent remote transactions (e.g., mail-order transactions, telephone-order transactions)
Fraudulent digital wallet in-app or browser debit card transactions (e.g., e-commerce transactions)

Do not include:






In-person fraudulent transactions
Fraudulent in-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode technology)
Fraudulent in-person contactless card transactions (i.e., "tap and pay" physical cards, fobs, or
stickers)
Fraudulent in-person intermediated transactions (e.g., Square, Clover, Zettle)
Fraudulent in-person card-not-present (i.e., key-entered transactions)

► Example 1: Your accountholder's debit card was stolen. The perpetrator used the card to purchase
a TV for $500 at a store by fraudulently signing the receipt. He then proceeded to use the stolen card to
buy an item online for $250. Both transactions were authorized. In this example, you would report 1
transaction for $250.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that his debit card was stolen and used to purchase a $20
video game online. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your accountholder made
this purchase on his card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud),
it should not be included in item 1 above.
Total debit and general-purpose prepaid cash-back at the point of sale
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border debit and prepaid card transactions for which
your institution was the card issuer and in which the accountholders received cash back at the point of sale.
These include both signature-based cash-back and PIN-based cash-back transactions. For cash-back value,
only include the amount of cash your card users received at the point of sale. If your answer is "No" to items 1
and 3 above, please report "0" here.

Include:


Debit and prepaid card cash-back transactions at the point of sale. For value, only report the cash value
($) portion of the transaction

Do not include:




Credit card cash-advance transactions
ATM withdrawals
The amount paid for goods and services

► Example: Your customer used her debit card at the grocery store to purchase $50 of food. She entered
her PIN to authorize the transaction and also requested $20 cash back. In this example, you would report 1
transaction for $20

General-Purpose Credit Cards
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Average of Monthly Totals
Average of monthly totals means the average end-of-month totals for each of the months in 2022. For the average of
monthly totals calculations, please sum the number or balance of accounts at the end of each month and then divide
by 12.

Credit card network transactions
All transactions over any credit card network made with general-purpose credit cards, charge cards or co-branded
credit cards issued by your institution, meaning that your institution owns the receivables reported in question 9 of the
Institution Profile section. Include all purchase and bill-pay transactions made with credit cards used for point-of-sale
(POS) transactions. Transactions may originate at a physical point of sale or remotely such as via mail order,
telephone order, or online, such as through e-commerce or bill pay sites via an app or web browser. For this study,
please follow these guidelines:
Credit card network transactions do not
include…

Debit card transactions

Prepaid card transactions

Convenience checks

Balance transfers

Cash advances

Co-branded card non-network ("internal" or closedloop) transactions

Credit card network transactions include…

Network transactions made with Visa, MasterCard,
Discover, or American Express branded credit
cards. These include secured and unsecured
credit cards.

Network transactions originated in other countries
with credit cards issued from U.S. domiciled
accounts

Digital wallet
All purchase and bill-pay transactions made using a digital wallet in which users can complete purchases using nearfield communication (NFC) that works in conjunction with mobile payment systems, MST (magnetic secure
transmission) transactions, QR code transactions, barcode transactions, in-app transactions, or browser transactions.
Digital wallets can be used during in-person transactions or remote transactions. In-person transactions require the
payment holder to be present to use their digital wallet, while remote transactions are used during e-commerce sales
in which the authorization and transaction processes are not physically close to each other.
Digital wallet transactions include those made by using electronic devices, such as a smartphone, smart watch, or
activity tracker, by "tapping" the device at the POS terminal (e.g., Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay,
Masterpass).
They also include tokenized digital wallet transaction' made by using customer's payment credentials saved in a
virtual account number. These credentials can be stored either on a smartphone or in the cloud. When making a
purchase, a substitute account number and a transaction specific code ("token") are used to process payments. This
can include purchasing items online with a computer or using a smartphone to make a purchase with a browser or inapp (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout, Amex Express Checkout).
Virtual card
Virtual cards are used for online or over the phone purchases and do not require the accountholder to have a
physical card. Virtual cards may provide greater security than a physical card because they use a unique card
number, expiration date, and security code that is only valid at specific merchants or for a specific amount of time.
Virtual cards may be issued for single or multiple transaction use, and they may or may not be added to digital
wallets.
Contactless card
Contactless card payment is a secure method for consumers to purchase products or services via credit smartcards
(also known as chip cards) using RFID technology. To make a contactless payment, the user simply taps his or her
credit card near a POS terminal (an action sometimes referred to as "tap-and-go" or "tap-and-pay").
Co-branded credit card
Co-branded credit cards are retail merchant credit cards that are issued in partnership with a specific network
processor (i.e., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Co-branded cards are branded with the logo of
the retailer and network processor. Users can earn discounts or rewards points when they make purchases with
sponsoring merchants.
Account type definitions
Consumer account
A credit card account for personal use by an individual or household from which payments can be made.
Business/government account
A credit account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository financial institution, or not-forprofit organization) from which payments can be made.
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Cash advances
A service provided by credit card and charge card issuers that allows cardholders to withdraw cash—either through
an ATM or over the counter at a bank or other financial agency—up to a prescribed limit.
Note: Do not report cash advance transactions in this section of the survey.
Convenience checks
A check linked to a cardholder's credit line that can be used to make purchases, pay bills or transfer balances from
one credit account to another.
Note: Do not include convenience check transactions in this section of the survey.
Balance transfers
The transfer by a credit card accountholder of an outstanding debt balance from one credit card account to another.
Note: Do not include balance transfers in this section of the survey.

Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. The measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud attempts;
rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions are able to
penetrate the payment system and affect settlement between banks, or create a book transfer of funds if the
transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes that may
or may not include a loss to various entities, but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds transfer, if
only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your institution. The
definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud includes at
least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
Your institution is the issuer. Your customer is the payer, accountholder, or cardholder.
Did your institution have general-purpose credit cards in circulation in 2022 for which
your institution was the issuer?
These include general-purpose credit cards, charge cards, and co-branded cards for which your institution
owns the receivables and that use any one of the four major credit card networks (i.e., Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, and Discover).
If your answer to this question is "No," please report "Not applicable" for items 2, 2.a and 3 and "0" for items 4
through 9 and their subsets below.
Did your institution have co-branded credit cards in circulation in 2022 for which your
institution was the issuer?
These are retail merchant credit cards that are issued in partnership with a specific network processor (i.e.,
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Co-branded cards are branded with the logo of the
retailer and network processor. Users can earn discounts or rewards points when they make purchases with
sponsoring merchants.
If your answer is "Yes," please exclude "internal" (closed-loop, not using one of the above four major credit
card networks) volumes from items 6 through 9 and report "internal" volumes in item 5 below. Please include
"external" (open-loop, using one of the above four major credit card networks) volumes in your answers to
items 6 through 9 below.
If your answer is "No," please report "Not applicable" for item 2.a and "0" for item 5 below.

2.a

If your answer is "Yes" to item 2 above and if your institution had "internal" (closedloop, not using one of the above four major credit card networks) co-branded credit
card transactions, are you able to exclude these volumes from your answers to
items 6 through 9 below?
If your answer is "Yes, in some cases," please explain in the comments box at the end of this section.
Even if your answer is "No," please report data for items 6 through 9 below and explain in the comment
box at the end of this section.

Did your institution provide virtual general-purpose credit cards as a product/service in
2022 for which your institution was the issuer? (Note: Virtual cards are different from
digital wallets.)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of virtual cards. If your answer is
"Yes," please exclude virtual cards from the counts in item 4 but include virtual card transactions for all items
from items 5 through 9 and their subsets below.
Number of physical general-purpose credit cards = 4.a + 4.b
(Average of monthly totals in 2022)
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition and calculations for average of
monthly totals.
For cards in force, report only cards that had been issued by your institution, activated by your institution's
accountholders, and had not expired at the end of a month.
For cards with purchase activity, report only cards in force that were used to make at least one point-of-sale
(POS) and/or bill payment in a month.
If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Do not include:






Private-label credit or charge card accounts whose cards can only be used at a limited set of merchants
and that do not use one of the four major credit card networks
Cards for which your institution was not the issuing institution
Transaction deposit accounts
Closed accounts
Virtual cards

► Example: Your institution has 500 credit cards issued to your consumer and business accountholders at
the end of January through July. Of these credit cards, 450 cards have been activated and are not expired, 25
cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual cards.
Of the 450 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 350 had purchase activity. In this example, you
would report 450 credit cards in force and 350 in force with purchase activity for January through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts with credit cards
issued to them. Of these credit cards, 480 cards have been activated and are not expired, 10 cards have not
been activated yet, 6 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 4 are virtual cards. Of the 480 cards
that have been activated and are not expired, 300 had purchase activity. In this example, you would report 480
credit cards in force and 300 in force with purchase activity for August through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(450 cards x 7 months open) + (480 cards x 5
months open)] / 12 months = 463 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(350 cards x 7 months
open) + (300 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 329 cards in force with purchase activity
4.a

Consumer cards
These include all credit cards associated with consumer accounts. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:


All credit cards for consumer accountholders over any credit card network for which your institution
was the issuer

Do not include:




Business/government credit cards
Consumer and business/government debit cards
Consumer and business/government prepaid cards

► Example: Your institution has 400 credit cards issued to your consumer accounts at the end of
January through July. Of these credit cards, 350 cards have been activated and are not expired, 25
cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual
cards. Of the 350 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 300 had purchase activity. In this
example, you would report 350 credit cards in force and 300 in force with purchase activity for January
through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts with credit
cards issued to them. Of these credit cards, 380 cards have been activated and are not expired, 10
cards have not been activated yet, 6 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 4 are virtual
cards. Of the 380 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 200 had purchase activity. In this
example, you would report 380 credit cards in force and 200 in force with purchase activity for August
through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(350 cards x 7 months open) + (380
cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 362 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(300 cards x 7
months open) + (200 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 258 cards in force with purchase activity
4.b

Business/government cards
These include all credit cards associated with business/government accounts. Please see the
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:


All credit cards for business/government accountholders over any credit card network for which
your institution was the issuer

Do not include:




Consumer credit card accounts
Consumer and business/government debit card accounts
Consumer and business/government prepaid card program accounts

► Example: Your institution has 1,000 credit cards issued to business/government accountholders at
the end of January through July. Of these credit cards, 900 cards have been activated and are not
expired, 50 cards have not been activated yet, 40 cards have been activated but are now expired, and
10 are virtual cards. Of the 900 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 700 had purchase
activity. In this example, you would report 900 credit cards in force and 700 in force with purchase
activity for January through July.
At the end of August through December, your institution had the same number of accounts with credit
cards issued to them. Of these credit cards, 950 cards have been activated and are not expired, 25
cards have not been activated yet, 20 cards have been activated but are now expired, and 5 are virtual
cards. Of the 950 cards that have been activated and are not expired, 800 had purchase activity. In this
example, you would report 950 credit cards in force and 800 in force with purchase activity for August
through December.
For the number of cards in force, the calculation is as follows: [(900 cards x 7 months open) + (950
cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 921 cards in force
For the number of cards in force with purchase activity, the calculation is as follows: [(700 cards x 7
months open) + (800 cards x 5 months open)] / 12 months = 742 cards in force with purchase activity
Total general-purpose co-branded credit card non-network transactions ("internal"
closed-loop transactions)
These are retail merchant credit cards that are issued in partnership with a specific network processor (i.e.,
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Co-branded cards are branded with the logo of the
retailer and network processor. Users can earn discounts or rewards points when they make purchases with
sponsoring merchants. If your answer is "No" to item 1 or item 2 above, please report "0" here.

Include:


"Internal" (closed-loop, not using one of the above four major credit card networks) co-branded credit card
transactions

Do not include:


"External" (open-loop, using one of the above four major credit card networks) co-branded credit card
network transactions

► Example: Your customer paid for her $200 hotel room with her credit card that was issued by your
institution and co-branded with a hotel company. Later that day, she used another credit card issued by your
institution to buy lunch for $20. In this example, you would report only 1 transaction for $200.
Total general-purpose credit card network transactions = 6.a + 6.b
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any credit card network for
which your institution was the issuer. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Include:




All network transactions made with general-purpose credit cards, charge cards, or co-branded cards
(network volume) issued by your institution
Both consumer and business/government credit card transactions
Both in-person and remote credit card transactions

Do not include:






General-purpose credit card non-network transactions (e.g., balance transfers, convenience checks)
Co-branded credit card non-network ("internal" or closed-loop) transactions
Debit card transactions
Prepaid card transactions
Credit card cash advances (e.g., ATM withdrawals, over-the-counter withdrawals)

► Example: Your customer bought $50 of groceries with her credit card. Later that day, she used the same
credit card issued by your institution to purchase a $70 purse online. Your corporate customer used a virtual
debit card to purchase $200 of paper supplies. In this example, you would report two transactions for $320.
6.a

From consumer accounts
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:


All network transactions made by consumer accountholders with general-purpose credit cards,
charge cards, or co-branded cards issued by your institution

Do not include:


Credit card transactions made by business/government accountholders

► Example: Tom used his credit card issued by your institution to buy a $40 pair of jeans. Later that
day, he used his credit card at the ATM to make a $500 cash advance. In this example, you would
report 1 transaction for $40.
6.b

From business/government accounts
Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of business/government
accounts.
Include:


All network transactions made by business/government accountholders with general-purpose credit
cards, charge cards, or co-branded cards issued by your institution

Do not include:


Credit card transactions made by consumer accountholders

► Example: Your corporate accountholder made a purchase of $500 with a corporate credit card
issued by your institution. Later that day, he made a cash advance using the same credit card and
withdrew $200 in cash over the counter at one of your branch locations. In this example, you would
report 1 transaction for $500.

Total general-purpose credit card network transactions (repeat item 6) = 7.a + 7.b
Repeat item 6 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any
credit card network for which your institution was the issuer. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please
report "0" here.
Include:

All network transactions made with general-purpose credit cards, charge cards, or co-branded cards
(network volume) issued by your institution

Both consumer and business/government credit card transactions

Both in-person and remote credit card transactions
Do






not include:
General-purpose credit card non-network transactions (e.g., balance transfers, convenience checks)
Co-branded credit card non-network ("internal" or closed-loop) transactions
Debit card transactions
Prepaid card transactions
Credit card cash advances (e.g., ATM withdrawals, over-the-counter withdrawals)

In-person transactions
These include all general-purpose credit card network transactions for which the card user is physically
present with the card at the point of sale. Include digital wallet (e.g., Apple Pay, Samsung Pay)
transactions at the point of sale only. Please report the total transactions using a PIN and without a PIN.
Include:






Do not include:



Remote transactions
Digital wallet in-app or browser transactions

► Example: Your customer bought a coat for $100 with his credit card by entering his PIN at the
checkout line. Later that day, he bought a $40 train ticket with his credit card with his digital wallet
(Apple Pay) at the checkout. For this example, you would report 2 transactions for $140.
7.b

Remote transactions
These include all general-purpose credit card network transactions for which the card user does not
physically present the card to authorize the transaction, including mail-order transactions, telephoneorder transactions, and internet transactions. Please report the total transactions with either a domestic
or foreign payee.
Include:

Remote credit card transactions (e.g., mail-order transactions, telephone-order transactions)

Digital wallet in-app or browser credit card transactions (e.g., e-commerce transactions)
Do not include:

In-person transactions

In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using near-field
communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode technology)

In-person contactless card transactions (i.e., "tap and pay" physical cards, fobs, or stickers)

In-person intermediated transactions (e.g., Square, Clover, Zettle)

In-person card-not-present transactions (i.e., key-entered transactions)
► Example: Your customer purchased a $500 item on a German internet website with his credit card
by entering his credit card number, name, and address. He then proceeded to buy a $65 pair of shoes
from a U.S.-based store in a mobile application not at the point of sale, paying with the same credit card
with his digital wallet (Google Pay). In this example, you would report 2 transactions for $565.

Total general-purpose credit card network transactions (repeat item 6) = 8.a + 8.b + 8.c
Repeat item 6 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border transactions over any
credit card network for which your institution was the issuer. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please
report "0" here.
Include:

All network transactions made with general-purpose credit cards, charge cards, or co-branded cards
(network volume) issued by your institution

Both consumer and business/government credit card transactions

Both in-person and remote credit card transactions
Do






In-person contactless card transactions
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border credit card transactions made via a
contactless card.
Include:

Transactions for which a physical card or token was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal
Do not include:

Credit card-on-file e-commerce transactions (cardholder-initiated or merchant-initiated) (i.e.,
installment payment)

Transactions made via digital wallets
► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $15 with his credit card. He physically tapped his card
on the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile
application, paying with his credit card via his digital wallet (Apple Pay). In this example, you would
report 1 transaction for $15.

8.b

Digital wallet transactions = 8.b.1 + 8.b.2
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border credit card transactions made via a digital
wallet, including tokenized digital wallet.
Include:

Digital wallet credit card transactions made by using electronic devices, such as a smartphone,
smart watch, or activity tracker, by "tapping" the device at the POS terminal (e.g., Apple Pay,
Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay, Masterpass)

Tokenized digital wallet credit card transactions made by using customer's payment credentials
saved in a virtual account number. These credentials can be stored either on a smartphone or in
the cloud. When making a purchase, a substitute account number and a transaction specific code
("token") are used to process payments. This can include purchasing items online with a computer
or using a smartphone to make a purchase with a browser or in-app (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay,
Masterpass, Visa Checkout, Amex Express Checkout)

Digital wallet credit card NFC (near-field communication) transactions, MST (magnetic secure
transmission) transactions, QR code transactions, barcode transactions, in-app transactions, or
browser transactions
Do not include:

Credit card-on-file e-commerce transactions (cardholder-initiated or merchant-initiated) (i.e.,
installment payment)

Transactions made via contactless cards (i.e., "tap and pay")
► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $10 with his credit card, which was loaded into his digital
wallet (Apple Pay). He physically tapped his phone on the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC
technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile application, paying with his credit card via his
digital wallet (Apple Pay). In this example, you would report 2 transactions for $40.

In-person
These include credit card transactions for which an electronic device, such as a smartphone,
smart watch, or activity tracker, was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal (e.g., Apple Pay,
Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Fitbit Pay). Such payments are considered contactless payments,
but do not use a physical card or token
Include:


In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode
technology)

Do not include:



► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $15 with his credit card, which was loaded into
his digital wallet (Apple Pay). He physically tapped his phone on the POS device to pay for
lunch, using NFC technology. He then bought groceries for $100 with his credit card by tapping
his card on the POS device. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $15.
Remote
These include credit card in-app transactions or browser transactions made with a digital
wallet. Browser transactions include both digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay,
Samsung Pay) and third-party tokenized digital wallets (e.g., PayPal, Amazon Pay, Square
Restaurants, Visa Checkout, Masterpass).
Include:



In-app transactions or browser transactions made with a digital wallet (e.g., Apple Pay,
Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
Tokenized digital wallet transactions made by using customer's payment credentials
saved in a virtual account (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Masterpass, Visa Checkout,
Amex Express Checkout)

Do not include:


In-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode
technology)

► Example: Your customer purchased a $500 item on an internet website with his credit
card by entering his credit card number, name, and address. He then bought a $65 pair of
shoes in a mobile application, paying with the same credit card via his digital wallet (Google
Pay). In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $65.
8.c

All other transactions
These are all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border credit card transactions made without a
contactless card or digital wallet. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0" here.
Do not include:



Transactions made via digital wallets
Transactions for which a physical card or token was "tapped" to pay at the POS terminal

► Example: Your customer bought lunch for $10 with his credit card. He physically tapped his card
on the POS device to pay for lunch, using NFC technology. He then ordered a $30 dinner in a mobile
application, paying with his credit card via his digital wallet (Apple Pay). Your customer then bought
dessert for $7 using the same credit card by inserting the card in the POS device. In this example, you
would report 1 transaction for $7.

Third-party fraudulent general-purpose credit card network transactions = 9.a + 9.b
These include all cleared and settled third-party fraudulent network transactions made with general-purpose
credit cards, charge cards, or co-branded cards (network volume), before any recoveries or chargebacks,
issued by your institution. Please report any fraudulent third-party credit card transactions, regardless of
whether the transaction resulted in a loss of funds. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above, please report "0"
here.
Include:


Credit card transactions that were not authorized by a valid card user (third-party fraud)

Do not include:









Fraud prevented by declining a transaction
Fraud committed by a valid card user (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent credit card non-network transactions (e.g., balance transfers, convenience checks),
Fraudulent co-branded credit card "internal" closed-loop transactions
Fraudulent credit card cash advances (e.g., ATM withdrawals, over-the-counter withdrawals)
Fraudulent debit card transactions
Fraudulent prepaid card transactions
Credit card transactions authorized by a valid card user as part of a scam

► Example 1: Your accountholder's credit card issued by your institution was stolen. The perpetrator used
the card to make one purchase worth $1,000, which was authorized at the point of sale. The perpetrator
attempted to make another purchase worth $500 the next day. Your accountholder had already alerted your
institution to the previous fraudulent activity and a hold had been put on her account, so the perpetrator never
received funds from the second attempt. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $1,000.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that her credit card was stolen and used to purchase a $500 TV
in an electronics store. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your accountholder made this
purchase on her card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of fraud), it should
not be included in item 9 above.
9.a

In-person transactions
These include only third-party fraudulent general-purpose credit card transactions for which the card
user is physically present with the card at the point of sale. Include digital wallet (e.g., Apple Pay,
Samsung Pay) transactions at the point of sale only. Please report the total transactions using PIN, and
without PIN.
Include:






In-person fraudulent transactions
Fraudulent in-person contactless credit card transactions (i.e., "tap and pay" with a credit card)
Fraudulent in-person mobile transactions (i.e., digital wallet transactions at the point of sale using
near-field communication, magnetic secure transmission, QR codes, or barcode technology)
Fraudulent in-person intermediated transactions (e.g., Square, Clover, Zettle)
Fraudulent in-person card-not-present transactions (i.e., key-entered transactions)

Do not include:



Fraudulent remote transactions
Fraudulent digital wallet in-app or browser transactions

► Example 1: Your accountholder's credit card was stolen. The perpetrator used the card to make
two purchases totaling $1,000 over the internet. He then bought lunch for $35 at a restaurant using the
stolen card. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $35.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that her credit card was stolen and used to purchase a
$500 TV in an electronics store. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your
accountholder made this purchase on her card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud
(false claim of fraud), it should not be included in item 9 above.
9.b

Remote transactions
These include only third-party fraudulent general-purpose credit card transactions for which the card
user does not physically present the card to authorize the transaction. Please report any fraudulent
third-party credit card transactions, regardless of whether the transaction resulted in a loss of funds.
Please report the total transactions with either a domestic or foreign payee.

Include:



Fraudulent remote credit card transactions (e.g., mail-order transactions, telephone-order
transactions)
Fraudulent digital wallet in-app or browser credit card transactions (e.g., e-commerce transactions)

Do not include:






► Example 1: Your accountholder's credit card was stolen. The perpetrator used the card to
purchase a TV for $500 at a store by fraudulently signing the receipt. He then proceeded to use the
stolen card to buy an item online for $250. Both transactions were authorized. In this example, you
would report 1 transaction for $250.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that his credit card was stolen and used to purchase a
$20 video game online. An investigation by your institution determined that in fact your accountholder
made this purchase on his card. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud (false claim of
fraud), it should not be included in item 9 above.

Cash Withdrawals
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
This section covers all cash deposits and withdrawals to and from circulation, including third-party fraudulent ATM
cash withdrawal transactions. Cash, also called currency, includes paper banknotes and coin. Do not include
banknotes and coin exchanged with the Federal Reserve or other supplier for maintaining cash inventory or any other
exchanges on your institutions' own account. Third-party fraudulent ATM cash withdrawal transactions are cleared
and settled ATM cash withdrawal transactions that a third-party initiated without the authorization, agreement, or
voluntary assistance of an authorized accountholder or cardholder with the intent to deceive for personal gain. All
transactions are considered cleared and settled if cash was paid out.
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Cash withdrawals
Cash withdrawals made by your accountholders at your ATMs, "foreign" ATMs, wholesale vaults, or over the counter
or from remote currency management terminals (RCMTs). For this study, please follow these guidelines:
Cash withdrawals include…






All cash withdrawals by your accountholders
(including, as appropriate for the particular
survey question, withdrawals made in other
countries)
Cash paid out in exchange for a check, whether
for an accountholder or not (in this case,
whomever receives the cash is a customer)
Credit card cash advances
Prepaid card cash withdrawals

Cash Withdrawals do not include…








Cash withdrawals or other transactions by individuals
or businesses other than your accountholders
Deposit transactions
Inquiries
Funds transfers
Statement prints
Purchases (e.g., stamps, tickets)
Any other non-withdrawal transactions

Cash advances
A service that allows credit and charge card holders to withdraw cash using a credit card, either in-person through an
ATM or over the counter at a bank or other financial agency. Credit card issuers reporting cash advances in this
section should not include convenience checks or balance transfers in reported amounts.
ATM cash withdrawals
Cash withdrawals made by your accountholders at your ATMs or at "foreign" ATMs. For this study, please follow
these guidelines:
ATM cash withdrawals include…




ATM cash withdrawals do not include…

All ATM cash withdrawals by your accountholders
(including, as appropriate for the particular survey
question, withdrawals made in other countries)
Credit card cash advances
Prepaid card cash withdrawals














Cash withdrawals or other transactions by
individuals or businesses other than your
accountholders
Over-the-counter withdrawals
Withdrawals from remote currency management
terminals (RCMTs)
Deposit transactions
Convenience checks
Inquiries
Funds transfers
Statement print-outs
Purchases (e.g., stamps, tickets)
Any other non-withdrawal transactions
Convenience checks
Balance transfers

Account type definitions
Consumer account
An account for personal use by an individual or household from which ATM withdrawals can be made and cash can
be deposited.
Business/government account
An account owned by an organization (i.e., business, government, non-depository financial institution, or not-for-profit
organization) from which ATM withdrawals can be made and cash can be deposited
Note: Please report small business accounts under business/government accounts, if possible.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. This measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud
attempts; rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions
are able to penetrate the payment system and affect settlement between banks, or create a book transfer of funds if
the transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all types of outcomes that
may or may not include a loss to various entities, but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages to create a funds
transfer, if only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts visible to your
institution. The definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled third-party fraud
includes at least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
CASH WITHDRAWALS
Total cash withdrawals from your institution = 1.a + 1.b + 1.c
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border cash withdrawals made from accounts at
your institution.
Include:






Cash withdrawals that were made over the counter at your institution's bank branches
Cash orders at wholesale vaults
Cash withdrawals at ATMs and RCMTs
Cash withdrawals from deposit and prepaid card program accounts
Credit card cash advances

Do not include:







1.a

Noncash withdrawal transactions made from accounts at your institution
Withdrawals made from accounts at another institution
Deposit transactions
Teller vault activity
Convenience checks
Balance transfers
Other non-withdrawal transactions (e.g., inquiries, statement print-outs, purchases of stamps, tickets)
Over-the-counter cash withdrawals
These include all cash withdrawals made by your institution's accountholders at bank lobby teller
window or drive-through teller.
Note: Please count only over-the-counter cash withdrawals made at your institution's branch locations
from accounts at your institution.
Include:





Cash withdrawn by a third party that is not paid out on behalf of another depository institution (e.g.,
via a "check cashing" service)
Withdrawal transactions initiated via a withdrawal slip or via the deposit of any negotiable or
nonnegotiable instrument
Over-the-counter cash withdrawals made using your accountholder's debit, prepaid or credit card
linked to the account
Over-the-counter check cashing (only include the portion of the check that was received in cash)

Do not include:



Cash paid out to a third-party on behalf of another depository institution (e.g., an over-thecounter cash advance from a credit card issued by another institution)
Cash withdrawals at ATM terminals including those located at your institution's branch locations

► Example: Your accountholder withdrew $100 in cash over the counter from a teller at one of your
institution's branch locations. In this example, you would report 1 transaction of $100.
1.b

Cash orders at wholesale vaults and RCMTs
These include all cash withdrawals handled through armored couriers including vaults operated by your
institution or outsourced to armored couriers or other third-party vault operators or made at remote
currency management terminals (RCMTs) at merchant customer locations. These RCMT (e.g., "smart
safes" and "cash recyclers") cash withdrawals are those that were deployed by your institution and
resided at a client site (e.g., gas station, restaurant). Also include all cash (notes and coin) withdrawals
made at wholesale vaults from accounts at your institution.
Note: Please count only cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at wholesale vaults.
Include:



Cash withdrawals at outsourced wholesale vaults made from accounts at your institution
All cash withdrawals at RCMTs

Do not include:





Banknotes and coin exchanged with the Federal Reserve or other supplier for maintaining cash
inventory or any other exchanges on your institutions' own account
Cash withdrawals at ATM terminals
Cash deposits made at remote currency management terminals
Transactions that involved armored couriers withdrawing cash from these terminals or replenishing
cash in cash recyclers

► Example 1: A local retailer for which your institution provides banking services used an armored
courier service to deposit $5,000 in cash and coin at your cash vault and to order $1,500 in various
denominations of cash straps and coin rolls to make change available in its store(s). In this example,
you would include 1 cash order for $1,500.
► Example 2: Your customer, a gas station, has installed a cash recycler provided by your institution
at one of its stores. In the evening, a gas station clerk deposited $500 in the cash recycler. The next
morning, another clerk withdrew $1,000 from the same recycler. In this example, you would report 1
withdrawal for $1,000.
1.c

Total ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, any ATM)
= 1.c.1 + 1.c.2
These include all cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution from any ATM, including
those at your institution's ATM terminals or "foreign" ATMs. A "foreign" ATM is an ATM operated by an
unaffiliated depository institution or ATM operator that is not sponsored by your institution.
Note: Please count only cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at any ATM terminal.
Include:


Your institution's prepaid, debit, and credit card account holders' ATM cash withdrawals at your
institution's ATMs (include cash advances from credit card accountholders)

► Example: Glen is a checking accountholder at your institution. Jennifer is not. Glen withdrew $100
cash from his checking account using your ATM on Monday and $200 using another institution's ATM
on Friday. Jennifer withdrew $400 from your ATM on Tuesday. In this example, you would report 2 ATM
withdrawals for a total of $300.
"On-us" ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, your
institution's ATM)
These are all cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution and at your institution's
ATM terminals. Include withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at fee-free ATM
networks in which your institution participates.
Note: Please count only withdrawals made from accounts at your institution and at your
institution's ATM terminals.
Include:


Your institution's prepaid, debit, and credit card accountholders' ATM cash withdrawals at
your institution's ATMs (include cash advances from credit card accountholders)

Do not include:




Withdrawals made from accounts at another institution
Withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at "foreign" ATMs
Non-withdrawal transactions made from accounts at your institution

► Example: Your customer used her Visa debit card to withdraw $200 from an ATM located
in a grocery store. The ATM is owned and operated by your institution. In this example, you
would report 1 transaction for $200.
"Foreign" ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, "foreign"
ATM)
A "foreign" ATM is any ATM not owned or operated by your institution.
These are all cash withdrawals made at other institutions' ATMs from accounts at your
institution.
Note: Please count only withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at ATM terminals
operated by other depository institutions or by ATM operators that are not sponsored by your
institution.

Include:



Your institution's prepaid, debit, and credit card accountholders' ATM cash withdrawals at
"foreign" ATMs (include cash advances from credit card accountholders)
Both domestic and cross-border transactions at ATM terminals operated by other
depository institutions or by ATM operators that are not sponsored by your institution

Do not include:




Any transactions at your institution's ATM terminals, regardless of who made them
(whether they hold an account at your institution)
Over-the-counter cash withdrawals
Non-withdrawal transactions

► Example: Your customer used her Visa debit card to withdraw $50 from an ATM located
in a grocery store. The ATM is owned and operated by another institution. In this example, you
would report 1 transaction for $50.
Total cash withdrawals from your institution (repeat item 1) = 2.a + 2.b
Repeat item 1 above. These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border cash withdrawals
made from accounts at your institution.
Include:






Do not include:







2.a

Noncash withdrawal transactions made from accounts at your institution
Withdrawals made from accounts at another institution
Deposit transactions
Teller vault activity
Convenience checks
Balance transfers
Other non-withdrawal transactions (e.g., inquiries, statement print-outs, purchases of stamps, tickets)
From consumer accounts
These include all consumer deposit account cash withdrawals. Please see the GENERAL
TERMINOLOGY section above for the definition of consumer accounts.
Include:



Consumer or prepaid account withdrawals
Consumer credit card cash advances

Do not include:


Business/government account withdrawals

► Example: Your consumer accountholder withdrew $250 in cash at an ATM. In this example, you
would report 1 withdrawal of $250.
2.b

From business/government accounts
These include all business/government account cash withdrawals. Please include small business
accounts under business/government accounts. Please see the GENERAL TERMINOLOGY section
above for the definition of business/government accounts.
Include:



Cash withdrawals made on a debit or prepaid card linked to a business/government account
Business/government credit card cash advances

Do not include:


Consumer account withdrawals

► Example: Your small business accountholder, a restaurant owner, withdrew $500 in cash over the
counter at one of your institution's branches. In this example, you would report 1 withdrawal of $500.

Total ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, any ATM) (repeat item 1.c)
= 3.a + 3.b
Repeat item 1.c above. These are cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution from any ATM,
including those at your institution's ATM terminals or "foreign" ATMs. A "foreign" ATM is an ATM operated by
an unaffiliated depository institution or ATM operator that is not sponsored by your institution.
Note: Please count only cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution at any ATM.
Include:



Your institution's prepaid and debit card accountholders' ATM cash withdrawals at any ATM
Cash advances from credit cards at ATM terminals

Do not include:







Withdrawals by another institution's accountholders at your institution's ATMs
Deposit transactions
RCMT withdrawals
Teller vault activity
Over-the-counter cash withdrawals
Other non-withdrawal transactions (e.g., inquiries, statement print-outs, purchases of stamps, tickets)

► Example: Glen is a checking accountholder at your institution, and Jennifer is not. Glen withdrew $100
cash from his checking account using your ATM on Monday and $200 using another institution's ATM on
Friday. Jennifer withdrew $400 from your ATM on Tuesday. In this example, you would report 2 withdrawals
for a total of $300.
3.a

Domestic ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, any ATM in the
U.S.)
These are cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution from any ATM located in the U.S.
(i.e., ATMs located in the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories).
Include:


All cash withdrawals on your institution's accounts from any ATM located in the U.S.

Do not include:


Cash withdrawals on your institution's accounts from any ATM located outside the U.S.

Cross-border ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, any ATM
outside the U.S.)
These are cash withdrawals made from accounts at your institution from any ATM located outside the
U.S.
Include:


All cash withdrawals on your institution's accounts from any ATM located outside the U.S.

Do not include:


Cash withdrawals on your institution's accounts from any ATM located in the U.S.

► Example: Sam, John, and Jenny are checking accountholders at your institution. Sam withdrew
$100 in cash at one of your institution's ATMs located in New York. John withdrew $150 in cash at
another institution's ATM located in Chicago. Jenny withdrew $200 in cash at another institution's ATM
located in Canada. In this example, you would report 1 withdrawal for $200.
Third-party fraudulent ATM cash withdrawals (your institution's accountholder, any ATM)
These are all cleared and settled ATM cash withdrawals that were not authorized by your institution's
accountholders (third-party fraud).
Include:


All cleared and settled third-party fraudulent ATM withdrawal transactions before any recoveries or
chargebacks (debit, prepaid ATM cash withdrawals and credit card cash advances) (i.e., regardless
of whether a loss is incurred)

Do not include:






Fraud prevented by declining a transaction
Fraud committed by a valid accountholder (first-party fraud)
Fraudulent withdrawals at your institution's ATMs that were made by another institution's accountholders
Deposit transactions
Unauthorized non-withdrawal transactions at an ATM

► Example 1: Your accountholder's debit card was stolen by a perpetrator who watched her enter her PIN
at the point of sale. The perpetrator used the card and PIN to make a one-time $200 ATM withdrawal. The
next day, the perpetrator tried to withdraw $500 from another ATM. Your accountholder had already reported
the previous fraudulent activity and a hold had been put on their account, so the perpetrator was not able to
withdraw any funds. In this example, you would report 1 transaction for $200.
► Example 2: Your accountholder claimed that a perpetrator stole her debit card and used it to withdraw
$100 from an ATM. However, an investigation by your institution determined the claim to be false, as the
money was actually withdrawn by your accountholder. Since this transaction is an example of first-party fraud
(false claim of fraud), you would not include it in item 4 above.

Alternative Payment Initiation Methods

This section covers all cleared and settled domestic and cross-border online or mobile bill payments and person-toperson (P2P) transfers originated by your institution's consumer accountholders, including third-party fraudulent P2P
transfer originations. Third-party fraudulent P2P transfer originations are cleared and settled P2P transfer originations
that a third-party originated without the authorization, agreement, or voluntary assistance of an authorized
accountholder or cardholder with the intent to deceive for personal gain.

GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Your institution
"Your institution" refers to the participating depository institution at its highest organizational level (i.e., holding
company, if applicable), including all affiliates. Only report data associated with your institution's U.S. domiciled
accounts (i.e., those accounts located within the 50 U.S. states, D.C., or U.S. territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico,
or U.S. Virgin Islands), including both domestic and cross-border transactions.
Third-party fraud
The Federal Reserve Payments Study has identified a measure of fraud that can be described as cleared and settled
third-party fraudulent transactions. This measure is not a loss-of-funds measure, nor is it a measure of fraud
attempts; rather, it is a measure of the extent to which third parties who are not authorized to conduct transactions
are able to penetrate the payment system and affect settlement between depository institutions, or create a book
transfer of funds if the transaction happens within one institution. The definition includes third-party fraud with all
types of outcomes that may or may not include a loss to various entities, but constitutes a fraud attempt that manages
to create a funds transfer, if only temporary. The definition is depicted below within the hierarchy of fraud attempts
visible to your institution. The definition of fraud in this study is highlighted in yellow to show that cleared and settled
third-party fraud includes at least six different categories of fraud outcomes.

SURVEY ITEMS
Did your institution offer online or mobile consumer bill payments during calendar year
2022?
These include online and mobile bill payment transactions initiated through your institution's bill payment
platform. If your answer to this question is "No," please report "0" for item 2 below.

Include:


All online and mobile bill payment transactions paid from consumer accounts at your institution and
initiated through your institution's website (including mobile browser), mobile application, or an SMS/text
message

Do not include:




Payments made through a biller's website
Person-to-person transfers (e.g., Zelle) reported in items 3.a and 4 below
All online and mobile bill payment transactions paid from business/government accounts at your institution
and initiated through a web browser (including a mobile browser), a mobile application, or an SMS/text
message

► Example: Your accountholder paid his utility bill through his PC by initiating a payment from his account
via your institution's website. Another accountholder paid his rent by initiating a payment from his account via
your institution's website using his smartphone. A third accountholder paid his rent by initiating a payment via
your institution's mobile application rather than your institution's website. Any one of these examples would
result in a "Yes" response to this question.
Total online or mobile bill payment transactions initiated by your institution's consumer
accountholders
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border online and mobile consumer bill payment
transactions initiated through your institution's bill payment platform. If your answer is "No" to item 1 above,
please report "0" here.
Include:


Do not include:




► Example: Your accountholder paid her $50 utility bill through her PC by initiating a payment from her
account via your institution's website. Another accountholder paid his rent of $1,500 by initiating a payment
from his account via your institution's website using his smartphone. A third accountholder paid his rent of
$2,000 by initiating a payment via your institution's mobile application rather than your institution's website. In
this example you would report 3 transactions for $3,550.
Did your institution offer an online or mobile person-to-person (P2P) funds transfer
system during calendar year 2022?
These include all online, mobile, and SMS/text message funds transfer transactions from person to person
(P2P). If your answer is "No," please report "Not applicable" for item 3.a and "0" for items 4 and 5 below.
Include:


Person-to-person transfers initiated through your institution's website (including mobile browser), mobile
application, or an SMS/text message. Include Zelle and Popmoney P2P transfers if they are initiated
through your institution's online application

Do not include:






Business/government-to-person
Transfers made from an external party's website including Venmo, Popmoney, and Zelle P2P transfers if
they are initiated through an external party's online application
Transfers from small business accounts to consumer accounts
Online and mobile bill payment transactions initiated through your institution's bill payment platform
P2P transfers received from an accountholder at another institution

► Example: Your accountholder initiated a payment from his account to another person's account at another
institution via Zelle offered through the mobile version of your institution's website. Another accountholder at
your institution initiated a payment from his account to another person's account at another institution via
Popmoney on your institution's mobile application. Both of these examples would result in a "Yes" response to
this question.
3.a If the answer is "Yes" to item 3 above, did your institution offer an immediate
payments option via an online or mobile person-to-person (P2P) funds transfer
system during calendar year 2022?
Immediate payments are funds transfers sent with real-time or near-real-time availability to the recipient
(30 minutes or less). If the answer to this question is "No," please enter "0" for number
Total online or mobile person-to-person (P2P) transfer originations
These include all cleared and settled, domestic and cross-border person-to-person transfers originated by your
institution's consumer account holders and initiated via your institution's website, mobile application, or an
SMS/text message to another consumer account. If your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0"
here.
Include:


P2P transfer originations made from consumer accounts at your institution and initiated via your
institution's website or mobile application (include transfer originations made through digital payments
network partners, e.g., Zelle, Visa Direct, or Mastercard Send, if applicable).

Do not include:






Business/government-to-person
Transfers made from an external party's website (e.g., PayPal, Venmo, or Popmoney)
Transfers from small business accounts to consumer accounts
Online and mobile bill payment transactions initiated through your institution's bill payment platform
P2P transfers received from an accountholder at another institution

► Example: Your accountholder, Jenny, initiated a $200 payment from her account to another person's
account at another institution through your institution's mobile application on her tablet by entering the
recipient's phone number or e-mail address. Jenny then initiated another payment for $50 from her account to
another person's account at your institution through your institution's mobile application. Jenny then initiated a
payment of $75 to another friend via Venmo. In this example, you would report 2 transactions for $250.
Third-party fraudulent online or mobile person-to-person (P2P) transfer originations
These include all cleared and settled third-party fraudulent person-to-person transfers originated from your
institution's consumer account and initiated via your institution's website, mobile application, or an SMS/text
message to another consumer account. If your answer is "No" to item 3 above, please report "0" here.
Include:


Cleared and settled third-party fraudulent person-to-person transfers initiated through your institution's
website (including a mobile browser), mobile application, or an SMS/text message (i.e., regardless of
whether a loss is incurred). Include fraudulent Zelle and Popmoney P2P transfers if they are initiated
through your institution's online application

Do not include:






Fraudulent business/government-to-person
Fraudulent transfers made from an external party's website, including Venmo, Popmoney, and Zelle P2P
transfers if they are initiated through an external party's online application
Fraudulent transfers from small business accounts to consumer accounts
Any fraudulent bill payment transactions initiated through your institution's bill payment platform
Fraudulent P2P transfers received from an accountholder at another institution

► Example: John is an accountholder at your institution. His account was hacked. The perpetrator used
Zelle through your institution's mobile application and paid his own account, also at your institution, $100. He
then initiated a second payment of $200 from John's account to pay another person's account at another
institution using Zelle as before. The next day, the perpetrator attempted to initiate a third payment of $300
from John's account to pay his own account at your institution via Zelle on your institution's mobile application.
However, John had already alerted your institution to the previous fraudulent activity and a hold had been put
on his account, so the funds were never made available to the perpetrator. In this example you would report 2
transactions for $300.

File Type	application/pdf
File Modified	2025-02-20
File Created	2024-09-30