Special Points of Interest:

1 Strategic Partnership

2 A Profile of eBilling

3 Mobile

4 Agency Collections Expense 

Statement

5 Indian Health Service 

Success Story 

6 Consolidation of General Lockbox 

Network Services

7 Electronic Check Processing 

Enhancements & Announcement of 

Financial Agent Selection Process

8 Card Acquiring Service Updates 

9 OTCnet Updates 

Revenue 

Collections 

Management

Fall 2019

Collections 

Chronicle

 News You Can Use

Modernizing

Revenue

Collections

A Focus

on Strategic

Partnership
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Begin Your

Strategic

Partnership

Today!

Did you know the Agency Relationship Management (ARM) 

Division can create a customized outline of recommendations 

to increase your electronically initiated transactions? Those 

recommendations are the core components of the Strategic 

Cash Management Agreement (SCMA). ARM will analyze 

your agency’s entire collection portfolio, provide you with a 

snapshot of your transactional data, and propose service 

solutions that can be strategically implemented to improve 

financial management practices and enhance your customer 

experience.

To understand if and how agencies are benefitting from 

SCMAs, ARM partnered with Forrester Consulting to conduct 

an independent review of our SCMA process.

Forrester gathered feedback through 1-on-1 interviews with 

our recent SCMA partnership agencies. Based upon feedback 

from the Forrester review, agencies stated that SCMAs were a 

benefit to their agency in many ways, such as:

• Providing leadership with a consolidated document

that can be used to support tactical plans and current

modernization initiatives

• Improving communication channels with RCM and its

program teams

• Collecting payments electronically allows employees to

focus on mission essential functions

As a result of our strategic partnerships, the U.S. Treasury’s 

non-tax electronically initiated collection rate has increased 

from 55% in 2014 to 85% in 2018.

To begin a strategic partnership with us today, please contact 

arm@fiscal.treasury.gov and request a SCMA for your agency. 

We look forward to partnering with you soon!

COMING SOON....SINGLE TOUCH POINT

Single Touch Point is a Revenue Collections Management 

(RCM) initiative to transition reporting from multiple collections 

systems, services, and programs to the Collections Information 

Repository (CIR) to meet agency and partner collections 

research, accounting, and reconcilement needs.

RCM will be conducting Focus Group sessions to identify the 

benefits to agencies, as well as best-use-cases. 

Interested in participating in the Single Touch Point Focus 

Group? 

Email us at arm@fiscal.treasury.gov
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A Profile

of

eBilling

Pay.gov continues to evolve to meet the needs of government 

agencies by offering innovative and agile products and services. 

The eBilling service is a recent example of this commitment. 

Various agencies have adopted eBilling to modernize and 

streamline their revenue collections.

Today we share with you the story of how the National Park Service 

(NPS) transformed their presence on Pay.gov by transitioning from 

the Forms service to the eBilling service. NPS collects money for 

many types of services/fees – special use permits, commercial use 

authorization, and franchise fees. They currently have over 350 

Pay.gov applications serving a wide variety of customers from the 

public to large companies - both international and domestic. NPS 

is decentralized and individual parks are responsible for sending 

their own invoices.

NPS decided eBilling was the right fit because the creation of eBills 

using Pay.gov is very easy for staff even when used infrequently 

in a seasonal staff environment. eBilling allows funds collected for 

various services to be easily separated, and has been a real benefit 

to the parks as it improves back-end reconciliation.

Customers also prefer eBilling because there are fewer touchpoints 

to payment and they have greater assurance that they are paying 

the right amount for the correct service. For even greater efficiency, 

eBilling allows customers to enroll in automatic bill payment.

Over 40% of new NPS Pay.gov implementations are using the 

eBilling service and continue to see success in their collections. 

According to the NPS Pay.gov Point of Contact, “Overall, parks 

LOVE eBilling. It’s simple, it’s quick, it’s able to handle 1-100 bills, 

does not take staff time to create/send, and payers (non-tech, 

high-tech) can pay simply without setting up an account. This is a 

perfect product for NPS and its customers/staff. THANKS”.

Pay.gov offers eBilling solutions for a variety of collection needs. 

Want to learn more? Please feel free to reach out to us at 

Pay.gov@fiscal.treasury.gov for additional information or any 

questions you may have regarding our different service options. 

We are also offering a Pay.gov Overview in November 2019 and 

eBilling will be one of the topics. To register for the November 

training, please click HERE.
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Since 2016, the RCM Mobile Program has provided 

tools for agencies and the public to accept and pay 

funds using mobile devices. 

Agency-managed apps allow for point-of-sale 

collections that include debit/credit card, Apple Pay, 

Google Pay, as well as the ability to deposit paper 

checks from your phone or tablet! 

Our Public App allows us to create an app for your 

agency that your customers can download from the 

Apple and Google Play stores onto their devices and 

easily make payments to your agency. As of June 2019, 

there were 61 live apps and 23 apps in development 

across 11 agencies. So far in FY19 the Mobile Program 

has collected over $21million for federal agencies. 

If you would like to set up a meeting to learn more 

about the Mobile Program, please send an email to 

arm@fiscal.treasury.gov

Mobile
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Agency Collections Expense Statement

ACES

USING THE REPORT 

AND UNDERSTANDING COST INCURRED 

Annually, the Agency Relationship Management (ARM) Division 

distributes the Agency Collections Expense Statement (ACES) 

report to agency CFOs and their agency liaisons. The ACES 

report shows the costs incurred by the Bureau of the Fiscal 

Service to perform collections and depositary services on 

behalf of federal agencies. The calculations shown in the ACES 

reports are based on the volume of transactions and the type 

of collection processed. The ACES report shows the agency’s 

collections activity for each Agency Location Code (ALC) and 

rolls that information up to bureau and department level totals. 

Expenses on the ACES show the relative cost to use various 

Fiscal Service collections programs, which helps the Fiscal 

Service and agencies collaborate to drive down Government 

costs while finding suitable services for agency needs. For 

example, the ACES can build awareness of the possible savings 

to the Government when agencies convert paper-based 

transactions to electronic collection mechanisms.

The report contains the following workbook tabs:

TAB 1 :: COLLECTION DATA BY BUREAU

This tab shows cost and unit cost by collection program by 

bureau. If the agency is not subdivided by bureaus, then the 

tab shows total cost and unit cost by collection program.

TAB 2 :: BUREAU SUMMARY

This tab shows cost by bureau for all collection programs 

combined.

TAB 3 :: AGENCY LOCATION CODE SUMMARY

The tab shows total unit cost by ALC, grouped within each 

bureau. The summary also shows all the ALCs assigned 

to an agency.

TAB 4 :: AND BEYOND

These tabs show each bureau’s metrics, followed by the 

ALC-level breakdown for that bureau. For agencies not 

subdivided by bureaus, this summary will be agency-wide. 

Costs are derived from both indirect and direct expenses. Direct 

expenses are those costs which can be directly attributable to a 

specific agency. Indirect expenses are system-wide or blended 

costs that all agency customers incur for using a given collection 

program. Collection program costs are end-to-end, with the 

cost of funds being captured from point of sale all the way to 

settlement.

If you have any questions regarding your agency collection 

expenses and how you can increase savings for the Government, 

please send an email to arm@fiscal.treasury.gov
The Indian Health Service in Bemidji, Minnesota has seen a 

steady climb in electronic payment conversion percentages. At 

the end of FY17, the electronic conversion percentage by item 

was 52% and 89% by dollar. Mid-year FY19, Bemidji’s electronic 

conversion percentage increased to 77% by item and 99% by 

dollar. There are several reasons that the electronic percentages 

continue to climb, some of which include:

• Under the program, commercial healthcare

insurance payments were identified and converted to

electronic payments including the related EDI

835 remittance information

• Check payments (including pharmacy payments)

were directed to the PNC lockbox

• The agency business office identified the check

payments and is working with PNC’s electronic

conversion onboarding team to enroll electronic

payments and remittances

• This effort was defined as a task by the agency’s

Business Office Managers (BOM)

• The Area Financial and Business Office leadership

supported the effort

• Regularly scheduled onboarding calls were

conducted with PNC

• 89 payer enrollments completed since 2017

• Structured onboarding strategy and planning keeps

everyone on task

• One point of contact to circulate all forms and online

authorization requirements

• Closely coordinated communication with the

Finance and Business Office

Agency Update:

Currently, all Indian Health third party payments are 

deposited through the Treasury Program. The total amount 

collected electronically for the agency in FY17 was $840,011,349 

– representing 85% of all payments received. In FY18, the

agency’s electronic collection jumped to $1,205,088,598 -

representing 89% of total payments.

The Area Office efforts, in addition to PNC lockbox reviews, 

will be conducted in order to convert all applicable remaining 

paper payments. The goal is to begin to consolidate lockboxes 

in 2021 from 83 facility boxes to a shared Area box which would 

decrease the lockboxes from 83 to potentially 10.

Training Opportunities

The Fiscal Service offers financial education and support to 

federal employees and agency customers through customer 

forums, in-person and web-based training sessions, and 

conferences. These are valuable opportunities for us to work 

together to improve the way the federal government manages 

its finances and delivers administrative and operational services. 

Visit our training and events websites to register for an upcoming 

event or training session.

Can’t Miss this!

Collections Information Repository Upcoming Webinars

The Collections Information Repository (CIR) will be hosting 

webinars that will provide federal agencies with a highlevel overview of the CIR Application, the data available, file 

transmission options, and tips and tricks for the top 5 reports.

Webinar Dates: 

Thursday, October 17, 2019 @ 10:00am and 2:00pm (ET) 

Thursday, October 24, 2019 @ 10:00am and 2:00pm (ET)

If you are interested in participating, be sure to sign up using 

the Registration Page.

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The Indian Health

Service Electronic

Payment

Conversion

Success Story
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The General Lockbox Network (GLN) is a check collection and 

remittance processing service. The GLN program area offers retail 

and wholesale lockbox services. The Fiscal Service launched 

a Financial Agent Selection Process (FASP) on June 3, 2016 to 

select a new Financial Agent (FA) to consolidate general lockbox 

operations, streamline business processes, offer full redundancy, 

and reduce overall operations costs. The consolidation of the 

lockbox services from three financial agents to one financial agent 

began with the signing of the new Financial Agency Agreement 

with U.S. Bank on April 3, 2017 and with the first transition of 

lockboxes in November 2017.

The transition involved the expansion of the existing U.S. Bank 

lockbox site in St. Louis, MO and the build out of a new lockbox 

facility in Portland, OR. The lockbox services are now redundant 

between the two processing locations. These two facilities have 

been supplied with new equipment to provide modernized image 

capture capabilities. The transition required close collaboration 

between the financial agent, the transitioning federal agency, and 

multiple Fiscal Service program areas such as General Lockbox 

Network (GLN), Electronic Check Processing (ECP), Debit 

Gateway (DG), and Collections Information Repository (CIR). GLN 

has successfully completed the migration of 66 lockboxes from 

Bank of America and Citibank to U.S. Bank as of July 1, 2019.

Simultaneously with the GLN transition of lockboxes, the 

Integrated Credit Card (ICC) processing module was implemented 

on the financial agent’s platform for agencies processing credit 

cards at the lockbox site. The new module combines image 

capture of the credit card coupon, along with data entry and the 

authorization process through Pay.gov’s TCS (Trusted Collection 

Service) platform in a single pass. The new process is more 

efficient, requires less paper handling, and results in fewer out 

of balance conditions. This single pass approach will allow the 

financial agent to get credit card payments processed faster. 

Implementation of ICC completed June 13, 2019 within the GLN 

transition timeline.

CONSOLIDATION OF GENERAL

LOCKBOX NETWORK SERVICES

ST. LO

IUS

LANDPORT
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Electronic Check

Processing

Enhancements

& Announcement

of Financial Agent

Selection Process

Electronic Check Processing (ECP) is a systematic method used 

to convert paper checks into Automated Clearing House (ACH) 

transactions, or Check21 items, via a lockbox network or a mobile 

application. ECP is a web-based client-facing application. ECP is 

used by federal government agencies and their financial agents to 

view and research transactions.

In the spring of 2019, ECP completed the following enhancements:

• Migrated the application from the Struts framework to the selected

Spring framework to continue to actively maintain security and

reduce vulnerabilities

• Implementation of a data partitioning solution that realigns and

stores ECP data in a relational manner in preparation for an

upcoming archiving release

On May 3, 2019, ECP also launched its Financial Agent Selection 

Process (FASP) process seeking applications from qualified financial 

institutions to serve as a financial agent for the application. The 

selected financial agent will provide services to develop, enhance, 

operate, and maintain the federal government’s ECP revenue 

collection system.

Federal agencies and Treasury’s lockbox financial agents use the 

ECP application to store and retrieve captured images and data on 

checks and remittance items to facilitate paper check processing 

and to provide detail and summary data of items processed at the 

lockboxes to downstream reporting. The FASP process is currently 

underway and expected to conclude by the end of the calendar year.
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Webinar Series

The Card Acquiring Service (CAS) has begun hosting its series 

of webinars for customer agencies to explore essential topics 

regarding the CAS card rules. Mandatory employee training credit 

opportunities will be available for Fiscal Service employees and 

agency participants. Agencies should work with their internal 

Training Coordinator to receive credit for training courses 

completed. These are exciting opportunities for agencies to learn 

more about CAS, collections, and processes.

All webinars will be recorded and posted to the CAS website. 

Past topics and upcoming webinars are below. 

CAS 101: Policies and Procedures – June 2019 

CAS Security Posture and Plastic Card Industry (PCI) 

Compliance – July 2019 

Reconciliation: iQ to the Collections Information 

Repository (CIR) – September 2019 

Reconciliation (Part 2): Pay.gov to CIR – October 2019 

Agency Participation Policies – November 2019

Look for information on registration, times, and topics on the 

ARM and CAS websites. If you have any card rule-related 

topics or questions that you would like discussed during the 

series, please contact the CAS Agency Outreach mailbox: 

CardAcquiringService@fiscal.treasury.gov.

Points of Contact: Who is Your Card Servicing 

Account Authorizing Official?

In completing a CAS Application (CASA) to obtain a card 

servicing account, several points of contact (POC) are requested. 

Currently, CAS manages three (3) POC for each agency’s card 

servicing account. CAS POC types include Chain, Merchant 

Identifier (MID), and Billing. Each contact type has specific 

roles and responsibilities that outline how to properly assist and 

educate agency personnel on CAS program updates.

As the CAS program continues to embark on agency-facing 

endeavors, we want to ensure our communications are circulated 

amongst the agency’s supervisory-level contacts. During the 

onboarding process, CAS will now be obtaining an Authorizing 

Official (AO) for each card servicing account. The roles and 

responsibilities of the AO are specified as follows:

Authorizing Official (AO) – The AO is a Supervisor or equivalent 

from the applying Federal Program Agency (FPA). During the 

onboarding process, the AO sanctions the approval of any card 

servicing account and cannot be the submitter of the CASA. 

If the CASA applicant is a fully integrated contractor, the AO is 

still required to be a Supervisor or equivalent employed by the 

FPA. When provided, the AO should disseminate program-related 

information and/or communications to agency representatives 

alike. Having the proper point of contact structure will allow us 

to efficiently communicate with our customers. Capturing the AO 

provides CAS with access to agency stakeholders who can assist 

us with account management.

To ensure CAS has the most up-to-date POC information for your 

agency, please take the time to review your CAS program contact 

types at least once annually. If contacts change at your agency, 

it is important that this is communicated to CAS so that your 

account can be updated accordingly. Questions regarding POC 

management expectations or changes should be sent via email 

to: CardAcquiringService@fiscal.treasury.gov.

What is iQ and how do I Enroll?

iQ is a robust, web-based reporting tool used by merchants 

to access card processing data. It’s a comprehensive solution 

providing actionable insights to transaction data broken down by 

card types, gift transactions, chargebacks, and more.

Worldpay serves as the merchant processor for card transactions 

within the CAS program and hosts the iQ portal used by agencies 

to manage their card accounts. So how does an agency enroll 

in iQ?

Worldpay from FIS processes the enrollments for iQ. Below 

are the three (3) steps needed to enroll a user in IQ during the 

initiation of a card servicing account. 

1. Complete a CASA - CAS has an onboarding process

requiring our FPAs to complete a CASA for approval prior to

the card servicing account being created by Worldpay.

2. Card Serving Account Creation - Worldpay creates card

servicing account(s) based on information supplied within the

CASA

3. Vantiv IQ Enrollment – A CASA requests four (4) POC types:

Authorizing Official, Chain, MID, and Billing.

In the IQ portal, the Chain level POC(s) are afforded security 

privileges to establish usability and reporting functionality to 

MID users. Interactive and self-service training resources are 

provided to all enrollees to assist with system functionality and 

ease-of-use.

To learn more about iQ, please look for the monthly training 

opportunities on the ARM and CAS websites or contact the CAS 

Agency Outreach mailbox: 

CardAcquiringService@fiscal.treasury.gov.

Data Edge is here

Worldpay from FIS now offers an advanced analytics solution, 

DataEdge. DataEdge, powered by Vivid Data EngineTM, is a 

web-based, single sign-on business intelligence tool offered 

through Worldpay’s iQ portal. DataEdge opens the door to 

easily access data queries and insights tied to credit and 

debit card portfolios- viewed through a single dashboard. 

This tool provides report builder capabilities and modules 

that can uncover cost saving opportunities, authorization 

decline rates, historic sales trends, etc.

To learn more about the DataEdge tool, please contact the 

CAS Agency Outreach mailbox at 

CardAcquiringService@scal.treasury.gov.

Card Acquiring Service Updates

8
New Payment Options

The OTCnet Team is excited to announce two 

new payment options: Card Processing for credit/

debit cards and a Self-Service Kiosk Webservice 

to enable users to make self-service payments.

The Kiosk Webservice provides the capability for 

agency customers to utilize a Point-of-Sale (POS) 

system to make credit/debit card payments independently of the 

cashier counter and reconcile these payments in OTCnet. When 

combined with the other OTC Webservice(s), an agency can 

upload cash, check, and card transactional data through OTCnet.

The new Kiosk Webservice makes OTCnet the 

only one-stop-shop payment option for agency 

over-the-counter collection needs! OTCnet 

now seamlessly offers cash, check, and card 

processing without the need to access multiple 

payment applications.

This new service is open to agencies who are 

currently using a self-service kiosk for collection 

activities, developing a self-service kiosk, or are 

interested in getting started with a self-service 

kiosk. Click HERE to learn more about the OTC 

Kiosk.

Introducing Google Chrome Compatibility in 

Release 3.0.1!

In November 2019, OTCnet Release 3.0.1 will introduce support 

for Google Chrome. Google Chrome brings several benefits to 

agencies and users, specifically by minimizing system, browser, 

and security configuration requirements.

Google Chrome also offers a faster, more secure, and more 

user-friendly browsing experience over existing solutions, and 

provides quicker updates to ensure these advantages are 

maintained. To use Google Chrome with OTCnet, a new version 

of the OTCnet Local Bridge (OLB) will be required.

Card Processing 

Coming to OTCnet in 

Release 3.0.2!

In January 2020, OTCnet Release 

3.0.2 will introduce an Integrated 

Solution for Card Processing to 

enable agencies to accept Visa, 

Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. The Integrated 

Solution will enable the Fiscal Service to offer the first 

one-stopshop for agency over-the-counter collection needs, 

seamlessly offering cash, check, and card processing without 

needing to access multiple applications.

By offering the Integrated Solution, the Fiscal Service will enable 

agencies to increase their collection potential by reaching more 

customers, more efficiently. Agencies will also have access to 

24/7 customer support and an extensive training library. Also, in 

the future, the Fiscal Service will be incorporating reporting for all 

payment types within OTCnet. To learn more, visit the new Card 

Processing Getting Started page HERE.

If you are interested in adding the Self-Service Kiosk or Card 

Processing to your existing payment portfolio, please contact the 

OTCnet Deployment Team at 703-377-5586 or 

fiscalservice.otcdeployment@citi.com.

Check Processing Reminder

As a reminder, the Fiscal Service requests that all eligible US 

checks be processed and settled electronically within the OTCnet 

Application. OTCnet’s Check Processing functionality allows 

agencies to electronically convert domestic paper checks to 

digital images for presentment in an online (internet connectivity) 

or offline (no internet connectivity) mode.

OTCnet Check Processing eliminates the need to travel to a 

bank for check deposit, minimizes foot traffic in your agency’s 

locations, and streamlines deposit reporting on a single platform 

integrated with Treasury reporting requirements. Additionally, 

Check Processing eliminates the need for costly carriers, 

armored car services, or postage required to mail checks. If your 

agency receives minimal U.S. domestic checks each month and 

cannot convert to OTCnet Check Capture, the Fiscal Service 

recommends that you use one of the following options:

• Bank ATMs (Most Preferred) – Banks are looking to minimize

foot traffic at their locations. To address this, agencies should

use the bank ATM instead of going to the bank teller when

depositing U.S. checks.

• Mobile – Through the Fiscal Service’s Electronic Check

Processing (ECP) program, agencies can use ECP’s mobile

option to process checks. Please note that ECP is a separate

program from the OTCnet program.

• Consider a No Cash/No Check policy – A No Cash/No Check

policy allows your agency to discontinue accepting cash and/

or checks as forms of payment. Your agency will be able to

eliminate the need for costly carriers, armored car services,

Over The

Counter

Network

Updates

9
time wasted walking to the bank, and/or postage required to 

mail checks for the limited number of checks that are currently 

received.

For more information and to begin the transition to Check 

Processing, please contact the OTCnet Deployment Team at 

703-377-5586 or fiscalservice.otcdeployment@citi.com.

Updated OTCnet Website Layout

The Fiscal Service has recently updated the OTCnet website 

layout! All the content you are familiar with is still there, now with 

Getting Started pages for each service offered by OTCnet and a 

re-designed Resources page. Below, we have included links to 

the new pages to help guide you through the updated website.

• Getting Started Overview Page

• Getting Started with Check Processing

• Getting Started with Deposit Processing

• Getting Started with Card Processing

• Getting Started with the Self-Service Kiosk

• OTCnet Resources Page

Please note that, though the OTCnet webpage has been 

redesigned, the OTCnet log-in page remains unchanged.

Voucher Delay Fees

As part of the TGA OTCnet program, questions are frequently 

asked about voucher delays and how they occur. Below are some 

of the answers to questions that we receive on a recurring basis.

What are Voucher Delays?

• The Fiscal Service will charge the TGA financial institution

a voucher delay fee for the “value of funds” if the OTCnet

voucher is not processed timely

• The Fiscal Service requires the bank to process the voucher

the same day funds are received from the federal agency

• Voucher Delay fees occur when there is a difference between

the date a voucher is created and the date the voucher is

deposited and confirmed in OTCnet

• The Treasury Financial Manual states that an agency must

date a deposit voucher the same date they will deposit it with 

the financial institution so that the financial institution can also 

confirm on that date

What can be done to Eliminate Voucher Delay 

Fees?

• After thorough research we have found that most voucher

delays are caused by factors outside the financial institution’s

control. Often, the federal agency is depositing later than the

deposit voucher is entered into OTCnet.

• A few best practices for various forms of deposit options are

as follows:

- If transporting the deposits in person, ensure you

always make the deposit on the same day as the

deposit voucher is created in OTCnet. This allows the

financial institution to confirm the voucher in OTCnet

that day.

- If depositing via a night drop, create the deposit

voucher in OTCnet with the next business day’s date

(include copy in night deposit bag).

- If transporting the deposits via an armored courier,

create the deposit voucher in OTCnet with the date the

deposit will arrive at the financial institution. Confirm

pick up and drop off dates with courier.

- If you are using a Smart Safe, create the deposit

voucher in OTCnet with the date the funds are

deposited in the safe.

If you have additional questions about voucher delays, 

below is contact information for the two teams that are 

engaged in the processing and handling of deposits.

• Contact OTCnet Customer Service for general questions

on OTCnet deposits (Phone: 866-945-7920 or Email

Fiscalservice.OTCChannel@citi.com).

• Contact the TGA Support Team for information on OTC TGA

collections including set up of TGA network depositaries

(Phone: 866-771-1842, Option #1, or

Email STLS.TGA.Support@stls.frb.org).

CONTACT US

For information about RCM’s programs and services, please contact your Agency Relationship Manager or the Agency Relationship 

Management (ARM) Division via the ARM inbox: arm@fiscal.treasury.gov 

For a complete listing of Revenue Collections Management programs and services, please click HERE!

Facebook: @FiscalService

Twitter: @FiscalService

YouTube: Fiscal Service

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