IN THIS ISSUE

2 Explore New Solutions and 

Changes with OTCnet

3 Coming Soon to OTCnet

4 Debit Gateway 101

5 Keeping up with the 

Card Acquiring Service

7 Discover Solutions 

with OTCnet

8 e-Commerce at 

a Glance 

9 Convenient, Simple, 

Secure: OLBP easy steps

Revenue 

Collections 

Management

Winter 2022

LEAD. TRANSFORM. DELIVER.
 Our goal is to transition 

all depositing agencies to an 

electronic solution

Fiscal Service has a strategic objective to move collections from paper 

processes to electronic solutions to ensure we are meeting the needs of our 

customer agencies while maintaining operational stability in federal revenue 

collection.

Financial Management Goal: Reduce the number of cash and check 

transactions flowing through the Treasury General Account (TGA) network by 

25% by 2025

We want to partner with you now, to explore electronic solutions and determine 

which will be the best fit for your customers.

Please contact:

Agency Relationship Management Division at ARM@fiscal.treasury.gov

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2

Take your Collections 

to the Next Level: 

OTCnet Payment 

Solutions Webinars 2023

Accelerate collection processes and 

grow your electronic payment options.

For a dynamic review of OTCnet's card 

and kiosk payment options.

These solutions empower agencies to invest in processes 

that are secure, customizable, and time-saving. 

Don’t miss your chance to sign up.

Explore New Solutions and Changes with OTCnet
3

In December 2022

Fiscal Service will be completing OTCnet’s 

domain migration. Please note that the domain 

will be updated from otcnet.fms.treas.gov to 

otcnet.for.fiscal.treasury.gov. 

Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are the preferred browsers 

as no additional action is needed. If your agency is using 

Internet Explorer 11, the new domain will need to be added 

to your Intranet Site Zone list and complete additional steps. 

Please note that Internet Explorer 11 was retired by Microsoft 

in June 2022. 

Learn How to Link with 

your PIV/CAC Credentials

All PIV/CAC (personal identification verification, common 

access card) holders need to link their credentials to 

OTCnet by March 31st, 2023. 

To get ahead of these security changes and expand your 

sign-in options, see the PIV/CAC Connection Guide for 

step-by-step instructions.

Benefits of linking your PIV or CAC card to your Fiscal Service 

SSO account include:

• Ensure continued OTCnet account access

• Additional OTCnet account security

• Ease of signing-in to all Fiscal Service applications 

with your PIV or CAC credentials

• Get ahead of security changes

• Additional sign-in option for the OTCnet application

We thank you for supporting our initiatives to 

improve collection processing and are looking forward 

to continuing to develop our partnership. To request for 

assistance, contact the Deployment Team at 

Fiscalservice.otcdeployment@citi.com or 703.377.5586.

Coming Soon to OTCnet

You can use your PIV (personal identification verification) or 

CAC (common access card) credentials to log in to OTCnet? 

The future of password-free log-in is here. With your PIV or 

CAC inserted into your workstation, you can log in to OTCnet 

with a single click! 

As part of a government-wide security requirement to 

transition to multi-factor authentication, the Bureau of the 

Fiscal Service is requiring that all OTCnet users link their 

PIV or credentials to their Fiscal Service Single Sign-On 

account by March 31st,2023. Learn more about the security 

requirement on the PIV/CAC information page.
4

Did you know that when a government agency 

or Treasury lockbox financial agent processes a paper 

check that the check is settled through the Debit 

Gateway? 

The Debit Gateway settles all check image 

transactions received through the Electronic 

Check Processing (ECP) and Over the Counter Network 

(OTCnet).

Whenever possible, Debit Gateway converts the check 

images received to less expensive and more efficient 

automated clearing house (ACH) debits. 

Why is it beneficial to 

convert your check 

settlement to ACH debit? 

• ACH debit settlement is preferred because the cost 

of ACH settlement is significantly lower per item. 

Settlement of electronic check images (Check 

21) incur an additional “cash letter” fee for a 

grouping of items. ACH debit is a fraction of the 

cost of check image settlement. When the Internal 

Revenue Service implemented ACH conversion, 

approximately $430,000 in savings annually were 

realized from the lower fees. 

The potential cost savings add up with over a hundred 

million transactions processed in the Debit Gateway 

in a fiscal year. If the volume of ACH conversion 

increased by just 10% it would be a potential 

savings of $496,911 for the federal government in 

fees alone. Almost half a million dollars 

of fees saved!

• Cost savings are also realized through reduced 

overhead charges and less contract labor 

associated with the manual research for check 

adjustments and return matching in the Federal 

Reserve System. Manual research for an 

adjustment takes a proportionally huge amount 

of resources to correct. Adjustment costs average 

$15 to $30 an item to correct. With 16,226 

Check Adjustment Cases in FY 2022, 

that is a potential overhead cost savings 

averaging $365,085. 

• ACH conversion reduces the volume of 

Non-Conforming Images (NCIs). In FY 2022 there 

were a total of 11,685 non-conforming item cases 

received. NCIs are images that fail Federal Reserve 

presentment standards and must be handled on 

an exception basis or returned to the source of 

deposit and corrected.

• There is also less risk of a financial institution 

rejecting check items due to poor quality 

standards of the check image. Meaning there are 

fewer settlement delays due to the manual process 

required to correct poor image quality.

• ACH conversion also has faster processing rates, 

because ACH has a smaller payment file size, 

allowing the Federal Reserve to process more 

payments at a faster rate. 

• Finally, use of the ACH Network to collect a check 

allows one more re-presentment opportunity if the 

original check is returned unpaid for Insufficient 

Funds or other reasons.

With all these benefits, is your 

agency set up for ACH debit 

conversion? 

• The only requirement is the agency must 

disclose to the checkwriter the possibility of 

conversion to ACH and application of other Nacha 

ACH Network Rules. 

• To find out more about how to convert to 

ACH conversion (pun-intended) contact your 

ECP (FiscalService.ECP@citi.com) or OTCnet 

(Fiscalservice.OTCChannel@citi.com) representative.

The Debit Gateway centralizes processing and settlement of electronic check and Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit transactions received from four agencies (Agency Direct) and 

three Revenue Collections Management (RCM) channels: Electronic Check Processing (ECP), Over the Counter Network (OTCnet) and Pay.gov.
5

Are Credit Cards the Only Option? 

What You Need to Know about 

Credit Cards and Alternate 

Payment Options for Processing 

Revenue Collections. 

Did you know credit card collections are the most 

expensive method of collecting public money? Credit 

card transactions incur interchange expenses which 

are borne by the Card Acquiring Service (CAS) program 

and are assessed as a rate of the transaction amount. 

Interchange fees range between 1.9%-3.0% (depending 

on the type and brand of credit card used), costing the 

government hundreds of millions of dollars annually. 

The average interchange rate in FY21 was 2.13%; most 

large-value credit card payments are on corporate 

procurement cards with rates between 2.5%-3.0% 

being common.

To reduce the cost to the taxpayer, Treasury offers 

other collection methods that are far less expensive for 

the government, at no cost to agencies. For example, 

Automated Clearing House (ACH) settlement unit costs 

are well under $1 per transaction. Even wire transfers 

cost only about $3. (Neither ACH nor Fedwire costs are 

assessed as a rate of transaction amount but a cost 

per transaction). 

As another alternative to credit cards, a much 

cheaper option are debit cards (both for card present 

transactions as well as card-not-present transactions 

through Pay.gov). The effective rate for debit card 

collections through CAS is only 0.45% (FY21). 

Fedwire and ACH Credit transactions are settled 

directly through Treasury routing numbers at the 

Federal Reserve. The Credit Gateway posts transactions, 

like Online Bill Payments, to agency accounts and 

sends agency deposit reporting information to the 

Fiscal Service’s Collections Information Repository 

(CIR). ACH Debit is another option typically offered 

through Pay.gov. Both Pay.gov and the Credit 

Gateway are free services to agencies and ACH is 

typically the cheapest form of payment for customers 

and the government. The ACH transaction limit is 

$99,999,999.99. 

Card Best Practices

Being able to accept card payments is essential for 

any business to ensure smooth operations. When 

accepting card payments, federal entities enter into 

an agreement with their customers where the agency 

provides goods or services to their customers in 

exchange for payment. For a safe and fast transaction 

process -- and to reduce the likelihood of payment 

disputes, fraudulent charges or chargebacks, fees and 

penalties from card networks or other potential issues 

-- federal entities must follow some basic rules and 

simple practices. The most important best practices 

are listed below. 

KEEPING 

UP WITH 

THE CARD 

ACQUIRING 

SERVICE

Card Acquiring Service Updates
6

For a more comprehensive list, federal agencies 

should follow card network rules as well as the Treasury 

Financial Manual (TFM) Part 5 Chapter 7000 | 

Treasury TFM. 

• Limitations on credit card dollar amounts serve to 

reduce the government’s cost and federal entities 

must limit their basic and intra-governmental credit 

card collections (IGT) so that no cardholder charges 

more than $24,999.99/day for basic credit card 

transactions, and no more than $10,000.00 for 

IGT transactions. 

• To prevent evasion of the credit card daily limit, 

federal entities must prohibit the customer from 

splitting a total payment obligation due into more 

than one payment transaction on one or more 

cards, or on one or more days, if the multiple 

transactions would cause the total charge to exceed 

the individual transaction maximum dollar amount. 

• To curb online fraud, when the cardholder is not 

physically present for the actual transaction, the 

federal entity must require the card validation code 

-- known as the “CVV2” for Visa Cards, “CVC2” for 

MasterCard, and the “CID” for American Express 

and Discover Cards.

• Credit cards cannot be accepted for the collection 

of a debt obligation. TFM Part 5 Chapter 7000 | 

Treasury TFM provides guidance on what constitutes 

a payment obligation as either debt or non-debt. 

Debit cards are perfectly acceptable for 

debt collection.

• When presented with a card, federal entities should 

first prompt the use of debit card instead of credit 

card, read the card information via NFC capability 

(where possible), the EMV chip and only in last 

instance via the magnetic stripe. 

• Federal entities must honor all valid Cards within 

the appropriate categories of acceptance when 

properly presented as payment from cardholders. 

• A federal entity must not directly or indirectly require 

any cardholder to pay a surcharge or apply cash 

discounting in connection with a transaction unless 

required by law or specified by the Fiscal Service. 

• When the cardholder is physically present for the 

actual transaction, the federal entity is not required 

to validate or enforce the validation of signatures 

or additional identification for card-present sales 

transactions.

• Federal entities must obtain authorization for each 

sales transaction, for the total amount of 

the transaction. 

• Card transactions must be settled in accordance 

with the TFM requirements TFM Part 5 Chapter 7000 

| Treasury TFM

• Federal entities are encouraged to use an 

alternative to government-issued credit cards for IGT 

transactions, such as Intra-Governmental Payment 

and Collection (IPAC) and G-Invoicing.

• A federal entity must not use two or more sales 

drafts originated by the use of a single Card for 

the purpose of avoiding authorization for the 

whole amount.

• Federal entities must respond to a retrieval request 

for a draft within 10 calendar days. 

• Federal entities are debited automatically for 

any chargebacks submitted by a network to the 

Financial Agent. A federal entity must respond to 

a chargeback within 15 calendar days.

• Federal law and Network Rules prohibit printing 

more than the last four digits of a card number on 

a cardholder’s receipt. Failure to adhere to this 

requirement may result in fines or penalties. Federal 

entities are also prohibited from printing the card 

expiration date on the receipt. Both prohibitions 

apply to all cardholder receipts.

• Federal entities must ensure that the rules of 

Retention and Storage of Card Data and 

Information set forth in the TFM are closely followed 

(TFM Part 5 Chapter 7000 | Treasury TFM).

• Federal entities must comply fully with the 

PCI Data Security Standards.

• A federal entity that fails to comply with any 

provision of Card Network Rules may incur 

fines and penalties imposed by a network. 

Any questions about these best practices can 

be directed to the Card Acquiring Service at: 

CardAcquiringService@fiscal.treasury.gov 

CAS Contact Updates – It’s that 

time...

The CAS program embarks on several agency-facing 

endeavors annually. To ensure we have the most 

up-to-date points of contact (POC) information for 

your agency, please take the time to review your CAS 

program contact types at least twice annually (e.g. 

Chain, Merchant Identifier (MID), and Billing POCs). 

If contacts change at your agency, it is important that 

this is promptly communicated to the program so that 

your account can be updated accordingly. 

Questions regarding POC management or 

changes in POCs, should be sent via email to: 

CardAcquiringService@fiscal.treasury.gov
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Leap into a technology-driven future 

and choose from a suite of electronic 

collection options. From sleek, small 

footprint devices to multi-collection 

solutions, OTCnet delivers solutions for 

every need. 

Meet the 

Payment 

Methods for 

Every Task

Card Processing

The single terminal can be plugged 

into your existing workstation and 

accept debit, credit, and gift card 

payments. OTCnet Card Processing 

streamlines payment processing and 

reporting within one application. Get 

Started with Card Processing today!

Looking Forward: In March 2023, 

Release 4.4 will introduce the support 

of additional Verifone card terminal 

models.

Kiosk Tablet

Want to enable customers to make 

self-assisted payments? The OTC Kiosk 

Tablet integrates a Card Processing 

terminal with a plug-and-play Check 

Processing scanner.

The Kiosk Tablet is a lightweight 

and modern touch screen device 

that is deal for locations with a 

small footprint.

Self-Service Kiosk

For a full suite of payment methods, 

the OTC Self-Service Kiosk allows 

for a customized combination of all 

collection types. Agencies can host a 

large footprint of users and support 

Card Processing, Check Processing, 

and Deposits. The OTC Self-Service 

Kiosk comes with the added benefit 

of outdoor capabilities, custom 

receipt printing, custom agency logo 

placement, and top tier security 

provisioning. Visit the Getting Started: 

OTC Kiosk page for more information.

Check Processing

Agencies will find that Fiscal Service 

offers streamlined options to process 

payments electronically (Pay.gov, 

Online Bill Payment, ACH, etc.) and 

prefer directing customers to these 

quick payment types. If you receive 

paper checks, we still want you to 

convert paper checks to electronic 

payments. OTCnet Check Processing 

allows for a convenient way to conduct 

check scanning. The RDM and Panini 

scanners facilitate single or multi-feed 

check scanning. 

New Check Scanners: OTCnet now 

supports the RDM 9600i and 9700i 

series check scanners. For information 

on the latest check scanner updates, 

see the Hardware Overview.

User Survey

Tell us how we’re doing! We encourage 

all OTCnet users and Agency POCs 

to participate in the annual OTCnet 

User Survey. Exercise this unique 

opportunity to provide feedback 

that will be used for future OTCnet 

enhancements. Look out for the survey 

launch in February 2023.

Thank you for supporting our 

improvements to collection processing. 

We look forward to continuing to 

develop our partnership. Have a 

question? Contact the Deployment 

Team at Fiscalservice.otcdeployment@

citi.com or 703.377.5586.

Check Scanner Availability

What You Need to Know: 

Due to restored supply chains the RDM 

EC9111f scanner will be available for 

purchase again by January 1st 2023. 

If your agency is currenty considering 

a new check scanner, the following 

scanners are available for immediate 

purchase. 

The Panini I:Deal and RDM EC9611f* 

feature single feed check scanning 

with franking capabilities. 

The Panini Vision X and RDM EC9703 

feature single feed, auto feed with 

small batch, and larger batch check 

scanning of up to 150 documents per 

minute with franking capabilities. 

To purchase new hardware and view 

the latest details, please see 

the OTCnet Hardware Overview.

*NOTE increased lead time may be required 

through the end of December 2022.

Discover Payment Solutions with OTCnet
8

65,967 transactions, $3,151,860

151 agencies, 1,077 forms

9,305.176 transactions, $3,390,317

163 agencies, 1,190 forms

AGENCY 

FACING

(FEDREVCOLLECT)

PUBLIC FACING

Agencies Flow Cash 

Transactions Sales 59 139 87,036 $

182,397,271

 18 21 482,402 $

99,563,223

72,203,099

TRANSACTIONS

eCOMMERCE 

AT-A-GLANCE 

OCTOBER 2022

•38 AGENCIES

• 36,342,239 TRANSACTIONS

• $1,103,940,761
9

Transition from 

paper to electronic

with Online Bill 

Payment (OLBP)

Three easy steps to 

set up OLBP

1. Credit Gateway sets up 

collection account

2. Credit Gateway sets up 

agency’s biller profile 

3. Introduce OLBP to 

your customers

The Fiscal Service’s Online Bill Payment (OLBP) 

program, brought to you by the Credit Gateway, 

enables you to collect electronic payments 

from your customers. It’s the ideal solution for 

expediting agency collection and reporting by 

transitioning to electronic processes – all while 

offering your customers a more convenient 

way to pay. 

Agency benefits

By leveraging the OLBP service, you benefit from: 

No participation or transaction costs

Secure and fast collection 

Electronic reporting 

Check fraud reduction

Reduced exception processing

Customer convenience

Improved overall agency-customer experience

Convenient, Simple, Secure:

The Fiscal Service’s 

Online Bill Payment 

(OLBP) program
Thank You for 

Reading The 

RCM Collections 

Chronicle!

For information about RCM’s 

programs and services, 

please contact your Agency 

Relationship Manager or 

the Agency Relationship 

Management (ARM)

Division via the ARM 

mailbox:

ARM@Fiscal.Treasury.gov

For a complete listing 

of Revenue Collections 

Management programs and 

services, please click here.

 @FiscalService

 @FiscalService

 Fiscal Service

10