Kansas City Financial Center 

KFC Dispatch Summer 2014 

U.S. Department of the Treasury 

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Payment Management is hosting the first Fiscal Service Advisory 

Council Payments Forum on September 17–18, 2014 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. 

The forum will provide a unique opportunity for agencies to hear first-hand the current and 

planned issues related to Federal Government payment products, services, and initiatives. Most 

importantly, agency representatives will have the ability to convey their thoughts, opinions, 

concerns and influence how those payment products / services are developed and ultimately 

implemented. 

This year’s theme is Connecting, Collaborating, and Innovating! 

Fiscal Service looks forward to continuing the valued relationships with its customers through this 

opportunity. Topics will include: 

 Payment Panel (includes): PAM, SPS, GWA, PIR 

 Do Not Pay (DNP) 

 Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) 

 International Treasury Services (ITS.gov) 

 Post Payment System (PPS) 

 National Automated Clearing House (NACHA) Presentation 

 Payments and the Regulatory Front 

 U.S. Debit Card 

 Payment Integrity 

 Post Payment Services 

 Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) 

 Certifying Officer (CO) Training 

The Fiscal Service looks forward to seeing you in September and navigating the future of payments 

with you! Visit the website and register today at http://fms.treas.gov/fsac/index.html. If you 

would like to connect using Twitter, please submit your questions using the hashtag 

#FSACpayments. 

Introducing...

 Fiscal Service Advisory Council - 

 FSAC PAYMENTS FORUM
Page 2 

Heard the expression “watch out what you ask for because you just might get it”? 

Well, in the case of the planned Fiscal Service Advisory Council on Payments we’re 

asking for “advice” and that’s exactly what we want. There is so much going on 

these days in the area of federal payments what with new and developing 

regulations and policies, systems and applications, new and evolving payment 

methods and services, and technology. It’s enough to make your head spin! 

While we can’t necessarily slow down the roller coaster ride we’re all on we can 

perhaps equip federal agency managers who oversee payments processes and 

activities with information and a voice that may make the ride a bit more 

predictable. I know that for some folks it is the unpredictability of the ride that 

makes it fun and exciting; ever notice the second and third time you ride the coaster 

how it becomes a little less exciting because you know what to expect. In the federal 

government payments business we can likely do without the excitement because our 

respective missions require us to ALWAYS be in a position to provide the needed 

services to the public. To consistently meet those business needs it helps to have a 

degree of predictability which is enhanced by knowing what may be changing that 

impacts that business. A real bonus would be to have input to what is coming that 

impacts the payment business. 

Watch Out What You Ask For! 

W|ÜxvàÉÜËá VÉÜÇxÜM 

Gary M. Beets 

Director 
KFC Dispatch Page 3 

Summer 2014 

Look no further than the dates of September 17 and 18, 2014. These dates mark 

the formation and first meeting of the Fiscal Service Advisory Council on Payments. 

This Council is intended to be The Forum in which representatives from federal 

agencies can come together and hear the latest on current, planned, and 

developing activities associated with federal disbursing. A key component of the 

Council forum is intended to provide agency representatives with an opportunity to 

voice concerns, ask questions, and play an integral role in shaping the future of the 

federal government payment environment. The Council will consist of federal 

agency representatives that have direct hands on management or supervisory 

oversight for payment activities. The Council will be run by an elected chair and 

vice chair. Unlike a conference where the communication tends to be one way, the 

Council will be a two way communication forum. Through the combined power of 

agency representation, the Council can help to influence the who, what, where, 

why, and how of current and future federal payment activities. 

I invite you to get in on the Council’s ground breaking activities by joining us for the 

first meeting in September. To learn more about the Council and this initial 

meeting please go to http://www.fms.treas.gov/fsac or contact Lauren Ray, (816) 

414-2113 / Lauren.Ray@fiscal.treasury.gov or Carol Matthews, (816) 414-2176 / 

Carol.Matthews@fiscal.treasury.gov. I look forward to seeing you there! 
Page 4 

The recently completed reorganization at the Kansas City Financial Center was designed to better 

align existing and new work responsibilities within the Center. This realignment resulted in the 

creation of two new branches and the rebranding of two others. 

The new customer service-based, Customer Service Branch (CSB), includes both the Administrative 

Support Section—formerly the Administrative Management Branch—and the Customer Relationship 

Management Section—formerly the Customer Assistance Support Staff of the Financial Services & Support Branch 

(FSSB). The payment-focused, Diversified Payment Services Branch (DPSB), includes the Automated 

Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) Project Support Section and the Diversified Payments 

Processing Section—both formerly of FSSB. 

The new names of the Payment & Mail Operations Branch (PMOB)—formerly the Payment Management 

Operations Branch—and the Operations Support Branch (OSB)—formerly the Information Systems & Support 

Branch—more accurately describe their functions within this new structure. 

 Kansas City Financial Center - 

REORGANIZATION
KFC Dispatch Page 5 

Summer 2014 

 Kansas City Financial Center - 

TREASURY DISBURSING SERVICES

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) 

disburses 85% of the Federal Government’s payments on behalf of most Federal Program 

Agencies. The Kansas City Financial Center (KFC) in Kansas City, Missouri is now 

responsible for processing over 1.2 billion federal payments annually valued at more than 

three trillion dollars. 

The Center maintains a 99.999% on-time delivery rate, which demonstrates its emphasis on 

operational scheduling, controls, and IT software / hardware reliability. Couple that with a 

highly focused commitment to quality service and the KFC affords Federal Program 

Agencies an efficient, effective, and dependable partner who supports their disbursing 

needs. 

KFC offers a variety of payment request methods and payment mechanisms to meet an 

agency’s business needs: 

 PAM (Payment Automation Manager) receives payment requests (check and ACH) in 

a standard format through bulk file submissions. 

 SPS (Secure Payment System) serves as the vehicle by which Federal Program 

Agencies certify payment instructions and allows for manual entry of payment 

requests. 

 Fedwire is a payment option for payments $100,000 or higher within SPS used to 

request same-day electronic payments. 

 ITS.gov (International Treasury Services) provides a central location for disbursing 

and managing international foreign currency payments. 

 ASAP (Automated Standard Application for Payments) allows agencies to authorize 

the delivery of recipient-initiated (i.e., grant, letter of credit) draw-down payments. 

The KFC Directory is included for you to reference on pages 11-12, which highlights new 

Branch names and updated points of contact. Please reach out to the contacts listed to 

assist you with your payment needs. 
Page 6 

As a result of the transition of work functions and the specialization of activities between the 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s two disbursing offices, the support services provided by those centers 

have changed as well. The Help Desk at the Kansas City Financial Center has transformed into the 

Payment Call Center.

Payment Call Center staff in Kansas City is your agency’s first line of customer service for payment 

issues and inquiries through careful and thoughtful, expert assistance covering a wide range of 

knowledge and skill sets. The Payment Call Center staff supports our customers with: 

 Identifying Treasury payments for recipients, beneficiaries, and representative payees. 

 Assisting Federal Program Agencies’ requests for the recall of improper payments. 

 Directing agencies and end-users to second-level assistance with diversified payment 

methods, such as Fedwire same-day payments or International Treasury Services (ITS.gov) 

support. 

 Responding to e-mail inquiries. 

 Gathering information and conducting research on a variety of inquiries and support needs. 

 Providing internal support to KFC. 

On average, Payment Call Center staff answers over 6,000 calls per month from Federal Program 

Agencies, payment recipients, financial institutions and processors, regional payment associations, 

and the general public. While the name has changed and our daily activities are more specialized, 

exceptional support and outstanding customer service remain our first priority. 

If you haven’t reached out to the Payment Call Center yet, let us help you!

 Kansas City Financial Center - 

THE PAYMENT CALL CENTER

KFC Payment Call Center 

Kathy Bullard; Amparo Speedone; 

Nicholas Norton; Jocelyn Mitchell; Tyning Edwards 

 (855) 868-0151 option 2, option 0 payments@fms.treas.gov 
KFC Dispatch Page 7 

Summer 2014 

Customers of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service recognize that change is a constant—

there’s always something new going on. With tightening resources throughout the Federal 

Government, the Kansas City Financial Center (KFC) has been assisting Non-Treasury 

Disbursing Offices (NTDO) with their transition to become a Treasury-Disbursed Organization 

(TDO), so their agency resources can be repurposed for other mission-focused activities and 

functions. Not only does the transition from NTDO to TDO help customer’s disburse payments, 

it also allows better understanding of the agency’s business, and allows Treasury to identify 

additional support and services that can be provided to the customer. 

The Department of the Interior’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) has 

been a customer for some time—their daily electronic payments are disbursed through Treasury. 

While a number of OST payments are made electronically as a TDO, many check payments are 

still issued under their own disbursing authority. Over this past year, OST has been working to 

transition those check payments, along with other payment- and account-related printing 

responsibilities, to KFC. As an added benefit, by transitioning their remaining payments to 

Treasury disbursing, OST will satisfy the Treasury requirement to become a Central Accounting 

Reporting System (CARS) reporter. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has also been a Treasury 

customer for some time. HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities 

and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is accepting of Treasury’s goal to expand the 

government-wide use of central services, and plans to convert their remaining NTDO payments 

to Treasury disbursing. They are currently working with KFC to transition three different 

program areas. For HUD, this will be a phased approach allowing us to transition one program 

area at a time. 

As this publication goes to print, the project teams are coming close to completing the first 

phases of both of these agency transitions. For OST, the phased approach provides a focus on 

the particular requirements for each of the account-related documents that will be printed 

during phase one, with the two later phases targeted for the beginning of October and the end 

of December 2014. Following the completion of HUD’s first phase, the remaining program 

phases are planning to transition in 2015. 

The relationships already established with customer agencies, such as OST and HUD, are 

greatly appreciated, and it is a welcomed opportunity to look at the possibility of supporting 

even more of their important responsibilities in the future. 

 New Business - 

FAMILIAR RELATIONSHIPS
Page 8 

 Path of Modernization - 

PAST TO PRESENT TO FUTURE

“A great accomplishment shouldn't be the end of the road, 

just the starting point for the next leap forward.” 

–Harvey Mackay 

Some years past, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service embarked on a project to modernize 

its payment systems. At the time, the existing legacy systems were stable and reliable, 

but they were compartmentalized and customized, difficult to maintain, and built 

around decades-old technology. From that modernization project, the Payment 

Automation Manager (PAM) was born, providing a single, standardized, and extensible 

modern application for agencies to submit their payment requests. 

Now, at present, the Fiscal Service’s Kansas City Financial Center (KFC) is pushing full 

steam ahead to convert payment agencies from using the legacy systems to using PAM 

and its standardized file format, the Standard Payment Request (SPR). Staff members 

in the Operations Support Branch (OSB) are working tirelessly with customer agencies 

to move their payments to the modernized application. 

The modernized payment processing in PAM is flexible and more seamlessly integrated 

with other Treasury systems, such as the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), the Do Not 

Pay business center—for monitoring and preventing improper payments, the Payment 

Information Repository (PIR), and Treasury’s electronic invoicing application—the 

Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). In addition, PAM processing allows for agencies to 

provide the necessary details for foreign currency payments, same-day Fedwire 

payments, and international ACH payments, to comply with the Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) screening requirements. 

Of critical importance is PAM’s ability to receive and deliver supporting accounting 

information to Treasury: TAS / BETC (Treasury Account Symbol / Business Event Type 

Code) reporting. Working with the OSB staff, over 200 customer agencies—with a total 

of 451 Agency Location Codes (ALC)—have made tremendous efforts to convert to 

using PAM processing for their payment requests. An added benefit of their transition 

to PAM ensures they can also provide required TAS / BETC information to the Central 

Accounting Reporting System (CARS). 
KFC Dispatch Page 9 

Summer 2014 

The exemplary work of OSB has resulted in achieving significant milestones in the 

payment modernization effort over the past few years. This effort would not have 

succeeded if not for the concerted effort of everyone in the branch. 

Into the future, the flexibility to update and extend PAM and the SPR format means 

processing and technology improvements can be made without redesign or overhaul. 

KFC can keep up with changes in National Automated Clearing House Association 

(NACHA) rules, Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) regulations, and Federal regulations on 

disbursing. Incremental, behind-the-scenes changes can be made in PAM and the 

SPR, to adjust or improve integration with other Treasury systems, as well as allowing 

Treasury to adapt to changing technology in the world‐wide payments industry. 

Customer agencies have helped in the past to identify ways to make improvements, 

have worked with OSB through their present conversions to PAM, and are now looking 

into the future with Treasury to seek improvements in payment processing for the 

Federal Government. 

 Path of Modernization - 

PAST TO PRESENT TO FUTURE
Page 10 

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s goal is to transform Financial Management and the 

delivery of shared services in the Federal Government. It strives to provide exceptional 

service and collaborate with and assist other Federal Government entities raise their level 

of service. As part of this goal, Fiscal Service is developing a new web-based computer 

training program for Federal Government Certifying Officers (CO). Fiscal Service staff is 

working in concert with a hand full of COs on the development of the training content and 

the touch and feel of the training modules. 

The first phase of training will be implemented in March 2015!

Certifying Officers are “Accountable Officers” due to their being entrusted with public funds. 

Other Accountable Officers include Disbursing Officers, Collecting Officers, Cashiers, and 

Custodians. These Accountable Officers are personally liable for the loss or improper 

payment of funds for which they are responsible. While these individuals are supported by 

agency personnel, Accountable Officers are ultimately responsible for the appropriateness 

of their payments. 

This training will provide COs and agency 

management with a better understanding of 

the duties and responsibilities of a CO and 

increase awareness of the personal liability. 

COs are responsible for ensuring that 

payments made by their Federal Government 

are legal, proper and correct. This training 

program will prepare COs to be successful at 

their tasks, improve data and reduce errors in 

the payment process, and create a centralized 

and consistent educational resource for the 

Federal Government entities.

 Coming Soon - 

CERTIFYING OFFICER TRAINING

March 2015

March 2015
KFC Dispatch Page 11 

Summer 2014 

Gary M. Beets, Director Susan Robinson, Deputy Director 

 Mailing Address: 

 Department of the Treasury 

 Bureau of the Fiscal Service 

 Kansas City Financial Center 

 P.O. Box 12599-0599 Website Address: 

 Kansas City, MO 64116-0599 http://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/ 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE 

Gary M. Beets, Director (816) 414-2001 

Susan Robinson, Deputy Director (816) 414-2002 

General Information (816) 414-2000 

Facsimile Machine (816) 414-2020 

PAYMENT & MAIL OPERATIONS BRANCH (PMOB) 

Toni Mussorici, Manager (816) 414-2204 

Donald Watts, Operations Supervisor (Day Shift) (816) 414-2206 

Dwayne Michaels, Mail Operations Supervisor (816) 414-2205 

Tony Byers, Printing, Check and Enclosing Supervisor (816) 414-2117 

James Lee, Operations Supervisor (Evening Shift) (816) 414-2307 

General Information (816) 414-2200 

Payment Operations Section (816) 414-2350 

Facsimile Machine (Mail) (816) 414-2217 

Facsimile Machine (Control) (816) 414-2373 

Functions: The Payment and Mail Operations Branch (PMOB) is responsible for transmitting EFT payments to the FRB and printing check 

payments for Treasury disbursed agencies as well as several Non-Treasury disbursed agencies. In addition to check payment processing 

PMOB also prints and mails various letters/statements for customer agencies. The PMOB branch consists of operations, printing, enclosing, 

special handling, mailing, and the Printing and Check Enclosing project management team. 

CUSTOMER SERVICE BRANCH (CSB) 

Tom Nelson, Manager (816) 414-2056 

Crystal Duckworth, Administrative Officer (816) 414-2057 

Carol Matthews, Customer Relationship Management Section Supervisor (816) 414-2176 

KFC Payments Call Center Payments@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2100 

James Lee, Operations Supervisor (Evening Shift) (816) 414-2192 

Facsimile Machine (CRM) (816) 414-2192 

Facsimile Machine (General) (816) 414-2066 

Functions: The Customer Service Branch consists of two sections: the Administrative Support Section and the Customer Relationship 

Management (CRM) Section. The Administrative Support Section is responsible for procurement, ordering and storage of check stock, 

physical security, human resources, labor relations, budgeting, warehouse, supplies, building and grounds maintenance, time and

attendance, and more. The main focus of Administrative Support is to serve our customers so they have the resources and personnel they 

need to do their jobs. 

The CRM Section conducts project analysis and process reviews for Fiscal Service initiatives. This area is actively participating in NonTreasury Disbursing Office (NTDO) agency conversions, by working directly with these agencies to assist with the transfer of their disbursing 

activities to the Bureau of Fiscal Service. The CRM Section is responsible for providing customer outreach, research, and support to Regional 

Payment Associations, financial institutions, Federal Program Agencies, and the general public. The KFC Payments Call Center provides 

 research on a variety of payment services, including Treasury disbursed payments and general inquiries. 

 Kansas City Financial Center - 

DIRECTORY
Page 12 

DIVERSIFIED PAYMENT SERVICES BRANCH (DPSB) 

Francie Abbott, Manager (816) 414-2151 

Julie Nielsen, Diversified Payments Processing Supervisor (816) 414-2102 

Fedwire Help Desk KFCFedwire@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2341 

ASAP Help Desk KFC.ASAP@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2345 

ITS.gov Help Desk KFCFSSBFO@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2125 

ITS.gov Enrollment ITSEnrollment@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2150 

Facsimile Machine (General) (816) 414-2180 

Facsimile Machine (DPSB) (816) 414-2120 

Functions: The Diversified Payment Services Branch (DPSB) provides project management oversight and payment operations for the 

Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP.gov) and International Treasury Services (ITS.gov). In addition, DPSB provides operation 

support for all same-day Fedwire payments. The DPSB consists of two sections: the Diversified Payments Processing Section and the ASAP 

Project Support Section. 

The Diversified Payments Processing Section is responsible for the payment operations, customer outreach, and agency support for two 

unique payment types: international payments and Fedwire payments (same day pay). This section is responsible for the project 

management oversight for the ITS.gov application, include Invalid RTN verification, Supplemental FOMF updates, International ACH 

Transaction (IAT) payment support, and Limited Depository Account (LDA) verification. 

The ASAP Project Support Section’s key responsibilities includes maintaining the ASAP.gov application requirements, acceptance testing, 

release planning, and development oversight. In addition, this section is responsible for governance reporting, managing and overseeing all 

aspects of the ASAP.gov Production Organization. This includes agency and recipient enrollments, maintaining service level agreements 

(SLA), risk management, stakeholder management and agency outreach. This area is also responsible for Federal Program Agency outreach 

efforts and training agencies and recipient organizations using the ASAP.gov application. The ASAP Help Desk also resides in this section 

which provides customer phone support from 6:30am-5:30pm CT to Federal Program Agencies and recipient organizations needing 

assistance processing payments or trouble-shooting the application. 

OPERATIONS SUPPORT BRANCH (OSB) 

Cynthia M. Sheppard, Manager & PAM Project Manager (816) 414-2301 

Denise Quirarte, Supervisor – Production Support Section (816) 414-2333 

Ed Barlett, Supervisor – Payment Applications Support Section (816) 414-2304 

Jesse Chavez, Supervisor – SPS Project Manager (816) 414-2108 

Lori Meyer, PAM Agency Outreach (816) 414-2337 

Chris Garrett, SPS Agency Outreach (202) 874-7316 

Gary Ng, SPS Agency Outreach (202) 874-6947 

General Information (816) 414-2300 

Facsimile Machine (816) 414-2390 

PAM Help Desk PAM.Help.Desk@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2340 

SPS Help Desk KFC.SPS.Help.Desk@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2340 

PIR Help Desk PIR.Help.Desk@fms.treas.gov (816) 414-2340 

Functions: The Operations Support Branch (OSB) provides program and production support to the Payment Application Modernization (PAM), 

the Secure Payment System (SPS) and, the Payment Information Repository (PIR) systems. OSB key responsibilities include maintaining the 

PAM and SPS application requirements, performing acceptance testing, release planning, development oversight, and software design and 

architecture. 

OSB key responsibilities include maintaining the PAM and SPS application requirements, performance testing, release planning, 

development oversight, and software design and architecture. The OSB Production Support Section provides agency testing, technical and 

production support to over 5,000 internal and external users of the SPS, PAM, and PIR systems. The PAM and SPS Project Management 

sections are responsible for governance reporting, budget execution, change management, managing and overseeing all aspects of the PAM 

and SPS program. This includes maintaining project schedule, managing risks, issues, and maintaining communication with all stakeholders 

and service level agreements with all interfacing systems (i.e. PACER, PIR, TCIS, TOP, PPS, etc.). The Project Management section provides 

program and agency outreach support to Federal Program Agencies and Vendor (i.e. Oracle, SAP, CGI Federal, PeopleSoft, etc.) payment 

 providers. 

 Kansas City Financial Center - 

DIRECTORY
KFC Dispatch Page 13 

Summer 2014 

Department of the Treasury 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service 

Kansas City Financial Center 

P.O. Box 12599-0599 

Kansas City, Missouri 64116-0599 

 

Business Analysis Support Section 

Phone: (816) 414-2100 

Fax: (816) 414-2192 

KFC-CAS@fms.treas.gov

WE’VE BEEN WORKING EVEN HARDER

TO MEET YOUR AGENCY’S NEEDS! 

As part of Payment Management’s 2014 business goal to foster skills development 

and career enrichment for its workforce, several employees within our 

Center have recently completed their professional certifications. 

Accredited ACH Professionals:

 Nathan Douglas, OSB 

Business Process Management Professionals: 

 Margaret Flynn, OSB 

Certified Treasury Professionals: 

 Nathan Douglas, OSB 

Certified Testers-Foundation Level: 

 Denise Ballard, OSB; Victoria Dorsey, OSB; Margaret Flynn, OSB; 

 Dayna Harrison, OSB; Lou Ann Hughes, OSB; Patrick Koontz, OSB; 

 Tyrone Toney, OSB; Jerome Verdusco, OSB 

Project Management Professionals: 

 Gates Brown, DPSB; Ed Barlett, OSB; Jesse Chavez, OSB; 

 Victoria Dorsey, OSB; Margaret Flynn, OSB; 

 Dayna Harrison, OSB; Aric Wright, OSB 

Customer Relationship Management Section 

Congratulations!