The Minority Bank Deposit Program (MBDP) is a voluntary program that encourages Federal agencies, state and 

local government, and the private sector to use banks participating in the MBDP as depositaries and/or financial 

agents. Institutions participating in the program as depositaries and/or financial agents can offer services such as 

deposits of public money, cash advances to Federal grantees, certificates of deposit (CDs), and card services. The 

program was designed to stimulate economic development for underprivileged communities and businesses, including minority-owned financial institutions. 

Minority banks are an important part of the communities they serve and are vital to many inner city neighborhoods. 

Most minority-owned banks have a mission to assist communities that are challenged with economic weaknesses. 

They typically offer financial services to small minority-owned businesses, and help to strengthen and add vitality 

to the communities they serve. Historically, minority-owned banks have worked diligently to strengthen their institutions by aggressively marketing and providing efficient and competitive services to their communities. 

In order to participate in the MBDP, a financial institution must be a federally-insured depository where 51 percent 

or more of the voting stock is owned or controlled by one or more socially and/or economically disadvantaged individuals. These groups include African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and/

or women. A minority-owned financial institution that wishes to participate in the program must complete an application online at http://fms.treas.gov/mbdp/forms.html. The Financial Management Service (FMS) is responsible 

for providing certification of eligibility for institutions wishing to be designated as a participant in the MBDP. 

FMS maintains and publishes the roster of participating financial institutions, which is accessible to Federal agencies, state and local government agencies, as well as the private sector and minority banks. For a list of current participants in the MBDP, please visit the MBDP website at http://www.fms.treas.gov/mbdp/index.html. 

Federal agencies are encouraged to utilize participants in the MBDP for financial services through guidance outlined in the Treasury Financial Manual, Volume 1, Part 6, 

Chapter 9000 (Securing Government Deposits in Federal Agency Accounts), which can 

be accessed at http://www.fms.treas.gov/TFM/vol1/v1p6c900.html. 

Additional information regarding the MBDP can be obtained from its website at 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/mbdp/index.html. Specific questions about the program can 

be directed to Mary Bailey at (202) 874-7055 or Mary.Bailey@fms.treas.gov. 

Minority Bank Deposit Program 

Written by Vendetta Patterson, Management & Program Analyst 

Summer Edition 2009 Philadelphia Financial Center 

Inside this issue:

Minority Bank Deposit 

Program 

1 

Internet Payment 

Platform 

2/6 

Reclamations 

Exceptions 

3 

PFC Brings Home the 

Gold 

4 

April 2009 

PFC Agency Forum 

5-6 

PFC Journal 
The Internet Payment Platform (IPP) is an application provided by the Financial Management Service (FMS) and the 

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that automates and streamlines many of the processes associated with Federal government vendor payments. IPP offers Government-wide efficiencies by reducing or eliminating paper based processing associated with accounts payable units, enhances FMS’ service to vendors by increasing access to quality payment data, 

and provides a single, central application for Federal agency and vendor interactions. 

IPP consolidates up-to-date information from three major sources: the proprietary payment data from existing FMS disbursement and accounting systems, purchase order and receipt data from Federal agency systems, and invoice data from 

vendor systems. The efficient consolidation and use of this critical information allows IPP to offer the presentment and 

receipt of electronic purchase orders and invoices, automated routing and approval, and electronic notifications to vendors and agencies providing detailed payment information. 

IPP offers its users modularity, thereby providing Federal agencies with the option to implement all or some of the IPP 

functions. For example, an agency that can already route its purchase orders electronically may wish to use IPP to provide its vendors with payment-related information. 

The modules offered by IPP are: 

• Electronic orders 

• Electronic invoices and approval Workflow 

• Payments reporting 

Some of the features of IPP include: 

• Single website to view EFT-based vendor and misc. Federal payments 

• Payment information containing full and offset payments 

• Allows Federal agencies to obtain discounts more easily 

• Facilitates compliance with Prompt Payment Act 

• Centralized vendor directory 

• Email notification 

• Easy enrollment options for vendors 

Federal agencies often face difficulty in providing prompt response to customer inquiries regarding payment transactions. This is largely due to the fact that detailed transaction information is housed in a variety of unconnected accounts 

receivable systems. This disconnect results in research which is both time consuming and costly for both the Federal 

agencies and their vendors. These factors place customer service, a key performance indicator for all Federal agencies, in 

jeopardy. IPP offers agencies and vendors a central repository of transaction information which allows them to respond 

to orders expeditiously, avoid unnecessary disputes, and to reconcile outstanding invoices. 

Additionally, many Federal agencies currently struggle to make payments on a timely basis because of the timeconsuming nature of paper-based document approval and routing systems. Agencies’ inability to make timely payments 

not only result in costly Prompt Payment penalty costs, but also may discourage vendors from doing business with the 

Federal government. IPP’s ability to automate and streamline important internal and external vendor payment processes 

(Continued on page 6) 

Internet Payment Platform (IPP) 

Written by Diane Jackson, Lead Management & Program Analyst 

Page 2 

 Summer Edition 2009 

It costs a vendor an average of 

$7.50—$30.00 per invoice to 

process a Federal purchase 

order. 

Source: International Account 

Payable Professional (IAPP), 

Gartner and Aberdeen Group 
Receiving Depositary Financial Institutions (RDFIs) often encounter situations where they are uncertain of how to handle exceptions, or unusual circumstances related to Reclamation notices. Reclamations entail financial responsibility on the part of

the RDFI and it is therefore important that they handle these exceptions properly. As a result, we have provided some Quick 

Tips below on handling unusual reclamation scenarios: 

Date of Death Incorrect:

If the Day of the Month of the Death is Wrong

If only the day of the month of death is incorrect, the RDFI must provide a copy of the death certificate with the correct day of 

death in its response, as this could affect the calculation of the limited liability amount they are responsible for. 

If the Month or the Year of Death is Wrong

If the month or year of death is incorrect, the RDFI must enter the correct date of death on the back of the Disbursing Office 

Copy of the Notice of Reclamation and sign Certifications 1 & 2. The RDFI must complete and return the Notice of Reclamation in a timely fashion so it is received by the Financial Management Service (FMS) within 60 days of the date on the Notice. 

Questions regarding reclamations policy can be directed to Lisa Andre, Accredited Automated Clearing House Professional 

(AAP), at (215) 516-8142 or Lisa.Andre@fms.treas.gov. Inquiries related to specific reclamation cases can be directed to either the San Francisco Financial Center at (510) 594-7183 or the Austin Financial Center at (512) 342-7300. 

Page 3 

Reclamations Exception Handling 

Written by Debra Young-Stevens, Management & Program Analyst 

 Summer Edition 2009 

If... Then... And... 

The date of death is later than the reported date of death Sign Certification #1 on the back of the Disbursing 

Office copy of the Notice of Reclamation 

The RDFI must 

respond timely 

to the Notice of 

Reclamation 

The date of death is earlier than the 

reported date of death 

The RDFI must inform the account owners of the 

error, check the appropriate box on the back of the 

Disbursing Office Copy of the Notice of Reclamation, and pay the appropriate amount using the 

adjusted outstanding total. 

 

If the amount returned is less than the adjusted 

outstanding total: 

- Sign Certification #2 on the back of the Disbursing Office Copy of the Notice of Reclamation 

- List by name and address all withdrawers, coowners, and authorized signers. 

The RDFI must 

respond timely 

to the Notice of 

Reclamation 

If... Then... And... 

Only the day of the month of death 

is wrong 

The RDFI must provide a copy of the death 

certificate with the correct day of death in its 

response, because this date change could affect 

the calculation of the limited liability amount 

The RDFI must respond timely to the 

Notice of Reclamation 
On May 8, 2009, the Philadelphia Financial Center (PFC) Wage Grade and Wage Leader employees in the Payment and 

Mail Operations Branch (PMOB) were awarded the Gold Medal in the 2009 Excellence in Government Awards. The 

competition is sponsored by the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board (FEB). This award, in the “Trades and Crafts” 

category, was in recognition for PMOB’s tremendous accomplishments in support of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Program. 

The Philadelphia area Excellence in Government Awards program is managed by the FEB, which serves 170 Federal 

activities encompassing three states and approximately 50,000 military, civilian and Postal Service employees. The annual awards ceremony takes place each year during “Public Service Recognition Week” to celebrate individual and 

group accomplishments, before an audience of Federal agencies and military commands serviced by the Philadelphia 

FEB. 

PFC’s Wage Grade and Wage Leader employees were nominated for the award in the “Outstanding Trades and Crafts 

Performer” category. This category encompasses achievements of an exceptional nature, in occupations such as electricians, maintenance mechanics, plumbers, etc. This nomination was included amongst a record-breaking 312 individual 

submissions, across 15 award categories. Each nomination was screened rigorously, and ultimately ranked by a team of 

21 senior managers from across 15 Federal agencies. 

PFC’s nomination described how, from May 9, 2008 to July 11, 2008, the Wage Grade and Wage Leader employees in 

the Payment and Mail Operations Branch plated, printed, enclosed, wrapped, sorted and disbursed over 24.5 million 

“Stimulus Payments” with an estimated dollar value of over $18.9 billon dollars. The PFC laborers, equipment operators, repairers, helpers and leaders cancelled vacations, voluntarily changed their work schedules, and worked diligently 

during weekends and Federal holidays to ensure these “Stimulus Payments” were made timely. The Wage Grade and 

Wage Leader employees at PFC displayed exceptional teamwork and exhibited extraordinary dedication to PFC, Financial Management Service, and Department of the Treasury goals. 

PFC’s First Place Excellence in Government Award for Trades and Crafts winners are: 

 Amon Barnett Roxann Hargust Linda Tarkenton 

 James F. Beisel David B. Harris Lawrence Thompkins 

 Donald M. Blanco Daniel Hart Mark Wilson 

 Joseph P. Capece Sharon Johnson Christelle N. Woods 

 Sylvester D. Cooper Tin Yee Lock 

 Henry Deas, Jr. Gary T. Lucchetta 

 Joseph Dugan Joseph Marshall 

 Michael Ferebee Charles J. Moffett 

 Raynard Fluellen Donnie E. Mole 

 Brian R. Fontain Matthew Moore 

 Randy Q. Fowler Mark Overby 

 Barbara A. Gahan Joseph J. Schuhl 

 James A. Godboldt Paul P. Smith 

Congratulations to the employees listed above for an exceptional job and their well deserved Gold Medal!

 

 

 

 Summer Edition 2009 

PFC Brings Home the Gold! 

Page 4 
The Philadelphia Financial Center (PFC) hosted an Agency 

Forum on April 29 & 30, 2009, at the Smithsonian Institution’s 

African Art Museum and Peter Sackler Gallery in Washington, 

DC. The meeting provided agencies with insight into important 

program and policy changes that will have a significant impact 

on their financial management operations, as well as upcoming 

changes to critical Financial Management Service (FMS) systems that agencies routinely utilize. The meeting participants 

also had an opportunity to enjoy the impressive artifacts and 

paintings hosted in the Museum and Gallery where the meeting 

took place. 

This Forum was a record setting event, as more than 100 

agency representatives were in attendance, easily the most in 

PFC history. PFC received positive feedback from the attendees about the Forum, including compliments on the topics 

addressed at the meeting, the quality of the speakers, and the unique nature of the meeting location. PFC is grateful to 

the Smithsonian Institution for allowing them to host this Forum at one of their museums. 

Maria Middleton from FMS’ Check Resolution Division presented on the Treasury Check Information System (TCIS) 

Integrated View, in which she shared several new system features that will benefit the agencies. Brett Smith from FMS’ 

Federal Finance discussed the benefits of the Internet Payment Platform (IPP) with the audience. IPP provides an automated alternative to some of the time consuming paper-based tasks in the Federal Government vendor payment process. 

Richard Haug from Federal Finance spoke about the US Debit Card, which provides agencies with a convenient, electronic alternative to check payments. Once issued, the card may be used at automated teller machines (ATM) to make 

cash withdrawals, or at point-of-sale (POS) terminals to make retail purchases. The launch and success of the Direct Express® Debit Mastercard was also discussed during this presentation. Susan Helm, from the Electronic Funds Transfer 

(EFT) Strategy Division, highlighted the benefits of International Treasury Services (ITS.gov), which provides agencies 

with the capability of making electronic payments to recipients in over 150 Countries. Susan spoke about the tremendous growth of ITS.gov from its inception in 2004, with $1 billion dollars worth of transactions, to Fiscal Year 2008, in 

which $20 billion dollars worth of transactions were made oversees. 

Sam Kolb from the United States Secret Service (USSS) provided an informative and interactive presentation on Fraud 

and Counterfeiting of the U.S. Monies and U.S. Treasury Checks. 

Keith Jarboe from FMS’ Government-Wide-Accounting (GWA) presented updates on the GWA modernization effort. 

This modernization effort will eliminate monthly reconciliation by capturing all necessary data at the initial transaction 

and will have all accounting data available to agencies within 24 hours, if they become a GWA “Player.” Keith further 

informed the attendees of the steps they need to take to become a GWA “Player”, and the benefits of becoming a 

“Player” early on in the conversion effort. Margaret Flynn, from FMS’ Payment Management division, presented the 

audience with upcoming changes to the Secure Payment System (SPS) that will improve system functionality. These 

changes became visible to agency users on June 22, 2009. Prominent SPS changes highlighted by Margaret were the 

ability to print details for multiple schedules from the main screen, providing Certifying Officers (CO) with cash forecasting reminders for large dollar schedules, and the ability to reuse schedule numbers when corrections are necessary 

for certifications. 

(Continued on page 6) 

PFC Agency Forum—April 2009 

Written by Deborah Jackson, Management & Program Analyst 

Page 5 

 Summer Edition 2009
Jesse Chavez from the Payment Application Modernization (PAM) team 

discussed the ongoing efforts of PAM, which is an initiative to modernize 

the various internal applications that FMS utilizes to make agency payments. In his presentation, Jesse highlighted the project goals for PAM, 

milestones, and future production releases. 

The presentations delivered at the Forum revealed the ever-changing environment of Federal agency financial operations and the importance of effective coordination between FMS and its customer agencies to adapt to 

these changes. PFC is planning its next Forum on October 27th and 28th 

2009, to continue to keep agencies abreast of new FMS products and initiatives. 

For additional information, please contact Lisa Andre at (215) 516-8142 or 

lisa.andre@fms.treas.gov. Copies of the presentations delivered at the 

Forum on April 30th can be accessed at http://fms.treas.gov/pfc/training.html. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Internet Payment Platform (Continued from Page 2) 

improves agencies’ capability of making timely payments and, in some cases, to take advantage of discounts by paying a 

vendor early. 

IPP went into production in November 2007, with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the Government 

Printing Office (GPO) as the first active customers. IPP is now used by a variety of Federal agencies, including the Small 

Business Administration (SBA), Bureau of Public Debt (BPD), Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Department of the 

Interior. In October 2008, IPP replaced Treasury’s Payment Advice Internet Delivery (PAID) system that made payment 

information available to Federal agency vendors. All of the agencies using PAID services were transitioned to IPP at that 

time. 

For more information on the IPP please contact Pavita Murthi at (202) 874-3685 or 

Pavita.Murthi@fms.treas.gov, or Teresa Ricoy (FRB Boston) at (617) 973-3027 or 

Maria.T.Ricoy@bos.frb.org. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Philadelphia Financial Center Newsletter entitled PFC Journal is presented by the 

Customer Service Branch and addresses a variety of topics of interest to individuals in 

the Federal financial community.

The PFC Journal is available exclusively on our website. 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/pfc

P.O. Box 51317 

Philadelphia, PA 19115 

Phone: 215-516-8000 

Fax: 215-516-8010 

Email:philly@fms.treas.gov 

 Summer Edition 2009

PFC Agency Forum—April 2009 (Continued) 

Left to Right: Donna Dahlen (SSA), Susan 

DeLabio (SSA), Richard Haug (FMS), Brett 

Smith (FMS) 

Mark your calendars! 

PFC is having an 

Agency Forum 

October 27-28, 2009 

at FRB Philadelphia!