Exception Resolution Service
Customers have the ability to manage exception cases through the Exception Resolution Service accessed through their FedLine Web® or FedLine Advantage® Solutions. Exceptions are defined as disputes, notifications, questions or requests for additional information either from a financial institution or on behalf of an account holder of the institution.
The Exception Resolution Service was developed in response to customer feedback about challenges surrounding the resolution of ACH exception cases. Prior to the Exception Resolution Service, in order to resolve exceptions that arise from ACH payments, financial institutions were required to deal directly with each other by utilizing time-consuming means of communication and supporting document exchange such as fax, phone, email and mail. The Exception Resolution Service eliminates or reduces many of these labor intensive processes when both the requesting and responding ERS participant are actively monitoring and responding to exception cases.
The Federal Reserve Banks are committed to providing the industry with a secure, efficient, and adaptable service for ever-increasing and time-sensitive exception management. As a result, the Exception Resolution Service has been expanded beyond ACH transactions to include exception management for other payment channels. The Exception Resolution Service now offers a case type to support instant payment transactions and related messages sent or received over the FedNow® Service. The Exception Resolution Service and related online information are currently hosted by FedACH® Services and may be labeled accordingly. Changes will occur as the service evolves into an exception management solution for additional payment channels.
Discover how the Exception Resolution Service can benefit your financial institution
- Allows you to send and receive exception cases with supporting documentation for all ACH transactions, including those processed by another ACH operator or on-us items
- Allows you to handle exceptions for FedNow transactions and related messages
- Provides an optional functionality used to search a two-year historical repository of FedACH transactions in order to populate exception cases with ACH entry details
- Provides a mechanism for the secure exchange of sensitive exception case information between financial institutions
- Provides a 13-month archive to access and view all cases sent or received by your institution
- Integrates with other applications by uploading and downloading exception case messages (with supporting documentation) directly through your FedLine Direct, FedLine Advantage or FedLine Web Solution via a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formatted file either directly or via an agent
- Easily export messages from your Exception Resolution Service Inbox, Outbox and Archive to a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet
Learn more about the benefits by viewing the product sheet (PDF).
Quick Reference Guide
The Exception Resolution Service quick reference guide is designed to assist you in submitting exception case requests for each of the supported case types via your FedLine® Solution.
Treasury Exception Resolution Guidance (PDF)
The Exception Resolution Service (ERS) is the Bureau of Fiscal Service’s (BFS) preferred method to securely process claims and requests between the U.S. Treasury and financial institutions. This resource provides information regarding proper responses and requests related to Treasury exceptions.
Implementation
The Federal Reserve Banks are ready to assist you with a smooth adoption of our Exception Resolution Service. If your financial institution has not already signed up to be an Exception Resolution participant, then an authorized signer from your institution must complete Part 6F of the FedACH Participation Agreement (PDF) for either ACH or FedNow exception management and ensure you have credentialed Subscribers established. Step by step instructions are available on the Exception Resolution Service Setup page.
Additional Resources
If you have questions about the Exception Resolution Service, contact us. For information on pricing for the service, refer to the FedACH Services fee schedule.
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