Fedwire^® FedPayments^® Manager – Funds Contingency Service

Primary Use

The FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service provides an important, limited alternative for customers that experience an issue with their internal payment application, and/or FedLine Direct^® or FedLine Advantage^® connection.

Use as a Contingency Tool¹

Customers that use the FedLine Advantage or FedLine Direct Solution as their primary method to access the Fedwire Funds Service should not rely on the FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service for processing their transactions. The FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service is not a viable contingency alternative to receive messages (including advices of credit) that Fedwire Funds Service customers would normally receive using their primary FedLine Solution. Therefore, Fedwire Funds Service customers are encouraged to consider other alternatives for sending and receiving critical transactions if they cannot access the Fedwire Funds Service via their primary FedLine Solution.

Keep Information Current

• Ensure that your institution maintains a current Official Authorization List (OAL) and Fedwire Funds Service Authorization Form (PDF) on file with Fedwire Customer Support. These forms designate individuals who are authorized to conduct Fedwire Funds transactions on behalf of your institution. The Fedwire Funds Service Authorization Form can be found by clicking on “Forms” in the top navigation and then selecting “Wires.”
• Periodically review your institution’s internal procedures for originating and verifying Fedwire Funds transactions.

Know Procedures

• Know the telephone number for Fedwire Customer Support.
• If your institution is a Fedwire Funds Service customer, familiarize your staff with procedures for accessing the FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service.
• Ensure authorized individuals understand the Federal Reserve Banks’ procedures for using the Fedwire Funds Service. Contact Fedwire Customer Support if you have any questions regarding these procedures.
• Ensure authorized individuals are well trained on your institution’s internal procedures for origination and verification.
• Consider originating periodic transactions via the FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service to exercise your internal procedures. Note: This is a best practice for many online customers. Current surcharges apply to these transactions; please visit the Service Fees page for more information.

Be Prepared

• Have all necessary transaction information available prior to contacting Fedwire Customer Support to originate a FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service transaction.
• Ensure that at least two authorized individuals are available at either the primary or contingency telephone number listed for them on your institution’s Fedwire Funds Service Authorization Form (if your institution needs to originate an offline funds transfer). Make sure that these individuals are prepared to complete the origination and verification procedures required for each FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service transaction. Please note that the same authorized individual may not both originate and verify a Fedwire Funds transaction.

General Suggestions for Institutions in a Contingency Situation

• Alert Fedwire Customer Support when a contingency situation arises. To the extent possible, it is helpful if information regarding the nature and severity of the contingency is provided.
• If your institution requires an extension, please call the extension request line at P: (866) 895-5985, as soon as possible, to explain the problem in detail, the expected time needed to resolve it, and the dollar amount and number of transactions that need to be sent. The Federal Reserve Banks will communicate any extensions via Service Status. In addition, ensure that authorized individuals are aware of the guidelines that need to be followed when requesting an extension to any of the published Fedwire operating hours:
  • Fedwire Extension Guidelines
  • Fedwire Services Operating Hours
• Be prepared to prioritize your offline transactions to those that your institution has identified as the most critical transactions, particularly later in the business day.Your institution may be limited to fewer Fedwire Funds transactions during a service disruption depending on the extent and severity of the particular disruption.
• During a service disruption, the FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service will be limited to processing only value messages. Please be prepared to use alternative (i.e., non-Federal Reserve Bank) communication vehicles for information (non-value) messages such as drawdown requests or service messages.
• Remember that transactions processed via the FedPayments Manager – Funds Contingency Service take longer to originate and verify due to the manual authentication and verification procedures required to complete the transaction.

Footnotes

1. As outlined in the Federal Reserve Banks’ Operating Circular 6, Fedwire Funds Service participants are responsible for developing their own contingency and recovery plans to ensure the resilience of their Fedwire Funds Service operations. All Fedwire Funds Service participants conducting critical payment transactions should have contingency plans in place and test them regularly to validate their effectiveness in the event of a service disruption. ↩︎

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