Let’s Talk about ACHAutomated Clearing House

Transfers

An ACH transaction is a federally-assisted

transfer of funds between financial

institutions.

The ACH Network is used throughout the United States for all financial transfers,

such as direct deposit and online bill pay.

The ACH Network moves almost $39

trillion and 22 billion electronic financial

transactions each year.

But there is a fly in the ointment

ACH is Old TechnologyACH has been around since the 1970’s. Back then, it was hard to imagine how important it would be to secure important data in our modern technologic age. And in the creator’s wildest dreams they could not predict how important the ACH network would become to us.

ACH Files

Please deliver to the bank

When ACH was conceived, the most important aspect of the file format was that it was easy and fast. Security did not factor in.

This is a Sample ACH Request

• Plain Text – No encryption or obfuscation may be added to the file.

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) – Anyone with access to a file can see enough info to convincingly commit fraud or identity theft.

Your bank infoAmount to payPayeePayee bank info

ACH is InsecureBecause the file cannot be encrypted or obfuscated, plain text info is sent over the Internet. This can easily be intercepted, and used to commit fraud. Even banks use plain text file transfers, but they do it over a secured connection to the ACH network. Unfortunately, you do not have that luxury.

This data transfer is

NOT secure…

ACH is NOT Free

Banks absorb the overt fees of ACH because they are making interest off the moneys in holding accounts. But hidden fees are still often passed on to consumers in the form of bank fees, transfer delays, and other tactics.

ACH IN THE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY

A Little Bit of History:

In the beginning…ACH files from TOPS were designed to be delivered to the bank by hand. This was inherently secure, as nobody could access the files without the physical disk they were stored on.This quickly became the standard in the CAM industry.

ACH Files

Please deliver to the bank

An industry standard

Despite changing technologies, the method of handling ACH transactions in the CAM industry has stayed the same… Except today, we send them via much less secure means – like email.

To: BankRE: ACH Files

Falling Behind

Other Property Management verticals have ceased generating ACH files and have moved to secure payment provider systems instead. The CAM industry has fallen behind.

MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO IS NOT AN OPTION

No Legal ProtectionDespite the inherent dangers of the current ACH system, bank accounts and other PII (Personally Identifiable Information) are not protected under the same laws that protect businesses in cases of credit card fraud. This means if a breach does occur as a result of ACH, your clients will hold YOU responsible.

How ACH works now (TOPS Pro, TOPS iQ and other CAM industry competitors)

Client maintains ACH data on own

servers

Transmits ACH requests to

bank

Bank submits ACH requests

to Federal Reserve

ACH request processed

Receipts deposited into community’s bank account

Risk is borne by Management Company

and Homeowner

How ACH Should Work(This is how it works in TOPS [ONE] and most other PM

verticals)

Client submits ACH requests to

secure server

Payment processing

engine securely stores ACH data

Payment processor

transmits ACH requests to

Federal Reserve

ACH request processed

Receipts deposited into community’s bank account

Risk is borne by Secure Payment Processor

TOPS [ONE] & ACHIn TOPS [ONE] we are realigning the way we do ACH to a more secure, modern, technological approach.ACH transactions are available through Autopay in the Owner Access feature of TOPS [ONE].

Homeowner Benefits

The entire process is visible in real time to the homeowner. No more mixed signals!

Enrollment can be done online, in just a few clicks. No need to fill out a form for the bank anymore.

The homeowner has full control over bank transfers. They can stop or start them at any time.

More Visibility Easier Enrollment

Complete Control

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Community Benefits

Forget about ‘The check’s in the mail’ and other excuses. See in real time when payments are made.

Fees are paid up front by the homeowner when they pay their assessment so there is no cost (or income lost) from ACH transactions for the community.

The community does not need to store homeowner bank account info. This can reduce fraud and ease fear.

On Time Assessments

No Cost to You Risk Mitigation

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Management Company Benefits

Eliminate manual cleanup for failed transactions.

You can choose to automatically apply NSF fees when auto payments fail.

Managing payment setup is a one-time process that keeps working for you.

Post When Cleared

Automated NSF Set It & Forget It

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Compare ACH Processing Fees ACH Provider / Software Company ACH Fee Structure Quickbooks $ .50 per transaction Buildium $ .50 per transaction Appfolio $ 1.25 per home per month includes ACH

fee PaySimple $ .55 per transaction PayLease $ 2.95 - $ 3.95 per ACH retail rate Revo Pay $ 2.95 per ACH retail Yapstone $ 2.95 per ACH retail TOPS [ONE] $ .50 per transaction (paid by

homeowner)

For less than the cost of a postage stamp, homeowners can pay their dues online, check their balance, review their payment history, submit service requests and more.

Homeowners Win

Link to the owner portal on your existing website or skip the website altogether, and just give homeowners access to their data.

Communities Win

Reduce incoming phone calls from homeowners with balance inquiries and requests for payment history.

Management Companies Win

TOPS [ONE] is changing the way community association management is done. Learn more about TOPS [ONE] today!

Get TOPS [ONE]

www.tops-one.com/one

800-760-9966

Thank You!