A customer overpays by 22 cents, and you refund it by ACH. Is that a Micro-Entry? How about if a customer pays a 93-cent bill by ACH. Is that a Micro-Entry? Are these transactions subject to the new Nacha Micro-Entry Rule taking effect Sept. 16?

“Not every payment under $1 is a Micro-Entry. The answer hinges on two very important words in the new Rule: account validation,” said Debbie Barr, Nacha Senior Director, ACH Network Rules Process and Communications. 

The Rule defines Micro-Entries as ACH credits less than $1, and the offsetting ACH debits, used for the purpose of verifying a Receiver’s account. 

“That means that in the two examples cited here, the question becomes whether the payments are being used for account validation,” said Barr. 

“If you’ve determined that a payment is, in fact, a Micro-Entry being used for account validation, be sure to use ‘ACCTVERIFY’ in the Company Entry Description field,” said Barr. “And if the payment is less than $1 but it’s not a Micro-Entry, then don’t include the ‘ACCTVERIFY’ description.”

The second phase of the Micro-Entry Rule, effective March 17, 2023, will require Micro-Entry Originators to use commercially reasonable fraud detection, including monitoring of Micro-Entry forward and return volumes.

Learn more about the new Rule, get answers to frequently asked questions, and download a one-page overview, on the Micro-Entries Rule Page.