Prepare for Direct Debit

Direct debit payments save time, reduce the cost to collect, and put cleared funds directly into your organization's bank account. In Altru, you can create a direct debit transmission file of your direct debit payments to send to your organization’s bank to process.

Before you process direct debit payments for a batch, follow these tips:

• Verify your system administrator has configured your organization’s direct debit header file. The direct debit header file must include your organization’s name, the company ID, and the immediate destination number. Your organization’s bank should provide you with information about the immediate destination to use. To successfully run a direct debit transmission file process, your organization’s direct debit header information must be established.

• Verify your system administrator has added your organization's bank account information to Altru, including the routing number, account number, and originating Depository Financial Institution (DFI) to use. You should also determine the best media to use to transfer transmission files to your bank.

• Determine the institution that approves and authorizes your organization’s bank account transactions. When you add an EFT transmission file process, you enter this institution’s name under Immediate destination name. Typically, this is the Federal Reserve, which approves most financial transactions for banks in the United States. However, your organization’s bank may act as your financial approval institution. If you're unsure, contact your bank.

• A credit offset transaction is the transaction that credits your organization’s account for the money debited from the donor’s account. As some banks generate the credit offset transaction themselves, you should check with your organization’s bank to find out whether to select Create credit offset transaction when you create new transmission files. When you select this option, the transmission file includes the credit offset transaction record.