EPCOR Workshops

Roll up your sleeves and dig deep into important payments topics with one of our workshops. A hands-on approach allows you to dissect important information and apply the information to your organization.

Virtual ACH Origination Workshop

Offering ACH Origination to your clients can help meet client needs, enhance client relationships and drive revenue. But it's not without its risks! Whether your financial institution is just considering testing the waters or is already an ODFI, join us for a hands-on approach to exploring ODFI roles and responsibilities. Together we’ll cover topics important for new and old ODFIs alike including ACH policies and procedures, agreements, annual reviews and more!

When: December 11 - 12

Workshop Agenda

Day 1

What’s in an ACH Policy?
Will Grace - Denovo Treasury
Building an ACH Agreement
Emily Nelson - EPCOR
Due Diligence and Annual Reviews of ACH Originators
Sandra Griffin - Community Bank

Day 2

An Auditor’s Perspective on ACH Originations and ODFIs
Amy Donaghue & Myranda Brown - EPCOR
Origination Fraud and Mitigation Techniques
Trevor Witchey - EPCOR
ODFI Problem Solving
Trevor Witchey - EPCOR

Session Descriptions

Day 1 • December 11

What’s in an ACH Policy?

Will Grace - Denovo Treasury
Let us guide you through the essential elements of an ACH Policy, providing a clear understanding of its components and significance. We will also showcase an example policy, illustrating best practices and practical applications. Whether you're new to ACH or looking to refine your knowledge, this session is designed to equip you with the necessary tools and insights.

Building an ACH Agreement

Emily Nelson - EPCOR
The ACH Rules specify the essential components of an Origination agreement and the parties with whom you should have these agreements. However, there is some room for interpretation regarding what should or should not be included. Join us as we examine the Rule requirements and best practices to identify additional areas of protection for you and your Originators.

Due Diligence & Annual Reviews of ACH Originators

Sandra Griffin - Community Bank
For financial institutions acting as an ODFI, potential ACH Originators must be reviewed and assessed before they begin originating with your institution. Your organization must consider many things, such as what kind of due diligence must be performed and what kind of safeguards should be put in place for any higher-risk Originators. Then, once the Originator is in place, your organization must decide how you will annually assess their activities to ensure compliance with the ACH Rules and their ACH agreement. We’ll discuss these topics and more with a Treasury Management professional who has experience in onboarding and annually reviewing ACH Originators.

Day 2 • December 12

An Auditor’s Perspective on ACH Originations and ODFIs

Amy Donaghue & Myranda Brown - EPCOR
Each year, financial institutions conduct annual audits, and there are often findings with regard to their ACH activities as an ODFI or with their Originators. Hear from a member of EPCOR’s audit team, and together we’ll discuss common findings and issues seen from participants in the ACH origination process. Attendees will also get to ask any audit-related questions.

Origination Fraud and Mitigation Techniques

Trevor Witchey - EPCOR
Fraud continues to grow within the ACH system, and in response, Nacha has created new Rules for 2024-2026 to assist originating participants with mitigation. Let’s discuss those new rules and how they affect ODFIs and Originators, cover the types of fraud that continue to exist and other best practices to help reduce fraud.

ODFI Problem Solving

Trevor Witchey - EPCOR
Being an ODFI is difficult work with managing day-to-day operations and assisting your ACH Originators with a variety of issues. Together, we’ll problem-solve topics such as trying to retrieve fraud, ACH and dishonored/contested returns, notifications of change (NOC), reversals, system downtime and other events that may randomly occur within the origination process. This session will present various scenarios to help enhance the problem-solving skills of an ODFI.

Speakers

Will K. Grace

Founder & Managing Director, DeNovo Treasury

Will K. Grace is a 34-year veteran of the financial services industry, having spent his career working for large and mid-size financial institutions, a core processor, and most recently, a Fintech start-up. He is an expert in treasury management, product management and faster/instant payments for businesses of all sizes, and in the products, services and solutions used to manage payables, receivables, deposits, liquidity and digital banking needs.

Will has served on multiple Treasury and Product Management councils and forums, including as a member of the Nacha Rules and Operations Committee and EPCOR Board of Directors (Treasurer and Vice Chairman); presented at local and national events; and participated in the business requirements gathering process at The Clearing House for the RTP® Network in 2015. Will is currently a Board Advisor for MoneySprinter, a Fintech startup that provides worldwide remittance and peer-to-peer transaction services online, and he serves on the Metro Detroit Read to a Child Advisory Board.

Sandy Griffin

Community Bank

Sandy Griffin is a member of Community Bank in southwestern Pennsylvania. Community Bank is a $1.5 billion community bank that is people-centric, tech-forward and values-driven.

Sandy has been in banking for more than 40 years, primarily in deposit operations as well as treasury management operations and sales. She lives outside of Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, Mike.

Emily Nelson, AAP, APRP, NCP

Manager, Payments Education, EPCOR

Emily Nelson joined EPCOR’s Advisory Services department in 2019 where she scheduled services and conducted audits and risk assessments. In 2023, she joined EPCOR’s education team as Manager of Payments Education. In her role, she designs and leads payments compliance education programs impacting traditional and instant payments in support of over 1,800 financial institution and corporate members. Emily obtained her Accredited ACH Professional designation in October 2019, her National Check Professional (NCP) certification in May 2021, and the Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) in August 2022. She is also the staff liaison for the Payments Compliance and Risk Committee, which is one of several EPCOR member-led committees.

Amy Donaghue, AAP, APRP, NCP

Director, Consulting, Risk and Third-Party Services, EPCOR

Amy directs the development and execution of EPCOR’s Consulting, Risk and Third-Party programs for Advisory Services. Amy also travels throughout EPCOR’s footprint to conduct consulting, audit and risk assessment engagements related to ACH, remote deposit capture, wire transfer, Third-Party and other payments-related services. As part of these services, Amy provides recommendations related to compliance with ACH Rules, payments-related regulations and regulatory guidance. Amy also provides education and shares best practices with financial institutions and Third-Party Senders to support their efforts towards maintaining compliance, improving operational processes and mitigating risk and fraud. In addition, Amy collaborates on EPCOR publications designed to assist financial institutions and Third-Party Senders in conducting audits and risk assessments related to the payments industry.

Amy’s experience in the financial services industry began in 1993 as an associate of the Deposit Operations department. Her vast experience includes a variety of roles at several financial institutions, primarily in the back-office operations areas. Her extensive operations background enables her to provide firsthand experience as she assists members in addressing compliance and operational issues identified during audit, risk and consulting engagements.

Myranda Brown

Manager, Audit Services, EPCOR

Myranda travels throughout EPCOR’s footprint to conduct ACH compliance audits. As part of these services, Myranda verifies compliance with ACH Rules, payments-related regulations and regulatory guidance. Myranda also provides education and shares best practices with financial institutions to support their efforts toward maintaining compliance, improving operational processes, and mitigating risk and fraud. Myranda began her career in the financial services industry in 2016 as a bank teller while earning a bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University. In 2019, Myranda moved to Deposit Operations, where she was heavily involved in all aspects of ACH processing. In 2023, she made a move to focus solely on ACH and furthered her knowledge in an ACH Compliance role. Myranda joined the EPCOR team in 2024 as a Manager for Audit Services. Myranda is currently working towards becoming an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP).

Trevor Witchey, AAP, NCP

Senior Director, On-Demand Education, EPCOR

Trevor Witchey is currently the Senior Director of Payments Education at EPCOR since August 2022. Prior to joining EPCOR, he worked for a commercial financial institution for almost 17 years with almost 12 years of that timeframe within digital payments. Trevor has experience managing products, services, risk/fraud and operations of ACH, Wire Transfer, Debit Card/ATM, Online Banking platforms and Treasury Management account holders. In addition, he is a 2004 graduate of Ohio University with a Master’s Degree in Economics and used to teach economics and mathematics evening courses at a local community college for almost 15 years.

Virtual Debit Card Workshop

Join us for this two-day workshop to take a deep dive into the Debit Card and ATM space. Topics will include ATM and ITM management and troubleshooting, managing your Debit Card portfolio, cardholder disputes, fraud mitigation techniques, strategy to enhance your cardbase, and new innovations in the card space.

When: May 30 – 31

Registration Closed

Virtual Payments Compliance Workshop

The key to compliance is not only learning rules and regulations but understanding what they say and how they might affect your organization. This three day workshop will cover a variety of rules, regulations and guidance that govern the payments industry. Join us to gain a better understanding of the impact of common compliance considerations on your organization.

When: June 11 – 13

Registration Closed

Virtual Regulation E Boot Camp

Understanding Regulation E and how to apply it along side payments rules and regulations within the different payment systems is challenging! Join us for a two-day, virtual Regulation E boot camp where we will discuss how Regulation E affects ACH, debit cards, and credit push transactions using bank-offered services and third-party payment apps. Together, we will walk through scenarios to test your knowledge in applying Regulation E to different situations that arise in your day-to-day operations.

When: June 26 – 27

Registration Closed