eCheck Prenotification

An eCheck Prenotification is a non-monetary transaction used to verify the account information supplied by the consumer is valid. These transactions are sent to the ACH network to help ensure subsequent entries are posted appropriately. Since this is a verification of account information, typically, you would submit a Prenotification transaction in advance of processing the order, during the customer set-up process. There are two types of Prenotification transaction types: echeckPreNoteCredit and eCheckPreNoteSale. Per NACHA requirements, you must submit the Prenotification transaction that corresponds to the intended, subsequent transaction. For example, if you are planning to submit an echeckSale transaction and want to verify the account information, you should submit a echeckPreNoteSale.

The possible ACH network responses to a prenotification are:

  • No response - applies when the account is open and the account information is correct

  • Notification of Change - provides updated account information, including correct routing number, e.g. C02 Incorrect routing/transit number (visible in the SSR eCheck NOC report)

  • Return code - provides account status, e.g. R02 Account is closed, R03 No account on file, R04 Invalid account number

Prenotification transactions are only supported in cnpAPI V9.1 or above and only in Batch submissions. Prenotification transactions are not supported for Payment Facilitators or for Canadian Direct Debits.

When you submit either of the Prenotification transaction types, the system sends an acknowledgment in the Batch response file. This response file does not provide the results of the prenotification check, but rather a verification that we received the transaction and it was properly formatted. You receive the results to the check in the SSR eCheck Notification of Change report. This report is run daily and you can expect to see the results for submitted prenotification checks by the second or third business day after the settlement day. The settlement day for a Prenotification transaction is defined as the next business day after submission to the ACH network. Remember, if the account you are attempting to verify is open and the account information is correct, the report will not contain an entry for that transaction. The report only contains NOCs (update information).

Per NACHA regulations, you can submit the eCheck Sale or eCheck Credit transaction on the third business day after the settlement day; however, there might still be a forthcoming NOC on that day. Due to the timing of the responses from NACHA, the generation of the reports, and the movement of the transactions, you should wait until the fourth day after the settlement day to submit the live transaction unless you receive a NOC earlier. This timing is illustrated in the example below.

  1. You submit a Prenotification transaction on Monday prior to your cut-off time.

  2. Our system forwards the transaction to NACHA on Tuesday. Note, this makes Wednesday the settlement day.

  3. NACHA responds with a NOC/return, if any, by Thursday night.

  4. On Friday, the information from NACHA is processed by our systems.

  5. On Saturday morning, the SSR NOC report containing the information is available to you.

  6. You can submit the eCheck Sale or eCheck Credit transaction before your cut-off time on Saturday night. This is the fourth day after settlement, the fifth day after submission.