Lesson 3.6: Direct Deposit Setup

FastFund Payroll gives you the ability to pay your employees using an ACH Direct Deposit transaction through their partner, National Payment Solutions. Transitioning to direct deposit optimizes your payroll process by reducing administrative costs, eliminating reliance on paper checks, and providing your employees with safe, convenient access to their wages.

Setting up direct deposit is a two-part process: first, you must establish and verify your organization’s account with National Payment Solutions, and then you must configure your FastFund system to enable the transmissions.

[INSERT SCREENSHOT: The ‘Integrations (APIs)’ tab under Company Setup, highlighting the ‘National Payment – Direct Deposit for Payroll’ section and the link to the Application Form]

Part 1: The Application Process Before you can configure the software, you must officially apply for the service:

1. Navigate to Administration > Company Setup > Integrations (APIs).
2. Under the National Payment section, click the Direct Deposit Application Form link.
3. Complete all nine pages of the PDF application.
4. Email the signed form to Araize Support along with a copy of a signed IRS Form 941, a copy of a voided check from your payroll bank account, and the one-time setup fee.

Once your application is processed, National Payment will issue a test deposit to your bank account. After you verify this test deposit, you will be issued your official National Payment (NPC) Account Number.

Part 2: System Configuration Once you have your NPC Account Number, you must enter it into FastFund to link the systems:

1. Return to Administration > Company Setup > Integrations (APIs).
2. Enter your NPC Account Number.
3. Enter your Bank Routing Number. (When you enter this, a verification pop-up will appear displaying the name of your bank. Click OK to verify).
4. Enter your Bank Account Number and select the Bank Account Type (Checking or Savings).
5. Check the Direct Deposit Enabled box.
6. Click SAVE.

[INSERT SCREENSHOT: The ‘Routing Number Verification’ pop-up window confirming the name of the bank associated with the entered routing number]

Employee Authorizations and Notifications Before setting up individual employees for direct deposit (covered in Module 4), you must have them complete a Direct Deposit Authorization Form and provide a voided check or deposit slip. A standard template for this form is conveniently located right below the system setup fields on the Integrations screen.

When you process a direct deposit payroll, FastFund can automatically email each employee a secure PDF copy of their pay stub. To ensure strict data privacy, these attached PDFs are encrypted and require the employee to enter the last four digits of their Social Security Number as the password to open them.

The Golden Rule of Direct Deposit Timing Processing ACH transactions requires strict adherence to federal banking timelines. When running your payroll, you must successfully post the batch and send the direct deposit transmission to National Payment no later than 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) three federal banking days prior to the paycheck date. For example, if your official pay date is on a Friday, your direct deposit must be fully submitted by 5:00 PM PT on Tuesday.