FPAC Notice - FPAC-N 2100-019 - Fiscal Year 2022 Reducing Paper Checks and Increasing Electronic Payments

Sep 16, 2026

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Fiscal Year 2022 guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture FPAC Business Center updates procedures for Farm Service Agency state and county offices to obtain Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information and apply related hardship waiver rules under 63-FI. It sets deadlines, defines required data entry in FSAFS, and requires documentation and reporting of progress converting producers from paper checks to EFT. The notice summarizes FY2020–FY2022 outcomes, cost impacts, authority under DCIA, and expectations for using SF-3881 and hardship waiver categories.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

PURPOSE

BACKGROUND

GENERAL EFT AUTHORITY AND EXPECTATIONS

Authority for EFTs

FSAFS Customer Maintenance – SF-3881

Hardship Waivers

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area Business Center Washington, DC 20250 | FPAC NOTICE | FPAC-N 2100-019 | | --- | --- | | Subject: Fiscal Year 2022 Reducing Paper Checks and Increasing
Electronic Payments for Farm Service Agency and Commodity Credit Corporation | Effective Date:
July 20, 2022 | | Approved by:
/s/ Sherry Laws for
Chief Financial Officer
Farm Production and Conservation Business Center | Expiration Date:
December 31, 2022 | 1. PURPOSE a. This directive updates procedures and provides reminders and deadlines for Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and County Offices to obtain Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information according to 63-FI. FMD will provide measurement data to State Offices on the results for increasing EFT sign-ups to: b. FMD will provide measurement data to State Offices on the results of increasing EFT sign-ups to: (1) Obtain EFT information or valid hardship waiver information for producers and enter the information into Farm FSA Financial Services Web Applications (FSAFS); and (2) Document and report State and County Office success in converting customers or producers from paper checks to EFT. c. This directive applies only to FSA and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) . 2. BACKGROUND a. In February 2020, the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center, Financial Management Division (FMD) partnered with the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) to support its goal of “Reducing Paper Checks and Increasing Electronic payments” to: (1) Improve delivery time of payments to FSA and CCC customers or producers; (2) Reduce processing and mailing time by 5 to 12 business days; (3) Reduce payment processing costs; and (4) Ensure more secure processing of payments. b. By November 12, 2021, FSA State and County Offices reported the following positive results: (1) Converted 24,706 producers from paper checks to EFT (20.2 percent of eligible records); (2) Identified 8,372 producers as deceased or no longer active (6.9 percent); (3) Called and/or e-mailed or reported other status of 21,663 producers (17.8 percent); and (4) Reported updated waiver status for 3,825 producers (3.1 percent) . c. Overall, State and County Offices responded to 48 percent of all eligible records which l lead to significant cost savings and greater efficiencies. Since State and County Offices are the first points of contact when issues arise, converting producers to EFT will lead to fewer customer complaints and reduced workloads for State and County Office employees. Note: Paper checks account for approximately 4 percent of Treasury disbursements but account for approximately 50 percent of the issues arising throughout the year. d. Results ofFSA/CCC Treasury Initiative (1) Analysis of Reducing Checks to Producers and Increasing Electronic Payments: | Through 2nd
Quarter FY | Checks Received by FSA/CCC Producers | Estimated Cost of Sending Checks Versus EFT Payments | | --- | --- | --- | | 2020 | 321,783 | $574,031 | | 2021 | 279,000 | $447,300 | | 2022 | 107,237 | $183,303 | (2) Analysis ofFSA/CCC (Non-FMMI) Checks Versus EFT for 1st and 2nd Quarters ofthe Past Four Fiscal Years: (a) Total transaction volume (check and EFT) dropped significantly in the two quarters of fiscal year (FY) 2022 versus the same period over the previous three fiscal years. 1,194,274 payments were disbursed in FY 2022 versus an average in Fiscal Years 2019, 2020, and 2021 of 2,167,831 payments (b) The number of checks disbursed to producers decreased by 171,763 over the same period in FY 2021. This decrease also reverses a trend from previous periods. This reduction represents an estimated cost savings of $291,997 . (c) The year-over-year trend of increasing EFT transactions and decreasing check transactions (as a percentage of total transactions) continued moving in the right direction. In the first two quarters ofFY 2021, check

FAQs

What is the purpose of FPAC-N 2100-019 for Fiscal Year 2022?

It updates procedures and provides reminders and deadlines for FSA state and county offices to obtain EFT information and hardship waiver information under 63-FI. It also directs documentation and reporting of success converting producers from paper checks to EFT.

What deadline range does the notice specify for the directive?

The effective date is July 20, 2022, and the expiration date is December 31, 2022.

What form must new customers or producers submit to receive payments electronically?

New customers or producers must fill out SF-3881 for direct deposit and return it to the county office to receive FSA/CCC program payments electronically.

Sep 16, 2026

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