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AUTOMATIC FUNDS TRANSFER (AFT)

 

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS

Automatic Fund Transfer (AFT) is a convenient and cost-effective way to deliver or receive payments

 

 

It's quick, it's secure and it's convenient

 

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Save time and money

Improve cash flow

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Track transactions easier

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Minimize risk of fraud

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Keep it secure

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Available 24/7 

READY TO GET STARTED?

Speak to a business banking advisor at your branch today.

AUTOMATIC FUNDS TRANSFER (AFT)

 

KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS

 

Regulated by the Canadian Payments Association, Automatic Fund Transfer (AFT) and powered by PaymentStream™ is a convenient and cost-effective way to deliver or receive payments.

  • You’ll save time and money by skipping the process of writing, mailing and tracking cheques.
  • You’ll improve your cash flow by speeding up the process of incoming and outgoing payments.
  • You can easily track AFT transactions with our online system—much simpler than tracking incoming and outgoing cheques.
  • You’ll minimize your exposure to risk and fraudulent transactions.
  • You'll keep your financial information and your privacy secure.


Whether you need to pay employees and suppliers, or collect payments from your customers, AFT will accommodate all types of businesses such as, payroll processors; property management, leasing and rental companies; fitness centres and gyms; manufacturers, retailers, charities, insurance companies and many more.

 

HOW IT WORKS

 

Automatic Funds Transfer is accessible through a secure, user-friendly web-based application.

  • Once you’ve received authorization from us to send or receive funds, you can input and store customer information in PaymentStream’s database for one-time or recurring transactions.
  • Alternatively, you may also use off-the-shelf commercial or proprietary accounting software to upload a transaction list file, provided the file meets the CPA Standard 005.
  • The application also provides the ability to generate and download transaction reports, with up to 18 months of history for most reports.
  • The unique application allows you to set up a variety of payment frequencies (e.g. weekly, monthly, etc.) and you can create a single future-dated transaction, or set up recurring payments.

 
Contact your business banking advisor if you have any question or to get started with automated funds transfer.

 

 

AFT OFFERS THE FOLLOWING LIMITS

  • Transaction Debit and/or Credit Limit: Highest amount of any single transaction
  • Settlement Day Debit and/or Credit Limit: total combined amount of all transactions
  • Monthly Debit and/or Credit Limit: total combined amount of all transactions processed per calendar month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFT SECURITY FEATURES

 

2-Step Security

PaymentStream AFT introduces 2-Step Security. 2-Step Security is a method of authenticating a user by confirming two factors of authentication:

  • A username and password; and
  • A physical Hard Token or Soft Token on a Smartphone*

*A token is required to access the AFT application from PaymentStream

You have the choice between whether you’d like to use a soft or hard token.

A soft token is installed on the user’s trusted device, Smartphone, tablet or iPad. The device must first have an authenticator app installed for the security process to work. Our recommendation is to install the Google Authenticator app. With a hard token, you have a physical device that you can obtain from Valley First.

Forced Mandatory Approval

As an additional security feature, PaymentStream AFT offers forced mandatory approval. As such, for organizations with a combined monthly limit beyond a set threshold, second approval is mandatory. For combined monthly limits below the set threshold, you have the ability to request mandatory second approval as an additional security measure. 

 

SUPPORT GUIDES & HOW-TO VIDEOS

 

Whether you’re learning the new system or running into issues, our support library is available to provide you with a variety of guides and how-to videos. Alternatively, if you’re unable to find what you’re looking for or are having technical difficulties, please reach out to your branch advisor. They will be able to help you with any questions or concerns you may have.

 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

AFT Passwords MUST:

  • be minimum of eight (8) characters in length
  • contain at least one (1) opposite case character
  • contain at least one (1) non-alphanumeric character
  • contain at least one (1) number character
  • not be the same password used as the last 24  

Note: A user that has not accessed the system in 12-months will be automatically removed.

Visit https://www.valleyfirst.com/aft

Enter your own, unique User ID, your password and the code from your soft or hard security token (refer to 2-Step Security below).

 2-Step Security is a method of authenticating a user by confirming two factors of authentication: a username and password and a physical hard token or soft security token on a smart phone. The token is required to access the PaymentStream AFT application. 

After seven consecutive, unsuccessful password login attempts, the user will be locked out for 30 minutes, even if the login attempts are made over several days.

Security tokens are mandatory as all users are required to have 2-Step Security to access PaymentStream AFT.  Users have the choice of either soft or hard security tokens. 

  • A soft token is installed on a user’s trusted device such as a smartphone, tablet or iPad. The device must have an authenticator app installed for the security process to work. We recommend the Google Authenticator app.  
  • A hard token is a physical device that is provided by First West Credit Union. The cost of hard token is $10.00 per token. ​

If I use the soft token on my smartphone will I be charged for data usage?
Google Authenticator is a free app for Android, iPhone, or BlackBerry and does not require Wi-Fi or data connectivity (i.e. in Airplane Mode). Data is only used during the initial download of the app to your device.  

Can I share my security token?
No. Tokens are security devices and cannot be shared or reassigned.  

We just had an employee leave and another employee start; can we assign the security token to the new employee?
No. Tokens are security devices and cannot be shared or reassigned. Please contact your Advisor and they will be happy to assist. 

Do tokens expire?
No. However, hard security tokens have a non-replaceable battery that last approximately three years. Therefore, hard tokens have a suggested replacement date of three years from the time they are issued. Members are responsible for purchasing replacement tokens. 

How do I purchase a replacement token?
Please contact your Advisor and they will be happy to assist.  

Can someone have both a hard and soft security token?
It is possible to deactivate a token to switch to another type of token, however, users cannot have both tokens simultaneously.  

What if someone starts using one type of security token and wants to switch to another type?
It is possible to switch to another type of token. However, the current token that they are using will be retired and can never be reused or re-assigned to another user.  I have multiple different AFT accounts that I use for different purposes.

Is it possible to get a single security token assigned to all of them?
For security reasons, there is no option to assign a single security token to multiple accounts. If you have access to multiple Originators IDs with different User IDs, a soft security token is the best option as is the Google Authenticator app will store all your tokens for the various User IDs on your smartphone.  

Can a user have different rights for different Originator IDs?
Yes, a user can have different rights set up for different Originator IDs.  

I lost my security token, how do I get a new one?
Please contact your Advisor and they will be happy to assist. 

Mandatory forced approval is when an organization has one or more Originator ID(s) and the monthly limit accumulatively exceeds a threshold in either debits or credits. All originator IDs for that organization will require approval. Mandatory forced approvals are automatically enforced within PaymentStream AFT. 

If the due date falls on a non-business day then the payment will be processed on the next business day. There is a business day only option available in the new system for credit records only. If selected, and a due date falls on a non-business day, the system will calculate the payment to be due on the business day before. This is mostly for payroll purposes and allows the user to leave it to the system to always ensure the payments are delivered on business days. For this feature to work, it must be selected in PaymentStream AFT.

Yes, you can set-up users so that they require approval. Approvals are placed on unique user IDs, allowing you to either set-up all users or just specific users. If any user is set-up to require approval, then you will need to have another user set-up with approval permissions.

Yes, please contact your Business Banking Advisor regarding any changes to your limits. 

There are two types of email notifications: Confirmation emails for validation of files or transactions. The primary contact attached to the Originator ID will received confirmation emails for validation of files – the primary cannot opt out; however, additional users can opt out of them. Email notifications of action required. Users with approval rights will receive an email advising of tasks that require attention. Users cannot opt out of these email notifications. 

Yes, the system allows user to select all or individually select transactions for release. 

No, in order to subscribe to a different AFT type, your current Originator ID would need to be closed and a new application would need to be initiated for a different AFT type. This would be considered an additional Originator request and would be charged as such. 

Windows 8.1 or higher and Internet Explorer 9 or higher is recommended. However, you can still use Windows 7, but you will need to use Chrome instead of Internet Explorer. All other browsers such as Firefox or Safari are also compatible. 

Yes, PaymentStream AFT is MAC compatible. 

Yes, provided you have Safari browser.

Yes, you may use off the shelf commercial or proprietary account software to upload a transaction file, provided the file meets the CPA Standard 005. Please check with your current software provided to ensure it meets the standard file requirements.

A file can be submitted up to 14 days prior to the due date. Check ‘Advanced’ and select 14 days. 

Automated release and Manual Release

Report Name Kept For
Record Change Report 18 months
Activity Log Report 3 months
Originator ChangeReport 12 months
Release History Report 18 months
Transaction History Report 18 months


File Upload

Report Name Kept For
Activity Log 3 months
File History Report 18 months
Transaction History Report 18 months
Originator Change Report 12 months

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