- What a default decision is and who should control it
- How to set cutoff times that work for checks and ACH
- The grace-period mechanic that reduces client friction
- Why visible cutoffs reduce support calls
Default decisions, cutoffs, and SLAs
The default decision.
When a business client doesn't decision an exception before the cutoff, the system applies a default: pay or return. This is one of the most important settings in your program.
Who controls it. The default should be controlled at the FI level, set in the agreement — not toggled by the business client in the interface. A business client changing their own default can change your liability picture without understanding the consequence.
How to set it. For standard Positive Pay, the common default is return: if no decision is made, the item is returned, because the whole point is to block unauthorized items. For Reverse Positive Pay, where there are many more items to review, the common default is pay, because returning everything undecisioned would be unworkable. Set the default to match the service type and document it in the disclosure.
Cutoff times.
Cutoffs differ for checks and ACH because the underlying rules differ.
Checks. A same-day cutoff (commonly mid-to-late afternoon) is typical, because of the limited window to return a check item without it being treated as a late return. Your business clients need to decision before you bundle returns for the day.
ACH. ACH has a longer return window under network rules, which gives you more flexibility. Files that arrive late in the day can often be decisioned the next morning and still fall within the allowable window.
The grace-period mechanic.
A useful feature: a grace period for ACH exceptions. If a file is uploaded close to or after the cutoff, the system gives the business client a defined window — for example, two hours from upload, carrying into the next morning — to decision it. This prevents a late-arriving file from forcing a rushed, end-of-day scramble, while still keeping the decision inside the network's return window.
Make cutoffs visible.
The most common avoidable support call is "I didn't know when the cutoff was." If your platform can display the cutoff time on the exception screen — or better, on every screen — do it. A visible cutoff is a support call that never happens.
Confirm your default decisions are set at the FI level, documented in your disclosure, and that your cutoff times are visible to business clients in the interface.
What's next.
Lesson 5.3 covers what implementation actually looks like when you bring all of this live.