I am in the BSA dept. at my bank. We've asked the ACH folks how we can stop an ACH credit from coming in if the name listed doesn't match the account name (but the account number is a good account). They first told me we aren't legally able to, but I don't think that is true. As I understand NACHA rules, we can return using R03 as the return code when the party name listed is different than the account name. Now they are telling me that our core processor posts our receiver file (Fiserv CBS) and they can't detect the mismatch. Can anyone out there tell me how they do this?

I require my ACH people to review the pre-notes and if the name and account number do not agree I tell them to return the pre-note with whatever code it is that requires them to contact the originator. I was at an ACH training and the lady in charge stated that it is up to the bank's discretion whether or not to return because the name does not match. Does your ACH department review the pre-notes? That is where they would catch the discrepency and get it corrected before a live file went through.

Since a pre-note is optional, can I rely on it to make sure it is really my customer who is the beneficiary of the transaction?

NACHA rules allow for posting strictly by account number. You would need to set an internal process to list out all name/account mismatches, and manually return. Depending what system you are using for processing the ACH files, you may be able to automate tis. PEP+ Platinum allows for this, not sure about any others