NACHA CEO Joins ACI Worldwide Board

ACI Worldwide has added a payments veteran to its board of directors as it announced the appointment of Jan Estep, CEO of NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association.

“Having worked closely with ACI over the years, I can attest to the company’s strong leadership and vision. With its Universal Payments framework, ACI is a key driver in the evolution of payments and banking,” Estep said. “I am excited to join an impressive board and collaborate closely with an executive team that truly understands payments.”

Prior to joining NACHA in 2008, Estep served as executive vice president of U.S. Bank’s Transaction Services division, leading the general management of the division, which included Elan ATM & Debit Services, ATM Banking Product and Operational Support, ATM & Kiosk Services, and EFT Network support. She joined U.S. Bank in 1997 with responsibility for its Merchant Payment Services division, previously holding a variety of management positions in technology-intensive companies. Previously, Estep was general manager of the Twin Cities laboratory and VP of sales and marketing for Pace Analytical Services. She also spent 15 years at IBM in various field and corporate positions.

“Jan is among the foremost industry leaders. She has contributed greatly to payments innovation and is a tremendous addition to our board,” said Phil Heasley, president and CEO of ACI Worldwide. “As the head of NACHA, she has done a great job in not only strengthening the ACH Network, but also in helping the industry create better solutions. And as our Universal Payments adoption increases, Jan’s input will be beneficial.”

For most of the past year, Estep and NACHA have been leading the charge on bringing faster payments closer to becoming a reality in the U.S.

NACHA’s membership — which consists of most financial institutions in this country directly or through regional associations — voted in May in favor of a change to NACHA operating rules that adopts Same Day ACH. That’s a speedier alternative to existing ACH, which can take a day or more to settle and clear. The rule requires that all NACHA members have the capability to process any ACH transaction within the same day — a move that can help businesses and consumers move money faster.

Since then, the measure has gained major support in the financial industry, including the Federal Reserve’s approval for enhancements in September. The enhancements will require receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs) to participate in the service and originating depository financial institutions (ODFIs) to pay a fee to RDFIs for each same-day ACH forward transaction.

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