Electronic Check Image and Deposit Programs
Deposits
- Image Cash Letters must be transmitted in the STO-approved format. (Contact the STO’s Bank Reconciliation Section for a copy of the ICL format).
- Remote Site Deposits will be prepared/transmitted using a depository bank’s proprietary scanner once an agreement is established between the agency and depository bank. (Contact the STO for a current list of banks that meet the STO requirements).
- Agencies that use a third-party vendor must ensure the vendor complies with the State banking agreement and all processes it establishes.
- If applicable, in accordance with State Administrative Manual (SAM) Section 8032.5, agencies must report to STO’s Financial Services Section (FSS) the deposit amount by 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time on the day the funds are deposited into the state’s Demand Accounts.
- Deposits transmitted to and received by the depository bank by 8 p.m. Pacific time will receive same-day ledger credit.
- Agencies will receive a file-processing acknowledgment from the depository bank for each transmitted file as it processes. This acknowledgment will include notification of any non-conforming image (NCI) items in that file.
- No over-the-counter deposit forms (slips) can be used.
- Agencies must access FI$Cal’s Deposit Slip Entry to prepare and submit a report of deposit.
- Agencies and/or vendors cannot deposit checks already submitted electronically.
- Refer to SAM Section 8034.5 for endorsement provisions.
- Agencies must physically secure the original checks for a minimum of 10 business days (15 business days is recommended) to resolve NCIs, items questioned as fraudulent and other issues.
Sequence Numbers
Image sequence numbers of deposited checks must be unique in the check processing system across all deposit dates. STO recommends check sequence numbers start with the deposit date in the MMDDYY format, followed by the number assigned to the scanned image.
Deposit Adjustments – Agency Errors
All errors will be corrected in accordance with SAM Section 8033.3.
Returned Item Account
Each encoding agency under the Misc-Sort contract (currently Board of Equalization, Department of Motor Vehicles, Employment Development Department, Franchise Tax Board and Department of Child Support Services) has a Returned Item Account (RIA) for charging back dishonored checks (DCs) and NCIs (from ICL deposits), and will be processed through the RIA Zero Balance Account (ZBA). All DCs being submitted back to the agency will be presented to the agency as an Image Replacement Document (IRD). NCIs will be presented to the agencies as a list of NCIs in the ICL file-processing acknowledgment, or in a separate NCI email. NCI reporting for each image will include the amount and the original sequence number of that image. The NCI file-processing acknowledgment and the separate NCI email (if used) will be transmitted to the depositing agency by 11 a.m. Pacific time the following business day.
Non-Conforming Images:
To redeposit an NCI, the agency must retrieve and manually deposit the original item.
Fatal File Failure:
In the event of a fatal file failure which prevents the bank from processing deposits, the agency must contact the FSS by email and call (916) 653-2917 immediately after becoming aware of the failure.