The Electronic Check Council (ECC) is a US organization that provides a forum for stakeholders of NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association

NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association

NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association manages the development, administration, and governance of the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States. It is funded by the financial institutions it governs...

 to design, propose, monitor, and promote solutions that enable the conversion of paper checks

Cheque

A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...

 to electronic entries.

The council was founded in 1995 and currently has more than 140 members, including financial institution

Financial institution

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...

s, vendors, retailers, processors, networks and associations

Voluntary association

A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...

.

Goals

• Support the testing of electronic check applications through pilot programs.
• Implement electronic Check applications that show the greatest potential.
• Support research to address consumer, legal, regulatory and risk
  Risk
  Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
  
   issues of electronic check applications.
• Provide a forum for all stakeholders in the electronic check arena.
• Promote the development and use of electronic check applications.

Process

Developments at the ECC all start with discussion and development of solutions in small group settings. These smaller groups are designated as work groups and ad hoc

Ad hoc

Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....

 groups that focus on specific areas of electronic check development.

A work group is an ongoing group that tackles a number of issues over a period of time related specifically either to a particular Standard Entry Class Code (such as POP, ARC, etc.) or to a specific topic that impacts all eCheck Standard Entry Class Codes (such as marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

).

An ad hoc group (or subgroup) tackles one specific issue and disbands once the issue has been resolved.