1. Foreign Payments By: Heather Flanagan NOAA Finance Office, 20020 Century Blvd., Germantown, MD 20874 Phone 301-444-2786, Fax 301-427-2025

2. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Payment Types US Dollar –Check Treasury Name Only –EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer Foreign currency –Check –EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer

3. US Currency

4. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 US Currency Options Treasury Check –Treasury will send the check to the vendor’s address in CAMS which is obtained from the Vendor Profile form. Name Only Check - Treasury will send the check to Finance HQTR for Finance to send to either the Line Office or directly to the vendor via FedEx. US Dollar Wires – We pay the vendor via bank wires to their bank. Can be either a wire to a foreign bank or US Bank.

5. Treasury Checks

6. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why should I send a Treasury Check? No rush for payment to reach vendor The vendor does not have a bank account Every ASC can process this payment type

7. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why Not Treasury Checks? Tracking problems - There is NO WAY TO TRACK once the check has left the Treasury until the vendor cashes it. Will it arrive safely? Many country’s mail systems are inept and unreliable. It takes too long. Treasury will send the check to the foreign country via regular mail. This may take weeks depending on the location of the vendor. Can they cash a US$ check? It is difficult for some foreign vendors to cash a US $ check in their country. Human Error – Checks get lost. Unreliable - Checks are one of the most common forms of payments that are returned and/or never cashed.

8. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What does Finance need to process Treasury Checks? Vendor Profile Form - Accurate name/address of vendor who will cash the check.

9. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 At a glance… Treasury Checks PROS No rush for payment to reach vendor No bank account for vendor Every ASC can process this payment CONS Tracking Problems Will it arrive safely? It takes too long. Can they cash it? Human error Unreliable

10. Name Only Checks

11. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why should I send a Name Only Check? Hard Copy - The check is received by Finance directly from the US Treasury, allowing us a copy of the check. Track shipping - FedEx will track the shipment of the check and is faster than regular mail.

12. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why Not Name Only Checks? Expense – Did you know it costs approx. $83.00 to process a Name Only check? (not to mention all the FedEx fees which can be greater than $50) Human Error - Checks get lost. Can they cash a US$ check? It is difficult for some foreign vendors to cash a US $ check. Unreliable - Checks are one of the most common forms of payments that are returned and/or never cashed.

13. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What does Finance need to process Name Only Checks? Vendor Profile Form - Accurate name/address of vendor who will cash the check. Mailing information – Where would you like Finance to send the check? To the Line Office To the Vendor

14. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 At a glance… Name Only Checks PROS Hard copy of check FedEx will track the shipment of the check CONS Expense Human Error Can they cash it? Unreliable

15. US Dollar Wires (EFT)

16. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why Use US Dollar Wires (EFT)? They are easy to track. There is an electronic paper trail They are quick to process Payments are received in only a few days Every ASC can make US Dollar payments to foreign vendors. US accounts are made by CAMS Foreign accounts are made manually by Finance

17. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why not a US Dollar Wires (EFT)? Did you know it costs only $0.02 to process an EFT? There are extra steps needed to obtain banking information for these transfers. The only reason you would object to this type of payment is due to a currency issue. –The vendor does not want US Currency

18. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What does Finance need for US Dollar Wires (EFT)? If payment is a US Bank you must obtain: Bank Name Account Name/Number ABA# All banking information must be provided directly from the vendor »Email from Vendor »Vendor profile form »Invoice from vendor If payment is made to a foreign bank, there is additional information you MUST have in order to process these payments!!! 1.Foreign Bank Information 2.US Intermediary Bank

19. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What Foreign Bank information is needed to process a US Dollar Wire? Full address of the bank Name on the bank account Account # Swift Code – similar to the US ABA# but has letters/numbers and varies in length. You still need Intermediary Bank information for US Dollar Wires (EFT)

20. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What is an Intermediary Bank? An Intermediary bank is a US bank which can transfer US funds to the Vendor’s bank. Each foreign bank has different US banks they may use. –Myths about Intermediary Banks: The Vendor must have a bank in the US - False The Vendor must have an account with this bank. -False The Vendor’s bank must have a branch in the US. – False –So, how do you know which US bank to use? Hint: See the next slide

21. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Where do you get the Intermediary Bank information? The vendor needs to call their bank and Ask 3 simple questions: 1.What US Bank do you accept US funds from? Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan, etc. 2.What is the City/State of this bank? 99.9% are NY/ NY 3.What is the 9 digit ABA # for this bank? All numbers, no letters

22. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 At a glance…. US Dollar Wires (EFT) PROS Easy to track Quick to process Receipt of payments is only a few days Every ASC can make this type of payment CONS There are extra steps required to obtain additional banking information. Is there a currency issue for the vendor?

23. Foreign Currency

24. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Foreign Currency Options Foreign Currency Check –The check is issued by the “nearest” State Department and sent to the Embassy closest to the vendor. Foreign Currency Wire – We pay the vendor via bank wire to their bank This is a wire transfer directly to a foreign bank in foreign currency.

25. Foreign Currency Check

26. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Foreign Currency Checks 3 Step process 1.The US Treasury will send the foreign currency information to a “local” State Department who issues the check. 2.The check is sent to the Embassy closest to the vendor. 3.The Embassy will mail the check to the vendor.

27. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why should I send Foreign Currency Checks? Customer Service –The vendor requests a check payment –The vendor requests foreign currency Other exceptions Countries will not allow the US to send a wire US currency is not allowed in some countries NO OTHER OPTION FOR PAYMENT

28. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why Not Foreign Currency Check? We are unable to convert US funds into a foreign currency check. We must have a foreign currency amount in order to use this payment type. If we are supporting a meeting and will contribute US$25,000 to the meeting. We cannot accurately convert the funds. Our funds must be flexible for currency fluctuation.

29. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What does Finance need to process Foreign Currency Checks? Vendor Profile Form accurate address/name of vendor who will cash the check is a must. A specific amount of foreign currency and type of currency to use!!! We cannot convert US funds.

30. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 At a glance…. Foreign Currency Checks PROS Customer Service Other exceptions CONS Unable to convert US funds

31. Foreign Currency Wires (EFT)

32. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why should I send Foreign Currency Wires (EFT)? They are easy to track. They are easiest for our vendors They are quick to process Payments are received within 3-5 days

33. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Why not a Foreign Currency Wire? There really is no reason to object unless the vendor prefers to receive US currency.

34. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 What does Finance need for Foreign Currency Wires? Vendor Profile Form Full address of the bank Name on the bank account Account # Swift Code – similar to the US ABA# but has letters/numbers and varies in length. The specific type of foreign currency!

35. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 At a glance…. Foreign Currency Wires PROS Easy to track Easy for our vendors Quick to process Quick receipt of payment CONS Is there a currency issue for the vendor?

36. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Summary on Vendor Services 1.Make it easy for our vendors. a.See which way is easiest for our vendor’s to receive funds. b.See which way is quickest for our vendors to receive funds. 2.Focus on Customer Service.

37. Heather Flanagan NOAA AOD HQTR October 2003 Summary for NOAA 1.What is the most reliable way for NOAA to send funds? 2.What is the cheapest way for NOAA to send funds? 3.What can NOAA do to satisfy our customers? 4.Create an assurance with our international vendors that NOAA is reputable and is working to create better payment services for them.