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Payment Notification User Group (PNUG)

On the opening of the funds transfer business day for November 21, 2011, the Federal Reserve Banks implemented a new message format to support extended-character business remittance information. This also includes a new field tag {3620} to support payment notification. With payment notification, a sending financial institution can request, on behalf of the originator, notification (by email) when the beneficiary's bank specified in a wire transfer payment order has credited or otherwise paid the beneficiary.

Payment notification is one of many service enhancements that resulted from funds transfer industry research conducted over the past several years. For certain high-value or time-critical payments, corporate customers have expressed a need to be notified when the beneficiary's bank has credited or otherwise paid the beneficiary so that they know the funds transfer is complete.

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How It Works

To use the service, you must join the Payment Notification User Group (PNUG), which is a group of financial institutions that have indicated their willingness to send wire transfer payment notifications. To join, a financial institution must execute an agreement with the Federal Reserve Banks in which they acknowledge they ought to use best efforts to follow the Payment Notification Guidelines, a set of market practices (PDF) developed in collaboration with the wire transfer industry. A quick reference guide (PDF) highlights specific steps from the market practices, which are required to process a payment notification request. Once the Federal Reserve Banks process the properly completed agreement, the financial institution becomes a member of the PNUG.

To join the PNUG, a financial institution must be either a Fedwire® Funds Service participant or arrange to have a Fedwire Funds Service participant agree to act on its behalf. Upon joining, financial institutions will provide the email addresses from which they intend to send notification emails to the party named in Fedwire tag {3620}.

The Federal Reserve Banks will publish a directory of financial institutions (XLS) (Updated 07/25/19) that have joined the PNUG on FRBservices.org. On a monthly basis, the Federal Reserve Banks will send certain other information to members of the PNUG that are Fedwire Funds Service participants. View an illustration of how payment notification works (PDF).

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Benefits of Payment Notification

  • Add value by notifying your customers when the beneficiary’s bank credits or otherwise pays the beneficiary
  • Increase customer retention by offering a value-added service
  • Broaden your customer base by offering the service to potential customers
  • Increase revenue by charging your corporate customers for this value-added service
  • Reduce the time and expense of calling institutions in the payment process to verify receipt
  • Help IT-savvy corporations automate the entire wire transfer process
  • Build customer relationships by promoting a new offering to your premier customers

A survey conducted in 2005 by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) found that corporations typically need to research 17 percent of incoming wire transfers, spending on average approximately 30 minutes of staff time per wire at a cost of $35. You can certainly find better uses for that time and money!

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Learn More/Current Participant Directory

For more information about the Fedwire Fund Service or payment notification, please contact the Wholesale Operations Site that supports your District.

To start using this service, visit Payment Notification User Group Setup or contact your account executive.

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