First Commercial Use of EPN's Universal Payment Identification Code

Wachovia Bank has made the first commercial use of the Electronic Payments Network’s (EPN) Universal Payment Identification Code (UPIC) in a payment to the University of Florida. The University is using the UPIC to receive grant payments electronically via the Automated Clearing House (ACH). A UPIC is a unique number assigned to a bank account and coupled with a universal routing and transit number. It increases the security of electronic payments by allowing organizations to provide customers the information needed to initiate electronic ACH credit payments, without having to publish sensitive bank account details. Essentially, the UPIC becomes the organization’s ACH remittance address. ‘We have only just begun to tap the benefits of the UPIC. Soon, many other state agencies will begin remitting payments using our UPIC. And certainly the next time we are notified of a bank merger, we will know our ACH payments are secure,’ said Kathleen Tillett, Assistant Controller of The University of Florida.