FCC Announces Mandatory Electronic Disbursement of USF Support Payments

The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau announced September 28 that all federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support payments must be made by electronic funds transfer (See Public Notice DA 09-2126).

The notice states that recipients of USF support payments shall provide their financial institution information and other relevant information on FCC Form 498, which is being updated to reflect these requirements.  USAC encourages all service providers to update their Form 498 information using USAC's E-File System. Once the updated 498 form is processed, all following support payments will be made electronically.

The Wireline Competition Bureau will issue a further public notice announcing the effective date of the electronic payment requirement. After the effective date, USAC will not make USF support payments to any entity that has not provided financial institution information sufficient to enable payment through electronic funds transfer.

Please note: Service providers in the Schools and Libraries Program that currently use the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR Form 472) form will continue to receive check payments even if they provide electronic banking information until further notice.

If you have any questions, please contact USAC at (888) 641-8722 or customerservice@bcd.universalservice.org.