Protection of ACH files: ACH files (NACHA files) are ASCII text files with a fixed field length that are used to process electronic payment transactions via the Automated Clearing House Network. They bundle transactions such as direct deposit payroll payments, direct debits, credit notes, refunds and expense reports, as well as bank account data validation.
An ACH file consists of multiple transaction batches and is structured into 94-character records, the structure and order of which are defined by NACHA rules. The records include file and batch headers, detailed transaction information, optional additional information, and control records for sum and validation checks.
With IRI FieldShield, ACH (NACHA) files can be protected in a targeted manner and in compliance with data protection regulations. The tool enables the structured masking of sensitive fields such as account numbers, names or identifiers without violating the fixed file format or referential integrity. Various protection functions are supported, such as masking, pseudonymisation, encryption, tokenisation and redaction, which can be applied to individual data elements in a rule-based and selective manner. This ensures that ACH files remain technically valid and can still be used for testing, analysis or further processing. A technical article with examples can be found here.
In addition, FieldShield users have access to many other data masking functions that can be defined centrally as data class rules to ensure data integrity across a wide variety of data sources.
Efficiency meets experience: For more than four decades, our software solutions have been supporting companies in data management and data protection – technologically leading, reliable in productive use and applicable across all industries.
In use since 1978: Numerous well-known companies, service providers, financial institutions and state and federal authorities are among our long-standing customers.
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