Payment Application Modernization (PAM)

Common Questions

How will PAM affect the way our agency's payments are processed?
There will be changes in the way payments are processed as all validations will be conducted upfront. Once a payment from an agency is certified, it will be processed immediately.

What is PAM's processing time versus legacy processing?
In legacy, payment processing takes 2-3 hours to validate, batch, and process a payment file. In PAM, if validations are passed, the payment file and the matching certification automatically process every 15 minutes.

Do I have to use the PAM File Format?
Agencies will not be required to use the PAM File Format, but it will be made available. The flat file format will be ready for the October 2009 implementation; an XML file format will follow. PAM is expecting to only receive data elements that are necessary to make the actual payments and report to accounting systems downstream.

What is XML?
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a widely used system for defining data formats. XML is a recommended standard for designing flexible text formats and for creating structured computer documents.

When will my agency's payments be converted to the PAM System?
The current and future production releases include:

Release 1 - March 2008
   SSI ACH Payments
Release 2 - February 2009
   SSI Check and Daily Payments
Release 2.08 - November 2009
   SSI Daily Payments
*Release 3 - July 2010
   *Daily Vendor, Misc., Salary, Travel for Type A and Type B payments
Release 3.1 - January 2011
   CTX
   Same Day Payment Requests
   International ACH Transactions (IAT)
Releases 4 - 11 - TBD
   Transition remaining Legacy Payments to PAM
   DataStage ZLinux Conversion
   Holds
   User Interface Upgrades

*RFC Transition July 2010 – December 2010

How will the customer agency receive the Pre-edit/Validation report?
Customer agencies can choose to receive the Pre-edit/Validation report by email, Connect Direct, or both.

How is the Email group for the Pre-edit/Validation report defined?
PAM recommends that the customer agency defines and maintains the email group. This will allow the customer agency the flexibility and control to add or delete individuals, as needed.

Will the Pre-edit/Validation report format change?
The Connect Direct file format will be standardized for all payment types. All of the legacy Pre-edit/Validation information will be included in the standardized format but in a slightly different format.

If a customer agency does not receive or accidentally deletes the Pre-edit/Validation email how would the agency retrieve it?
Contact your serving RFC. Each RFC will have access to the email information within the PAM application.

Will there need to be any changes made for the CTX format?
No, PAM will except all legacy formats. CTX formats will be supported in PAM release 3.1. If a customer agency wants to be a GWA reporter for TAS-BETC, they will need to convert to the PAM Standard Format which accommodates the CTX format.

Will Department of Labor (DOL) benefit payments be included in PAM release 3.0? They are non-TOP jobs that run through the Vendor/Misc. panels.
If DOL files run through the Vendor/Misc. program they will be included in PAM release 3.0.

There are DOL jobs that are matched to letters will this be part of PAM Release 3.0?
No, there is a special application for DOL letter matching that is not included in PAM release 3.0.

How will PAM know if a schedule is eligible for the Treasury Offset Program (TOP)?
PAM will have a configuration to control what is TOP eligible versus a schedule that has been issued a TOP waiver from BPD. Refer to the Treasury Offset Program rules for individual payments.

Do I need to complete any testing prior to going into production with PAM?
Testing can be arranged with the PAM application prior to going into production. You will need to contact the PAM Project Team to schedule any needed testing.

Who will be my Regional Financial Center contact after my agency's payments are processed by PAM?
You will continue to contact your servicing RFC once your payments are processed by PAM. A PAM help desk will be available to service the RFC's, once PAM is in production. This help desk will be the technical contact number for resolving PAM specific problems. The PAM helpdesk can be reached at (816) 414-2340.