postalref

Enterprise Payment System

The Enterprise Payment System, or EPS, is the USPS system that lets business customers pay for postal products and services through one account, the Enterprise Payment Account. Customers fund that account by ACH Debit from their bank or by prefunding a Trust Account.

Updated October 28, 202626 sources

What it is

EPS is the payment architecture USPS built for its business customers. It gives them one account to pay for all products and services. It also gives them centralized balance and account management, enhanced security and a self-service experience.

EPS covers commercial, domestic and international products, from First-Class Mail to PO Boxes and address quality products. Customers also use it to pay annual permit fees.

Each Enterprise Payment Account belongs to a Customer Registration ID, the number that identifies a business location. One Customer Registration ID can hold several Enterprise Payment Accounts. A mailer can still pay through a vendor, or the mail owner can open its own Enterprise Payment Account.

How it works

A customer enrolls in EPS through an account in the Business Customer Gateway, the USPS website for business accounts. After that, EPS reduces the account automatically as mail or purchases are processed.

Setting up EPS, in the order the account creation fact sheet gives.

  1. Request access to EPS on the Additional Services page of the Business Customer Gateway.
  2. Create an Enterprise Payment Account, which receives a 10-digit account number.
  3. Assign user roles; the first person to request access becomes the Administrator.
  4. Activate a payment method, either a Trust Account or ACH Debit.
  5. Link the permits whose postage the account will pay.

Payment methods

Each Enterprise Payment Account has one Primary Payment Method. The Primary Payment Method is the one transactions post to.

A Trust Account is a prefunded balance. Funds are deposited with USPS, and each transaction comes out of the available balance. USPS creates a Trust with each account, and it becomes active when the customer first funds it.

Customers fund a Trust Account in these ways:

  • A check, cash or money order at a retail location, available in near real time.
  • A Fedwire transfer, which takes 4 to 6 hours to process.
  • An ACH Credit, available the next business day.

An ACH Debit takes money from the customer's own bank account. EPS adds up each day's transactions and withdraws the total at 6 pm EST. To verify the bank account, EPS posts two micro-transactions of less than $1 within 48 hours. The customer enters both amounts in EPS to activate the method.

A customer with a Trust Account can set a Low Balance Threshold, and EPS sends an email when the Trust balance falls below it.

User roles

Access to EPS has two layers. A user first needs the EPS service for the Customer Registration ID in the Business Customer Gateway, and then an EPS role on the account. The first user to request the service becomes its Business Service Administrator. Later requests wait for that administrator's approval.

EPS has four user roles:

  • Administrator: grants access to other EPS users, manages the account and views reports.
  • Payment Manager: manages the account, including transfers and withdrawals, and views reports.
  • Subscriber: views and downloads payment transaction reports.
  • No Access: cannot use EPS.

Linking permits

A permit pays through EPS only after it is linked to an Enterprise Payment Account. Each permit links to one account, and permits are linked one at a time. Linking does not change the permit number.

A permit's local trust balance moves to the EPS Trust when the permit is linked. If ACH Debit is the Primary Payment Method, transactions keep going to the bank. To spend the Trust balance, the customer changes the Primary Payment Method to Trust. That change takes effect at 6 pm EST.

Rules

EPS enrollment requires a USPS Business account created via the Business Customer Gateway (BCG), and a valid Customer Registration ID (CRID) to enable access to the service.

A business must have a Business Customer Gateway account and a valid Customer Registration ID before it can enroll in EPS.

If you intend to pay postage from EPS, then you must link the permit type to the EPA

A customer who wants EPS to pay postage for a permit type must link that permit type to the Enterprise Payment Account.

You must be the BSA or BSA Delegate of Manage Mailing Activity (MMA) to the CRID in the BCG that the permit is linked to and Administrator or Payment Manager role in EPS to link or modify a permit linkage.

To link a permit or change its link, a user must hold two things. One is BSA or BSA Delegate rights for Manage Mailing Activity on the permit's Customer Registration ID. The other is the Administrator or Payment Manager role in EPS.

Only permits in “Active” and “ADDPOS” status can be linked to EPS accounts.

Only a permit whose status is Active or ADDPOS can be linked to an Enterprise Payment Account.

Each EPS Account allows up to 3 ACH Debits and one Trust Payment Method; however, only one payment method can be set to Primary.

An account can have up to three ACH Debit methods and one Trust. Only one of them can be the Primary Payment Method.

To ensure that your funds are applied to the EPS account in time for your purchase, you must initiate the ACH/Wire credit no later than one business day before the desired mailing/purchase date.

A customer funding a Trust electronically must start the ACH Credit or wire at least one business day before the mailing or purchase.

Must provide the retail unit with your 10-digit EPA Number NOT your permit/ publication number

A customer depositing at a retail unit must give the 10-digit account number, not a permit or publication number.

The Administrator of an EPS Trust account can set a daily limit for withdrawals.

The Administrator of a Trust Account can set a limit on how much can be withdrawn each day.

What goes wrong

A mailing that a Trust Account cannot cover is held until funds are added, the same process as before EPS. USPS encourages mailers to name ACH Debit as a backup payment method. With that backup, a transaction the Trust cannot cover comes entirely from the ACH Debit.

A permit with a negative balance does not appear on the Manage Permits screen until the balance is resolved. Inactive permits and permits with a negative balance do not migrate to an Enterprise Payment Account.

An ACH Debit that the bank returns shows in the ACH Debit Returns Report. Customers whose debit is returned can send funds electronically to cover it.

If EPS declines an automatic permit fee payment for a returned debit, an inactive account or insufficient funds, all enrolled permits leave Auto Fee Renewal.

A withdrawal request above the Trust Account's daily limit waits for the EPS Administrator's approval. Some products need assistance to migrate to EPS. Removing a permit's link also goes through the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center.

Terms

Enterprise Payment SystemEPS, Electronic Payment System, EPS system, Enterprise System
allows customers to pay for Postal products and services through a single account, called the Enterprise Payment Account (EPA).
Trust AccountTrust
Funds are deposited with USPS and transactions are deducted from the available balance.
ACH Debit
Daily transactions are aggregated and withdrawn at 6 pm EST directly from the customer’s linked bank account.
ACH CreditAutomated Clearing House (ACH) Credit
ACH Credit is an overnight method of moving funds from one bank to another.
Low Balance Threshold
EPS allows a customer to set a Low Balance Threshold that will generate an email notification when the EPS Trust balance falls below the set threshold.
Business Service AdministratorBSA, Business Services Administrator, Business Server Administrator, Business Systems Administrator
a representative within your company, for each service
Manage Mailing ActivityMMA
the service that governs your ability to link Permit(s) to an Enterprise Payment Account
Customer Registration IDCRID, Customer Registration Identification Number, Customer Registration Identifier, Customer Identifier, Customer Reference ID, Customer Registration Identifications
a USPS-generated numeric code of up to 15 digits that uniquely identifies a business at a specific location
Business Customer GatewayBCG, BCG (Business Customer Gateway)
where shippers can manage their mailing activity

Documents

Technical Specifications

User Guides

Quick Service Guides

Fact Sheets

FAQs

Tools

Release Notes

Applications/Forms

Contacts

The Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center answers EPS questions by email at MSSC@usps.gov and by phone at (877) 672-0007. Customers can also ask their local Business Mail Entry Unit.

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