On October 14, 2020, the AAP Blue Ribbon Panel and the APRP Oversight Panel approved an extension of the waiver of the maximum number of credits earned in the Distance Learning category being raised from 10 to 20 hours per year. This extension, originally granted on March 12, 2020 for credits earned in 2020, will now also apply to credits earned between January 1-December 31, 2021. The pandemic continues to be an unprecedented situation and the Panels took this step in order to allow our AAPs and APRPs to keep up their credits when many are facing travel bans or other restrictions due to the pandemic. The 2021 Continuing Education Guidelines found on the Nacha website will be updated to reflect this change.

Accredited ACH Professionals (AAP) are required to maintain their status by earning sixty (60) Continuing Education (CE) credits within the five-year accreditation period, with no more than twenty (20) credits completed per year.

Fifty (50) minutes of educational activity is equal to one CE credit. Example: For a 90-minute webinar, divide 90 (minutes of webinar) by 50 (minutes per CE credit) to arrive at 1.8 AAP CE credits for that webinar. A half-day workshop (180 minutes) on a qualifying topic would earn 3.6 AAP CE credits.

See Nacha's website for full details on the types of courses and activities that qualify for CE credits.

Most WesPay workshops, webinars and webcasts qualify for AAP CE credit. The course catalog can be filtered to display qualifying classes. Each course description provides details on the number of eligible credits.

The following WesPay events also qualify for CE credit.

• Payments & Rules Update  - workshops and webinars offered annually in Q1 to review the changes affecting the payments industry. Includes NACHA Operating Rules updates.
• Quarterly Member Update - attend to get the latest payments information and updates
• Payments Symposium Pre-conference Workshop(s) - held in conjunction with WesPay's Payments Symposium
• Payments Symposium - our premier two-day conference, held annually

Credits must be filed directly with Nacha and may be filed either online or by U.S. mail. Steps are outlined on Nacha's website.

When to file

The AAP Accreditation is good for five years. In that five year period accredited professionals must earn 60 CECs, with no more than 20 credits earned per year. AAPs file CECs in the spring of the year after the credits are earned. Credits earned during a calendar year may only be reported in the reporting period specific to the calendar year. For example, credits earned in 2020 may only be reported during the regular filing period, but will be accepted during the late filing period (fee applies). See below:

• The regular filing period is May 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021 ($100/member | $175/non-member)
• The late filing period is April 30, 2021 (additional $50 late fee applies)

Nacha is unable to accept credits outside the current reporting period. If you have not met CEC requirements in the fourth or fifth year of your AAP accreditation, then you can retake the AAP exam.

Credits earned during a calendar year may only be reported in the reporting period specific to the calendar year. For example: Credits earned in 2018 may only be reported beginning May 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019. Under no circumstances is Nacha able to accept credits outside the current reporting period.

Nacha conducts 50 audits per year of AAP renewal credits, so you must retain copies of your supporting documentation for at least three years. Any credits that cannot be substantiated, in the event of an audit, will be disqualified.