Treasury Services

April 16, 2012 - Image-enabled and paper savings bonds processing will begin; April 11, 2012 - Paper savings bonds moved to FRB Atlanta

April 15, 2012

As previously announced, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks are making changes to the process for redeeming savings bonds. 

EZ Clear moving to image-enabled processing

As announced February 15, 2012 (PDF), redeemed paper savings bonds processing will transition from EZ Clear to image-enabled processing, beginning April 16, 2012. At that time, the EZ Clear Program will be decommissioned, and the Federal Reserve Banks will begin accepting image-eligible savings bonds in FedForward^® image cash letters (ICLs). Image-based savings bond processing is strongly preferred, but paper savings bond deposits will continue to be accepted. 

If you are prepared to deposit image-eligible savings bonds in ICLs, paper savings bonds held from April 11-12, 2012 can be deposited in an ICL on April 16, 2012.

Paper and facsimile savings bonds

As communicated on March 20, 2012 (PDF), paper savings bond processing will move to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. As of April 11, 2012, in order to ensure your savings bonds are handled expeditiously, any redeemed paper savings bonds should be mailed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The mailing address is:

For regular mail deliveries	For deliveries requiring a signature
Check Department - Savings Bond Processing Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 1000 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30309-4470	Check Department - Savings Bond Processing Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 2301 Defoor Hills Road Atlanta, GA 30318

Revised Operating Circular 3

Operating Circular 3 (OC 3) (PDF) has been updated to reflect the changes associated with savings bonds deposited in image and paper cash letters. These changes took effect April 11, 2012. The revised OC 3 and a Summary of Key Changes (PDF) are posted on the Operating Circulars page on FRBservices.org.

Your continued use of the Federal Reserve Banks’ Check Services, on or after the effective date of April 11, 2012, constitutes agreement to the terms in OC 3. For this reason, it is important that you review the changes and plan for any operational impact to ensure your continued compliance.

If you do not currently utilize FedForward Services, please contact your account executive or Check Services Customer Support at (877) 372-2457 to begin the sign up process. The FedForward Services Setup page provides step-by-step instructions for becoming a FedForward depositor. 

Visit the online resource center

Detailed information regarding this initiative, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), can be found at the Image-enabled Savings Bond Processing Resource Center. This site provides a central location for all communications. Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference. 

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