By law, acceptance or disbursement of electronic payments by state agencies must be economically feasible and approved by the Office of Financial Management (OFM) prior to implementation (RCW 43.41.180).

Chapter 40 of the State Administrative & Accounting Manual (SAAM) requires agencies to prepare an Economic Feasibility Study (EFS) so agencies can document their electronic payment project. The EFS helps OFM determine whether your project is economically feasible.

If your agency is interested in pursuing accepting or disbursing electronic payments, please review Chapter 40 of SAAM and the E-Commerce webpage. The webpage has recently been updated and contains links to the required forms for your EFS and frequently asked questions with helpful hints to help you prepare your EFS.

There are certain exceptions to the EFS requirement. The frequently asked questions contain clarification on when an EFS is required. It also contains a link to a document that lists the current legislative exceptions to the EFS requirement.

One of the most important first steps, and a required step, in the EFS process is to contact the Office of the State Treasurer (OST). OST will be able to advise your agency on the available and allowable contracts for your electronic payment project. If an agency submits an EFS to OFM and they have not talked with OST about their electronic payment project, OFM will require the agency to contact OST and update their EFS as necessary before OFM will decide whether to approve the EFS.

Even though an EFS may not be required in certain situations, agencies should still work closely with OST to ensure compliance with state banking contracts and requirements.

For questions about banking services, available banking contracts, and other banking related items, contact the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) Bankcard Coordinator at bankcards@tre.wa.gov.

For questions about the EFS process, contact the agency’s assigned Statewide Accountant, or the OFM E-Commerce Statewide Accountant Pam Valencia at pam.valencia@ofm.wa.gov.