ACH Standard Entry Class code

TEL SEC code: Telephone-Initiated Entry

Consumer debit authorized orally over the telephone.

What TEL is for

Single or recurring consumer debits authorized orally during a telephone call.
The Payment Type Code that used to mark a TEL debit single or recurring (entry detail positions 77–78) has been optional since September 17, 2021: the ODFI decides whether to fill it, so an RDFI can’t rely on it.

Consumer accounts.

Authorization

The Originator records the oral authorization or confirms it to the consumer in writing before the debit settles (a recurring TEL authorization needs both). TEL may be used only when the Originator and the consumer already have a relationship, or when the consumer made the call.

A summary in general terms: the Nacha Operating Rules set the exact requirements, and Regulation E adds its own for consumer accounts.

Debits, credits and addenda

Debits only. A credit sent as TEL is returned R36.

Addenda on a forward entry: none on the forward entry. Returns (addenda type 99) and Notifications of Change (type 98) follow their own layouts whatever the SEC code.

Returns

A consumer who says a debit was unauthorized can have it returned within 60 calendar days (R10, or R11 when the debit doesn’t match the authorization), with a Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit; R07 when the authorization was revoked. TEL is debits only: a credit sent as TEL is returned R36.

Common mix-ups

TEL or WEB? A spoken authorization in a phone call is TEL; one given online or in an app is WEB.

Where TEL sits in a NACHA file

The SEC code is a batch-level field: positions 51–53 of the Company/Batch Header record (type 5), so every entry in the batch shares it, and a file that mixes SEC codes puts them in separate batches. The batch header also carries the Company Name, Company Identification and Company Entry Description that Receivers see on their statements.

To read a TEL batch record by record, open the file in NACHA Navigator, a free sister site that parses NACHA files in your browser without uploading them.

Look up TEL from code or an AI agent

REST · GET · no key

curl -s 'https://payopskit.com/api/v1/codes/TEL?set=ach-sec'

MCP · tools/call · lookup_payment_code

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "lookup_payment_code",
    "arguments": {
      "code": "TEL",
      "set": "ach-sec"
    }
  }
}

Response (JSON)

{
  "code": "TEL",
  "set": "ach-sec",
  "found": true,
  "matches": [
    {
      "set": "ach-sec",
      "code": "TEL",
      "name": "Telephone-Initiated Entry",
      "description": "Consumer debit authorized orally over the telephone.",
      "details": {
        "direction": "debit",
        "addendaTypes": null,
        "minAddenda": 0,
        "maxAddenda": 0
      }
    }
  ]
}

The MCP server is at /mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key); the API and MCP docs show how to connect Claude, Cursor or VS Code.

Source: Nacha Operating Rules, Appendix Three (Standard Entry Class codes). The code’s name is the Rules’ own; the rest is this site’s plain-language summary, informational and not a substitute for the Rules or your ODFI agreement.