EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer)
Electronic Funds Transfer
The HIPAA-mandated electronic payment transaction that moves funds from payer to provider, paired with the 835 remittance.
1 min read · Last reviewed May 23, 2026
At a glance
- Category
- Billing
- Acronym for
- Electronic Funds Transfer
- Primary sources
- 2
- Workspace handoff
- revenue audit →
Where this comes up
This shows up in revenue-cycle work — claim scrubbing, charge entry, posting, A/R follow-up, and month-end close. Billers and practice managers hit this term when reconciling a payment, working a denial queue, or auditing why a claim aged past 60 days.
Full definition
What it is in practice
CMS requires payers to support EFT and the CCD+ Reassociation Trace Number that links the EFT to its 835. Providers receive payment by ACH credit.
How it shows up in your practice
EFT/835 reassociation should be automatic. When trace numbers don't match, the cash-posting team has to investigate manually — a frequent productivity drain.
Sources
- CMS — HIPAA Administrative Simplificationhttps://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/administrative-simplification
- CMS — 835 Electronic Remittance Advicehttps://www.cms.gov/medicare/billing/electronic-billing-edi-transactions/electronic-billing-edi-transactions-process
Audit EFT reassociation in Revenue Audit
Open revenue audit →Related terms
- Denials & Appeals835 Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)The HIPAA-mandated electronic transaction by which payers communicate payment and adjustment information to providers.
- Billing837 Electronic ClaimThe HIPAA-mandated electronic transaction for submitting professional (837P), institutional (837I), or dental (837D) claims.
- BillingClearinghouseAn entity that translates electronic transactions between providers and payers and applies front-end edits to reduce rejected claims.
D3rx is a healthcare-billing and compliance research aid maintained by D3rx Inc. Articles are drafted by an LLM (Anthropic Claude) against primary HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and state-regulator publications, and reviewed for restraint and source fidelity by the D3rx team.
Reviewer status: a named credentialed reviewer (CHC, CHPC, or healthcare attorney) is being engaged. Until that engagement is finalized, this page does not claim credentialed review.
Related across the archive
- Glossary837 Electronic ClaimThe HIPAA-mandated electronic transaction for submitting professional (837P), institutional (837I), or dental (837D) claims.
- GlossaryClearinghouseAn entity that translates electronic transactions between providers and payers and applies front-end edits to reduce rejected claims.
- Glossary835 Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)The HIPAA-mandated electronic transaction by which payers communicate payment and adjustment information to providers.
- Glossary270/271 Eligibility Inquiry/ResponseThe HIPAA standard EDI transactions used to verify patient insurance eligibility (270 query, 271 response).
- GlossaryCARC (Claim Adjustment Reason Code)X12-maintained codes communicating why a claim or service line was paid differently than billed.
- GlossaryCO (Contractual Obligation)An X12 adjustment group code indicating the patient is not responsible because the amount is a contractual write-off.
- GlossaryCoordination of Benefits (COB)The rules and processes that determine which of two or more insurance plans pays first when a patient is covered by multiple plans.
- BillingAWV + Problem Visit Same Day: How to Bill CorrectlyYes, you can bill AWV and a problem visit the same day. Here's how to do it correctly with modifier -25.
This glossary entry is a research aid for billing and compliance staff. It does not provide legal, medical, or financial advice and does not replace counsel. References cited link to primary sources at HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and the relevant payer or industry body.