Accounting Operations Division

Foreign Payment Guidance


Foreign Payment General Information

Foreign Payments are made to vendors doing business with NOAA outside of the U.S. All Foreign Payments (wire or check) are made through the ITS.gov (International Treasury Services) system outside of CBS. Therefore approval in CBS will not reflect the actual date payment was made in ITS.gov. There is usually a 2 to 3 day delay in approving CBS foreign transactions. All Foreign Vendors must complete their registration in SAM.gov. If payment will be made through wire, please instruct the vendor to leave the banking information section of the Sam.gov profile blank. CBS may show that the payment method is check which does not mean payment will be made by check. When our Vendor Support Team started entering foreign vendors into CBS their choices were EFT or Check so they defaulted all foreign payments to check. SAM.gov banking information that is left blank will also default to check. For a list of US Territories that do not require a foreign payment, please see the link above.



Foreign Payment Submission Package Guidance

Line Offices: Please complete the Foreign Vendor Payment Invoice Package Cover Sheet/Checklist for Line Offices (see link above). All Foreign Payments must be submitted to: foreign.payments@noaa.gov (EOB) or wobinvoices@noaa.gov (WOB). If you are not sure of your servicing finance office, please view the AOD Customer Crosswalk.

NOTE: It is highly encouraged that you use the Accellion Secure File Transfer Program when submitting documents containing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) electronically to the Finance Office.



Foreign Vendor Banking Information

The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, effective July 26, 1996, mandates the use of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for all Federal payments to recipients who become eligible to receive such payments 90 days after enactment, which was July 26, 1996. Federal agencies may grant waivers for this mandate to recipients who certify in writing and send documentation to NOAA's Finance Office stating that they do not have an account with a financial institution. 

The System for Award Management (SAM) https://www.sam.gov, is the primary vendor data base to register and provide the vendor’s financial payment data. All registrants must complete the "Financial Information" section there, except for utility companies, federal government agencies, and foreign vendors doing business outside the U.S.

Consequently, if you are a foreign vendor doing business outside the U.S., NOAA's Finance Office must be provided additional financial information for Wire Transfer Payments. (The Wire Transfer Coordinator at your financial institution can supply you with this information.) Please download and complete the supplemental Foreign SF-3881 ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form for Foreign Vendors.

Send the completed supplemental SF-3881 ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form for Foreign Vendors to Vendor.Support@noaa.gov via Accellion or mail to:

NOAA Regional Finance Office

Phone Numbers

US Department of Commerce - NOAA
OFA, Accounting Operations Division (SOU2141)
ATTN: SSMC3, Vendor Support
1315 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD  20910

Voice: (301) 444-2805

FAX: (301) 427-3061