FAR 52.232-33 — Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer — System for Award Management

This clause conditions payment on accurate electronic funds transfer information in SAM. It is administrative, but it is also the reason otherwise successful contractors go unpaid for weeks.

Clause: FAR 52.232-33
Applies to: Most contracts
Flows down to subs: No
Primary risk: Payment delays

Key takeaways

Read the clause as incorporated in your contract — tailoring and alternates change obligations.
Flowdown obligations are your responsibility; a noncompliant subcontractor is your problem.
Document compliance contemporaneously; after-the-fact reconstruction rarely satisfies auditors.
When a clause is unclear, ask the contracting officer in writing before award, not after.

What the clause requires

The government makes payment using the EFT information in your SAM registration. You are responsible for keeping that information current, and payment can be suspended when it is missing or inaccurate.

How to comply in practice

Verify banking details in SAM immediately after any bank change, treasury migration, or entity restructuring, and re-verify before submitting your first invoice on a new contract.

Common mistakes

Expired SAM registrations and stale banking data are the recurring cause of payment failures. Diarize renewal 60 days before expiration and assign one owner for SAM data.