In March 2022, the Same Day ACH per-payment limit increased from $100,000 to $1 million. Bill payments that are due over a weekend or holiday are collected the next banking day, favoring the consumer. In 2023, businesses turned to the ACH Network to process 6.6 billion Business-to-Business payments, a 10.8% increase from 2022.Ī total of 14.56 billion consumer-initiated bill payments and other transfers were made via ACH in 2023. 2023 marked the 11th consecutive year in which the total value of ACH payments increased by at least $1 trillion.Īmerican businesses rely heavily on the ACH Network to pay their vendors. In 2023 the modern ACH Network safely and efficiently processed 31.5 billion payments valued at $80.1 trillion. Same Day ACH was launched in 2016, with enhancements made every year through 2023.

The ACH Network is safe and efficient and has been continually advancing since its inception, adding new capabilities and transaction types, improving processing speeds and expanding operating hours. Expanding NSS operating hours is consistent with the Federal Reserve’s goal of improving the U.S. This would allow retail payment systems such as the ACH Network to settle payment activity during additional days and times of the week, including weekends and holidays. As the industry works to build a modern payments infrastructure, it is time to extend the operating hours of the National Settlement Service (NSS) once again. The Federal Reserve has twice previously extended the operating hours of NSS on banking days to support Same Day ACH. Payments are settled during times when the Federal Reserve’s National Settlement Service (NSS) is open, meaning that payments are not currently settled on weekends and federal holidays.

The ACH Network currently processes payments 23¼ hours every banking day and settles payments four times every banking day. Same Day ACH payments can be settled as quickly as a few hours.ĪCH payments can be processed in a matter of hours on the same business day or scheduled the following day (or, if the sender desires it, up to two business days for ACH credits). Launched in 2016, Same Day ACH allows ACH payments of up to $1 million to be sent and received on the same banking day. The ACH Network offers Same Day ACH, enabling companies to pay many gig and contract workers on the same day that they work. Funds from a payroll Direct Deposit on a Friday are not held over the weekend. If payday is on a Friday, funds paid by Direct Deposit are available in employees’ accounts by 9 a.m. Large volumes of scheduled and recurring payments between known counterparties on known due dates, such as payroll Direct Deposits, bill payments, account transfers and B2B payments, are well served by ACH.ĭirect Deposit by ACH gets workers paid on payday, without delay. The ACH Operators are fully interoperable, exchanging ACH payments with each other multiple times a day.ĪCH payments can be credit or debit payments. Ninety-three percent of American workers receive their pay through the ACH Network, 95% of Americans receiving a tax refund this year chose to receive it through the ACH Network and 99% of Social Security payments use the ACH Network. ACH payments are used to receive salaries and wages and to pay bills such as mortgages and utilities. financial system and benefits consumers, businesses and government agencies. The ACH Network is the backbone of the U.S.

This Fact Sheet explains key attributes of the modern ACH Network. Electronic payment options can be complementary and give payment system users a choice based on their use case. Nacha supports users having choices in electronic payments – including instant payments (such as FedNow and RTP), credit cards and wire.

Debit credit payment achs