SMBs Gear Up For Phase Two Of Same-Day ACH Rollout

September will be a big month for NACHA’s Same-Day ACH initiative. On Sept. 15, NACHA will roll out phase two of its Same-Day ACH Rule, and small businesses stand to gain significantly from the effort, according to reports at Nav.com.

The publication highlighted the upcoming rollout in an article Wednesday (Aug. 30), noting that phase two offers businesses the ability to receive faster ACH debit and credit payments. Phase two, Nav explained, covers pull payments under the Same-Day ACH Rule, meaning payments initiated by a seller can now occur on the same day.

For small businesses, these pull payments could mean monthly payments on business loans, insurance premiums and other bills. It incorporates more payment scenarios into the Same-Day ACH initiative. Phase one, which rolled out last year, incorporated same-day processing of ACH payments that saw buyers “push” payments to the recipient. For businesses, that includes supplier payments or payroll, for example.

Nav.com noted that businesses should speak with their financial service providers to see if they can originate same day ACH. According to Katie Hawkins, an associate at Hudson Cook, “Banks are not required to originate same-day ACH transactions, but they are required to accept same-day ACH transactions.

“Originating is not part of the three phases” of NACHA’s Same-Day ACH rollout, Hawkins told Nav.com.

The publication noted that Same-Day ACH payments will come with a fee for the sender and cannot be used for transactions of more than $25,000, international payments or payments to the federal government.

Nav.com also highlighted how the ongoing rollout of Same-Day ACH can affect business payments. Payroll can be made day-of, for example, with employees able to access their same-day ACH funds when phase three of the initiative begins, in March 2018.

Businesses can also use Same-Day ACH to combat negative marks on credit reports and avoid late payments, while Same-Day ACH also provides greater clarity into the timing of when a payment will arrive in a business bank account.