NACHA Expects ACH Transactions To Rise

The volume of same-day automated clearing house (ACH) transactions is expected to rise over the coming months, BusinessInsider reported.

According to a NACHA survey, 82 percent of financial institutions surveyed anticipate that Same Day ACH debit volume will grow at a rapid or steady rate. A similar number of institutions — 78 percent — expect credit volume will grow at a steady rate over the next six to nine months. The survey was conducted in November and December of 2017 and included 22 financial institutions (FIs) that represent 78 percent of the ACH Network origination volume.

But, with the rise of Same Day ACH, FIs surveyed have not seen an increase in fraud. Previous surveys also found this to be the case.

“Both the results to date and the forward-looking expectations reported in this survey echo NACHA’s long-held position that use of Same Day ACH payments will continue to grow at a robust rate,” said Jane Larimer, chief operating officer of NACHA. “Use cases for Same Day ACH debits like bill payments and business-to-business payments demonstrate how this additional faster payment method is benefiting consumers and businesses alike.”

NACHA reported same-day ACH debit and credit transactions hit 15.2 million in December, marking a 51 percent month-over-month increase. At that time, NACHA said the total number of same-day ACH transactions reached 75.1 million in 2017, with the payments adding up to $87.1 billion transferred. That equates to an average of $1,161 per payment, NACHA said.

In a 2017 interview, Mike Herd, senior vice president at NACHA, noted 43 percent of 125 U.S.-based FIs offer same-day credits. As the survey was primarily administered to small community banks and credit unions (CUs), this is a significant finding.

But, additional findings reveal there are some institutions that would like to offer Same Day ACH to their customers, but the processors or vendors that they rely on haven’t enabled it yet.