ACH Network up to 29.1B Payments Valued at $72.6T in 2021

The modern ACH Network saw “significant growth” in 2021, processing 29.1 billion payments totaling $72.6 trillion, while same-day automated clearing house (ACH) payment volume was up 74% last year, according to new data from Nacha released Thursday (Feb. 3).

This is the seventh straight year that ACH Network payment volume grew by at least one billion payments year-over-year, with 2021 seeing an increase of 2.3 billion payments over 2020 (up 8.7%). The value of the payments jumped $10.8 trillion (17.4%) in 2021, the ninth consecutive year with a payment value increase of at least $1 trillion, the data shows.

The 5.3 billion business-to-business (B2B) ACH network payments were valued at $50 trillion, a 20.4% increase from 2020, triggered in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated transition to ACH payments for many companies. ACH-related B2B payments are up 33.2% in the past two years.

There were 426.3 million healthcare claim payments made by ACH in 2021, up 17.9% from 2020. Those payments were valued at $2 trillion.

“Throughout 2021, as the accelerated shift from paper to electronic payments continued, the ACH Network proved its resiliency and value to the nation. The figures for the year bear that out,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO, in the press release announcing the latest data.

“Working with our partners in government, at financial institutions and the ACH Operators, the ACH Network last year seamlessly handled 143 million economic impact payments, 182 million Advance Child Tax Credit (ACTC) payments, and hundreds of millions of unemployment benefits, all by Direct Deposit. These payments brought help to Americans at a time when they needed it most,” Larimer said.

Related: Healthcare, B2B Help ACH Network’s Q4 Payment Volume Grow 6.1%

Last month, ACH Network payment volume grew by 6.1% in 2021’s fourth quarter, led by strong gains in the healthcare and B2B sectors, along with same-day ACH payments. Nacha logged 7.5 billion ACH payments in the last quarter of the year, 426 million more than the same period in 2020. The value of those payments, $18.9 trillion, is an increase of 13.4%.