ACH Network Moves 7.5B Payments Led by Same-Day Growth

The national Automated Clearing House (ACH) network for electronic funds transfers moved 7.5 billion payments totaling $19.6 trillion in the second quarter of this year, led by growth in same-day ACH and business-to-business (B2B) payments.

The second quarter marked the first time that the same-day ACH dollar limit was increased to $1 million per payment, up from $100,000, a change that went into effect March 18. ACH Network changes are made and implemented in collaboration with the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House.

See also: Nacha Raises Per Payment Limit for Same Day ACH to $1M

“The payments community asked for the $1 million limit, and the ACH Operators and financial institutions joined with Nacha to make it a reality. The results show the benefits of Same Day to users of the ACH Network,” Jane Larimer, Nacha president and CEO, said in a press release Tuesday (Aug. 2).

“Nacha recently reported on how the University of Kentucky switched from checks to Same Day ACH to solve payroll issues during the pandemic. This is one of many use cases for Same Day ACH,” Larimer continued.

Nacha manages the administration, development and governance of the ACH Network, which is the electronic system that facilitates the movement of money in the U.S.

Read more: Nacha Debuts Resource Guide for Voice Payments

“There were 185 million Same Day ACH payments transferring $486 billion in the second quarter, respective increases of 24.4% and 94.4% over the same timeframe in 2021,” according to the release.

B2B volume rose 12.3% in the second quarter with 1.5 billion payments, an upward trend that started before the pandemic and escalated during the roughly two-year period of worldwide lockdowns.

“That growth reflects the addition of more than 250 million payments, even in the absence of pandemic-related assistance payments,” Larimer said. “It speaks to the strength, stability and dependability of the modern ACH Network.”

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