What is an ACH payment?
ACH Payments (ACH (Automated Clearing House) make bank to bank payments easier in the United States. The ACH Payments are secure and fast. It works simply as the payment is run by the ACH network and sent directly to the recipient’s bank account. Perhaps it’s one of the largest networks that moves money from one location to another. In 2024, the total amount of money transacted through the ACH network was more than $61 trillion. Everyone from businesses to governments to individuals relies on the ACH network to make their payments.
If you’re wondering whether or not this is exclusive to the United States, know that it cannot be used outside of the U.S.
One thing to know about ACH payments is that it has nothing to do with debit cards or credit cards. The ACH network applies to banking so it’s directly related to the consumer’s account. The benefit of ACH payments is it comes at a low cost and open to everyone with a U.S. bank account. If your business or you as an individual take recurring payments, the method of payment methods is commonly paper checks, and you don’t take electronic forms of payments such as online payments, ACH payments are definitely something that will contribute to your life.
Now that we’ve covered what ACH payments are, let’s look at the commonly asked ACH payment questions.
How does ACH payment processing work?
The ACH transactions are processed in two methods. These are credit and debit. Now, unlike the cards we know, credit is when the transferred funds are sent to the account and debit is when the funds are taken out from the account and forwarded to the recipient.
How long does ACH payment take?
ACH payments generally take less than three business days. The most common reason for a delayed payment process is submitting the ACH payment late in the day. It’s best to make the payment earlier in the day and it should be in the recipient’s account in less than three days.
Is ACH payment safe?
Given that ACH payments processed $61.9 trillion in 2024 alone, you can count on how safe it is. In comparison to paper checks, ACH payments are way more secure as they cannot get lost in the mail or aren’t prone to fraud and tampering.
