ACH payment processing time (how long do ACH debit payments take?)
Last editedApr 20231 min read
ACH debit is not an instant payment method. Payments may take more than 3 working days to be available to you in your bank account. Let’s take a brief look at the typical timeline of processing an ACH debit.
How long do ACH Debit Payments take? The timeline:
Day 0
ACH file submitted to your bank
Bank processes file and sends to the ACH network
Day 1
File is available to your customer’s bank
Customer’s bank receives file and debits their account
Funds credited to receiving bank (ODFI)
Day 2
Payment failure cut-off - the payer’s bank has two days from the transaction date to notify the ACH network of any failures
Day 3
Your bank receives notification from ACH network and communicates with you
The time of day you initially submit the ACH file to your bank is important, as ACH debit payments only get processed at three times throughout the business day. Different banks may have different cut off times for receiving ACH files - if you submit after the cut off time, your request is not likely to be processed until the next day. Check with your bank for their specific cut off times.
For various reasons, the process to collect an ACH debit may fail (and thus potentially take longer). Common reasons for failure include:
The ACH file being submitted in an incorrect format
The customer having insufficient funds in their account
The customer’s payment details are incorrect
How to collect ACH Debit payments with GoCardless
1.
Create your free GoCardless account, access your user-friendly payments dashboard & connect your accounting software (if you use one).
2.
Easily set up & schedule ACH Debit payments via payment pages on your website checkout or secure payment links.
3.
From now on you'll get paid on time, every time, as GoCardless automatically collects payment on the scheduled date. Simple.
How long does it take for ACH Payments to appear in the receiver's account?
ACH payments are typically available to the receiver in 3 days. Depending on the time of day that the request is made this can take
When an ACH payment request is submitted, it’s added together to a larger batch of files which are processed at intervals throughout the day. It’s also important to note that ACH transfer processing only takes place during business days. If you send a bank transfer on a Friday, you’ll need to factor in the weekend days as well as the usual three-day processing time.
Is it possible to collect 'Instant' ACH payments?
The ACH network makes it difficult to achieve truly instant transfers, though same day processing closes the gap. However, you do have additional methods that achieve either instant transfer or instant confirmation that the funds will transfer successfully, which is one of the advantages of our product feature, Instant Bank Pay.
What about same day processing?
Previously only applicable to ACH credit payments, Nacha has now enabled same-day processing capabilities (under the name Same Day ACH) for “virtually all types” of ACH payments - including ACH debits as well as credits.
Same-Day ACH has four notable limitations compared to ordinary ACH payments:
Additional fees
Not all banks in the US participate
No support for international transactions (IATs)
