Same-day ACH transactions climbed to $51 trillion last year, proving that everyone is embracing instant payments.
NACHA, the electronic payments association, recently announced that 2018 was a milestone year for the ACH Network. Payment volume rose by almost 1.5 billion, making it the fourth consecutive year to add one billion new payments to the network.
In 2018, ACH Network volume reached nearly 23 billion payments in 2018, a year-over-year increase of 6.9% and the highest growth rate since 2008. According to NACHA, that total equals nearly 70 payments for every person in the U.S.
During that same year, the value of ACH payments was $51.2 trillion, which is a 9.5% increase from 2017. It marked the sixth consecutive year in which ACH payment value rose by at least $1 trillion.
Same-Day ACH Transactions Proving to Be a Game-Changer
Same-day ACH volume soared in 2018, which is the first full year with same-day debits and credits. There were nearly 178 million same-day ACH payments last year. The breakdown was 98.3 million credit and 79.7 million debit transactions.
Overall, same-day ACH volume jumped 137 percent from 2017. Total same-day ACH value in 2018 was $159.9 billion, which was up 83% from 2017.
The results clearly show that the ACH network is a vital part of the economy. As more enhancements to the system are planned for the next few years, NACHA expects the network to continue to thrive. For businesses and consumers, they should expect the overall experience to get even better.
The Major ACH Payment Increases at a Glance
In 2018, several core ACH payment types grew significantly, including:
- Business-to-business (B2B) payments, rose 9.4% to 3.6 billion, totaling in value to $34.9 trillion
- Direct deposits increased 4.4% to 6.8 billion, totaling in value to $9.7 trillion
- Internet payments climbed 14.2% to 5.9 billion, totaling in value to $2.9 trillion
- Payments from medical and dental providers and health plans rose 11.5% to 306.7 million, totaling in value to $1.59 trillion
- Person-to-person (P2P) payments, increased 32.2% to 128.7 million, totaling in value to $209.6 billion
Upcoming ACH Network Expansion Rules
NACHA, which manages and governs the ACH Network, continues to expand its capabilities, with the following upcoming rules:
- The speed of funds availability for certain Same Day ACH and next-day ACH credits goes into effect on Sept. 20, 2019.
- Starting on Sept. 18, 2020, same-day ACH transactions can be submitted to the ACH Network, which is the foundation for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States, will be extended by two hours each business day.
- Per-transaction dollar limits will balloon from $25,000 to $100,000, effective March 20, 2020.
In Conclusion
The numbers can’t lie. Expanding same-day ACH processing makes safe, secure, almost real-time payments a reality for financial institutions and customers, and they appear to love taking advantage of them. NACHA has listened to the public’s demand that it wants its money quicker and created a blueprint to satisfy customers’ demands and preferences.
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It offers a simple online application process, and most applicants get approved quickly. Why not take advantage of giving your customers quicker, safer, and efficient transaction processing? Start your application to begin the process.