Same-day ACH is booming, and 1.1 million payments a day coursed through the system’s veins in September, according to new data from Nacha.
The Herndon, Va.-based ACH Network operator said this week that 66.6 million same-day ACH payments occurred in the third quarter of 2019, which was a 54% jump from the prior year. Those payments moved $67.1 billion, which was a 65% increase over last year.
The third quarter’s double-digit increases followed similarly massive growth earlier this year. Back in July, Nacha reported a 46% year-over-year increase in the number of same-day ACH payments for the second quarter of 2019.
“Same-day ACH marked a milestone in July, which was the first month to see same-day payment volume average more than 1 million payments per day. That brisk pace continued throughout the third quarter,” the company noted.
“The modern ACH Network is thriving,” Nacha President and CEO Jane Larimer added. “With record volume growth, it is clear that the ACH Network is meeting the nation’s growing need for fast, efficient payments.”
Business-to-business transactions have been particularly robust, according to the data. For the first nine months of 2019, the number of same-day ACH transactions among businesses spiked 50% to 37 million. Those payments moved $61 billion, which was a 47% increase over last year.
Volumes for all types of ACH transactions also appeared to fare well during the third quarter. Nacha reported a 9.5% increase in the overall number of ACH transactions and an 11% increase in payment values.
Nacha has rolled out a string of changes to its same-day ACH system requirements in recent years, including adding settlement windows, augmenting features and making funds available sooner.
Last month, Nacha also rolled out new rules intended to increase the speed of funds availability for certain same-day ACH transactions. Now funds from same-day ACH credits that processed during the first processing window of the day must be available by 1:30 p.m. local time. In addition, funds from non-same-day ACH credits must be available by 9 a.m. local time on the settlement date if the credit is made available to the receiving depository financial institution by 5 p.m. local time the day before.
In March 2020, Nacha plans to increase the per-transaction dollar limit for same-day ACH transactions to $100,000 from $25,000. In June, in plans to begin tightening rules that require certain users to render deposit account information unreadable when stored electronically.
Nacha said it expects 250 million same-day ACH transactions to happen in 2019.