Have you ever tried to schedule an ACH payment last minute only to find the window has closed and now you’ll have to wait for it to process the next day? Here’s some news: the Federal Reserve Financial Services has announced their approval of same-day ACH transactions. Of course, this transaction will be available in exchange for a pretty penny, but there could be situations in which it will be the better option in comparison to late fees/penalties. Originating financial institutions (ODFIs) can submit files of same-day ACH payments through two new clearing windows provided by the ACH Operators:
- Morning submission deadline at 10:30 AM EST, with settlement occurring at 1:00 PM
- Afternoon submission deadline at 2:45 PM EST, settlement occurring at 5:00 PM
All receiving financial institutions (RDFIs) will be required to receive same-day ACH payments, thereby giving ODFIs the ability to send same-day ACH payments to accounts at all RDFIs. To make sure businesses benefit from this new option, they should:
- Talk to their financial institution to determine if same-day transactions are appropriate cost-effective and
- Discuss new file submission requirements, submission schedules, and eligible items
Both credits and debits will be eligible for same-day processing, however, the implementation of same-day processing will have 3 phases:
- Phase 1: September 23rd, 2016, processing for credits only
- Phase 2: September 15th, 2017, processing for debits effective
- Phase 3: March 16th, 2018, funds available by 5:00 pm RDFI local time
Only international transactions (IATs) and high-value transactions above $25,000 are ineligible for same-day ACH. Federal and state government agencies will be participating in the new same-day schedule as well.
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/SiraAnamwong
