ACH payments are electronic payments made through the Automated Clearing House network – a network that coordinates electronic payments and automated money transfers.
ACH is a batch processing system that handles millions of payments at the end of the day, thus eliminating the need to manually handle payments. The two central clearing facilities: The Federal Reserve or Payments Canada – receive batches of ACH entries from financial institutions.
The ACH operators then process the batch of transaction files and distribute them to Receiving Depository Financial Institutions (RDFls), usually the recipients bank.
Check out our blog: What Are ACH Transfers And How They Work?
In this blog we will focus on ACH Payments and their cut-off times, and help you find ways to ensure that your payments are never delayed.
How Long Do ACH Payments Take?
Payments processed through ACH payment are not immediate. Typically, most ACH payments are settled within 2-3 business days.
The batches in which ACH transactions are processed are only processed at the end of the business day, and only on business days. As a result, ACH payments made towards the end of the week will usually take longer than those made at the beginning of the week.
Sometimes, your bank may choose to place your transferred funds on a hold. This is not unusual and can result in ACH settlements taking several days.
Why Processing Time Matters
ACH payments can be either credit or debit. An employer may use this method to pay wages to their staff, while subscription services may use the method to withdraw a monthly fee from a bank account.
ACH settlement times are important because while the funds are transferring, you don’t have any access to that money. This can lead to some tricky situations.
Employees may be waiting days on their wages to come through, causing them all sorts of financial inconveniences such as late rent payments. A business paying an overseas supplier may have to wait longer for stock to be shipped, as the client may not part with their goods until payments are received in full.
What Is The Fastest Way To Send Money?
The best alternative way to send money would be to use Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). EFT payments can be made online using any device with Internet access.
A common example of EFT would be e-transfer, used by many people to send instant person to person payments. However, e-transfer can only be used for domestic payments, and banks may limit the amount you can send based on your card’s daily access limit.
The best way to send money online, especially for international payments, is to use a Money Service Business (MSB). One such MSB would be us here at REMITR.
We understand that time is money – and can help you save both. Our service is the fastest, cheapest and most convenient way to send money.
Using our service guarantees you savings. REMITR charges a flat fee of $5, while some bank wire fees can cost you anywhere between $15 and $80!
We help you save time as money arrives in your beneficiaries account within 1 business day. Our service is available 24/7, meaning you can send money at any time it pleases you.
With REMITR, you get the best live Foreign Exchange rate, regardless of banking hours, while the beneficiary pays no fee to receive the funds into their account.
REMITR can be used to transfer money to over 150 countries across the globe, and you get access to the best live exchanges rates, no matter what currency you’re sending.
For stress-free transfers at the click of a button, get in touch with REMITR today.
