Heads up: Same-day ACH debits possible starting Friday, 9/15/17

As a quick reminder to those unaware, Phase 2 of the project to speed up ACH transfer capabilities goes into effect on Friday, September 15th, when same-day debits will become possible via ACH transfer based on cutoff times listed below. Note that this doesn’t mean that all ACH transfers will happen same-day — but it’s important to be aware that ACH payments could be debited on the same business day on which they were initiated. If you are used to making a payment and having a day or two to move money over to cover it, or if you regularly pay bill payments a day or two before you receive your direct deposit, you should be aware that you may not continue to have that window before the payment is debited.

More details can be found on the National Automated Clearing House Association website here. Example use cases NACHA gives for same-day ACH transfers include:

• Expedited bill payments using both ACH credits and debits, enabling consumers to make on-time bill payments on due dates, and providing faster crediting for late payments; and,
• Account-to-account transfers, providing faster crediting for consumers who move money among various accounts they own.

Additionally, the site states that the following processing times will be possible:

• A morning submission deadline at 10:30 AM ET, with settlement occurring at 1:00 PM.
• An afternoon submission deadline at 2:45 PM ET, with settlement occurring at 5:00 PM.

Again note that this does not mean that all entities will be participating — there is a cost to the recipient to receive the same-day ACH debit transaction. Many bank websites have FAQ-type documents about the coming change. Here are a few:

• Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
• Capital One
• JP Morgan
• NASA Federal Credit Union (I found this one to be the easiest to read/understand)

As I understand it, this means that it would be possible for a credit card bill payment paid in the morning to be debited from your account the same day. It also means that PayPal / Target RedCard debit card / similar transactions may also be debited on the same business day. An ACH transfer pull could also theoretically be made available the same day. There are exclusions for foreign payments and those exceeding $25,000.

Read more about this change at the links above.

H/T: reddit

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