Expanding Same Day ACH
Three new rules have been approved to expand the capabilities of Same Day ACH for all financial institutions and their customers. The first expands access to Same Day ACH by allowing Same Day ACH transactions to be submitted to the ACH Network for an additional two hours every business day. The second increases the Same Day ACH per-transaction dollar limit to $100,000. The third increases the speed of funds availability for certain Same Day ACH and next-day ACH credits.
The three new rules have different effective dates. The faster funds availability rule will become effective on September 20, 2019; the increase in the per-transaction dollar limit will become effective on March 20, 2020; and the new Same Day ACH processing window with expanded hours will go into effect on September 18, 2020.
Expanding Access to Same Day ACH
Creates a third Same Day ACH processing window that expands Same Day ACH availability by 2 hours
- Currently, the latest that an ODFI can submit files of Same Day ACH transactions to an ACH Operator is 2:45 p.m. ET (11:45 a.m. PT)
- The new window will allow Same Day ACH files to be submitted until 4:45 p.m. ET (1:45 p.m. PT), providing greater access for all ODFIs and their customers
- The timing of this new processing window is intended to balance the desire to expand access to Same Day ACH through extended hours with the need to minimize impacts on financial institutions’ end-of-day operations and the re-opening of the next banking day
Increasing the Same Day ACH Dollar Limit
Increases the per-transaction dollar limit for Same Day ACH transactions to $100,000
- Currently, Same Day ACH transactions are limited to $25,000 per transaction
- While the current limit covers approximately 98% of ACH transactions, there are many use cases for which a higher dollar limit will better enable end users to utilize Same Day ACH. For example, a higher transaction limit would better enable:
- B2B payments, in which only approximately 89% of transactions are currently eligible
- Claim payments, which are often for larger dollar amounts and are time sensitive in nature
- Reversals for a larger pool of transactions, including all Same Day ACH transactions
Providing Faster Funds Availability
Establishes additional funds availability standards for ACH credits
- Funds from Same Day ACH credits processed in the existing, first processing window will be made available by 1:30 p.m. RDFI's local time
- Funds from non-Same Day ACH credits will be available by 9:00 a.m. on the Settlement Date, if the credits were available to the RDFI by 5:00 p.m. on the previous day (i.e., apply the existing “PPD rule” to all ACH credits)