WASHINGTON — Same Day ACH payment volume jumped nearly 37% in the third quarter from a year earlier, while the value of those transactions rose about 32%, according to figures released Oct. 20 by Nacha, which governs the ACH Network.
The network processed 470.4 million Same Day ACH payments totaling $1.3 trillion during the quarter, reflecting continued demand for faster electronic payments, Nacha said.
“Both the number of Same Day ACH payments, and the value of those payments, show the significant role that Same Day ACH plays in helping to meet the nation’s faster payment needs,” Nacha President and CEO Jane Larimer said in a statement.
6% Increase Across Network
Across the entire ACH Network, third-quarter volume rose about 6% from a year earlier to 9.3 billion payments, while transaction value increased 10% to $25.6 trillion, according to Nacha.
Business-to-business payments climbed 9.7% to approximately 2.3 billion transactions, growth Nacha attributed to organizations continuing to replace paper checks with electronic payments.
Other ACH payment categories also recorded year-over-year gains. Person-to-person payments increased 15.9% to 141.7 million transactions, while internet-initiated payments rose 7.5% to 3.1 billion. Health care payments grew 2.6% to 144.4 million, and direct deposit volume increased 2.5% to 2.2 billion, according to Nacha’s third-quarter figures.
“As these quarterly increases continue, they demonstrate the strength of not only Same Day ACH, but the ACH Network overall,” Larimer said.
The ACH Network reaches accounts at U.S. banks and credit unions and supports direct deposits and direct payments.
NextGen Currency Project
In September, Nacha and its Payments Innovation Alliance launched the Next-Gen Currency Project Team to explore the use of digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits, for moving money.
In August, Nacha named transaction-monitoring provider Flagright a Preferred Partner in ACH compliance, fraud monitoring, and risk and fraud prevention. Nacha said the designation recognizes products and services that demonstrate leadership and innovation in advancing the ACH Network.
