ACH Usage by Businesses Grew in 2024, Fed Study Shows
The number of businesses using both standard and Same Day ACH grew significantly from 2023 to 2024, a new Federal Reserve report found.
The Federal Reserve Financial Services’ 2024 Business Payments Study asked businesses about the methods they used to make and receive payments from other organizations, government entities, consumers and employees. Among respondents, 60% said they use standard ACH, up from 48% a year earlier. And 56% reported using Same Day ACH, an increase from 45% in 2023. Additionally, 47% of businesses said they encourage using ACH.
One study respondent, identified as a “very large diversified service business,” told researchers, “We are using Same Day ACH more—it’s a good value for the price.”
Still, even as both forms of ACH continue to gain usage, checks use in fact rose from 68% to 73%. It was highest among small (83%) and very small (78%) firms. “One key takeaway is that checks are unlikely to be disappear completely in the near future—a trend to monitor,” researchers noted.
“Nacha’s own figures show that ACH volume is rising,” said Michael Herd, Nacha Executive Vice President, ACH Network Administration. “Given this widespread use and acceptance of ACH, plus the increasing amount of check fraud, the industry needs to focus on why businesses of any size are still writing and receiving checks.”
When it comes to pain points for business payments, high costs/fees was the top issue cited at 48%. Speed was tied for a distant second with security issues, cited by 32%.
