Mercator Advisory Group recently held a webinar to further discuss the findings of its new white paper titled “The Expanding Role of ACH in the Era of Faster Payments.” 

Michael Herd, Nacha’s Senior Vice President of ACH Network Administration, and Sarah Grotta, Mercator’s Director of Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service and author of the white paper, discussed hot topics, including: 

• How ACH fits in among other payment types in the U.S.  
• Opportunities for future growth of ACH
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ACH and the role ACH played in keeping money moving
• The growth of Same Day ACH and its influence on the developing faster payments market
• What’s next for ACH as it continues to evolve

Grotta also discussed how – as payments become faster – ACH supports the future of the industry with Same Day ACH, while providing the money-movement infrastructure for many other payment products.

Businesses and consumers expect consistency when they use ACH, she said during the webinar. “We know businesses rely heavily on ACH, which drives much of its high-dollar activity,” she said, adding that “many recently launched payments solutions rely on ACH for money movement including P2P apps, private-labeled debit apps, savings and budgeting apps, and many others.” 

Added Herd: “Automation and standards equal consistency. With ACH, you can transact massive numbers of similar payments in very efficient automated batches … and it keeps per transaction costs down to a bare minimum.” 

Herd and Grotta also took an in-depth look at key attributes of the ACH Network that allow it to take a leading role in the continuum of faster payments, including its ubiquity and efficiency, the Same Day ACH capability, and Nacha’s governance.

Click the buttons below to listen to the webinar, download the white paper, and download the presentation. 
 

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