Contact: Media Relations

Today, Nacha released the following statement by President and CEO Jane Larimer on the December 2021 update to the Federal Reserve Payments Study:

“The latest update to the Federal Reserve Payments Study highlights the importance of the fast and modern ACH Network to our nation’s payment system. In 2020, many businesses and individuals turned to the ACH Network to send and receive payments because of pandemic-related disruptions. Americans received payments seamlessly through the ACH Network even as volumes substantially grew. In 2020, there were a record 26.8 billion payments on the ACH Network, an 8.2% increase compared to 2019. This growth included a 12% increase in Direct Deposit payments, a 15% increase in internet-initiated consumer bill pay payments and a 10.7% increase in business-to-business payments.

“This momentum continued in 2021. Through the third quarter of last year, there were 21.7 billion ACH payments, an increase of 9.6% compared to the same period of 2020. This growth included a dramatic 73% increase in Same Day ACH payment volume.

“As we begin a New Year, Nacha and our partners will further expand the capabilities of the ACH Network. The Same Day ACH limit will increase from the current $100,000 to $1 million in March, which is expected to increase adoption.”

Highlights from the December 2021 Federal Reserve Payments Study update:

• ACH was the only one of the three core payment systems (ACH, cards and checks) to grow by number from 2019 to 2020.
• The ACH Network was the only payment system among the three to grow in share by number in both the 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 periods. In fact, the share of ACH transactions grew more by number and value from 2019 to 2020 (during the pandemic) than from 2018 to 2019 (before the pandemic).
• The rise of ACH share by number, most of which occurred from 2019 to 2020, is due partly to consumers and businesses making more ACH payments directly and partly to more use of ACH as a settlement vehicle for a variety of payment types of relatively small value (for example, through popular apps widely installed on smartphones).

About Nacha

Nacha governs the thriving ACH Network, the payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast Direct Deposits and Direct Payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts. Nearly 27 billion ACH Network payments were made in 2020, valued at close to $62 trillion. Through problem-solving and consensus-building among diverse payment industry stakeholders, Nacha advances innovation and interoperability in the payments system. Nacha develops rules and standards, provides industry solutions, and delivers education, accreditation, and advisory services.

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