The ACH Network experienced overall growth in the first quarter of 2022, even as recent forms of pandemic-related government assistance have ended.

Presidents typically stand before Congress and proclaim the state of the union to be strong. Michael Herd was looking for a different adjective to describe the ACH State of the Union and came up with the perfect fit: “historic.”

A new study for Nacha and the Center for Payments takes a closer look at how Same Day ACH is being used and what the payments community would like to see.

Same Day ACH might have started out like a tuxedo, but today it’s more like a pair of comfortable jeans. “We don’t need special occasions” to use Same Day ACH, Joe W. Hussey, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan and Chair of the Nacha Board of Directors, told Smarter Faster Payments 2022.

The latest enhancement to Same Day ACH is here. The per payment limit is now $1 million.

Same Day ACH is the faster payment method that debuted in September 2016 for credits, notching 1.3 million payments in its first six processing days. Debits were added in 2017, and by the time Same Day ACH marked its fifth anniversary in September 2021, it had recorded a total of 1.2 billion payments. It took just 13 months more to cross the 2 billion mark.

ACH Network volume grew 8.7% in 2021 with 29.1 billion payments. The value of those payments rose 17.4%, or $10.8 trillion.

Buoyed by strong gains in the healthcare and business-to-business sectors as well as Same Day ACH payments, ACH Network payment volume grew 6.1% during the fourth quarter of 2021.

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

In just five short years, Same Day ACH – Nacha’s faster payments solution – has gained remarkable traction, with the payments community putting it to work in several use cases.  

With business-to-business (B2B) showing particularly strong growth, and healthcare claim payments setting a record, the modern ACH Network recorded a 7.7% increase in payment volume during the third quarter of 2021. 

The IRS used Same Day ACH to send some 430,000 Advance Child Tax Credit (ACTC) payments.

To mark the fifth anniversary of Same Day ACH, Nacha has new cases studies showcasing the ways this faster payment method is being put to use.

As Same Day ACH marks its fifth anniversary, Nacha President and CEO Jane Larimer looks at some milestones and what's ahead.

In the second quarter of 2021, Same Day ACH payment volume was 148.7 million, an increase of 82% over the same time in 2020. Those payments transferred $250 billion, up 115% from a year earlier. 

The number of payments and value conducted on the ACH Network.

A panel of end users and practitioners discusses the key features and drivers of the FedNow Service – and whether they tend to adopt the new payments system when available – as well as how new payments rails may have changed their business models.

While there’s an overwhelming desire to return to pre-pandemic life, some changes to the payments landscape are likely permanent—and that’s a good thing.

A survey by RMAG found no increase in fraud attributable to the later hours for submitting Same Day ACH payments.