ACH transfer times take anywhere from a few hours to three business days, depending on the time of day the payment is initiated and whether same-day processing has been requested. ACH debits, such as bill pay or withdrawals, generally take 1-3 days to process, while ACH credits, such as direct deposits or vendor payments, generally take just one day to process.
Same-day ACH, which typically requires an additional fee, processes the same business day. For regular ACH payments, ODFIs generally settle at 8:30 AM the following business day for debit requests, and 8:30 AM the second business day for credits.
What can slow down ACH bank transfers?
Banks that receive payments via ACH may anticipate the risk of an ACH return. Because of that, they may not provide funds availability to the receiver until the transaction successfully settles (which may be a few days later than when the bank first receives notice of the payment). For smaller amounts, they may advance the funds earlier as a low-risk customer convenience.
Errors can also slow the ACH process down. A return for insufficient funds is the most common error for debits. Credits, on the other hand, are more susceptible to things like incorrect account numbers, erroneous transfer amounts, closed accounts, and names that don’t match.
To reduce errors, fraud, and delays for payments authorized over the internet, Nacha (the organization that oversees the ACH network), put a new rule into effect in 2021. This rule requires originators of WEB transactions to verify the recipient's account is open, valid, and able to receive ACH transfers—before initiating an ACH debit that was authorized by a consumer online.
Further complicating things, the system works on a “no news is good news” basis, meaning no transaction is ever explicitly confirmed—and thus can later be reversed. If a transaction fails, the RDFI typically has up to 48 hours to report it. In some situations, a debit transaction that’s already been processed and settled may not stay that way if it’s reported by the RDFI as a failed transaction later on. Consumers also have up to 60 days to dispute unauthorized or incorrect ACH debit transactions.
