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An automated clearing house (ACH) is a computer-based electronic network for processing transactions, [1] usually domestic low value payments, between participating financial institutions. It may support both credit transfers and direct debits. [2] [3] The ACH system is designed to process batches of payments containing numerous transactions, and it charges fees low enough to encourage its use for low-value payments.
The first automated clearing house was BACS in the United Kingdom, which started processing payments in April 1968. [4]
In the U.S. in the late 1960s, a group of banks in California sought a replacement for check payments. [5] This led to the first automated clearing house in the US in 1972, operated by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. [5]
BACS operated from the beginning on a net settlement basis. Netting ACH transactions reduces the amount of deposits a bank must hold. [5]
ACHs process large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers are initiated by the payer and include payments such as: direct deposits, payrolls, retail payments and vendor payments. [5] ACH direct debit collections are initiated by the payee with pre-authorization from the payer; ACH direct debits include consumer payments such as utility bills, insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other types of bills. [5] Transactions received by the bank during the day are stored and transmitted in batches to the ACH. ACHs are net settlement systems, so settlement may be delayed for days, and there is some settlement risk. ACHs may allow for the transfer of a limited amount of additional information along with payment instructions.
ACH payments contrast with real-time gross settlement (RTGS) payments which are processed immediately by the central RTGS system and not subject to any waiting period on a one-to-one basis. ACH systems are typically used for low-value, non-urgent transactions while RTGS systems are typically used for high-value, urgent transactions. [6]
This section describes in a generic way the typical operation of an ACH system. Each ACH system has its own specifics; see, for example, quick facts [7] [8] for the Nacha ACH Network in the United States and its terminology.
There are various ACH systems around the world. The World Bank identified 87 systems in their 2010 survey [9] and 98 systems in their 2012 survey, [10] while other sources have made qualitative analysis of a smaller number of ACH systems. [6]
In addition, there are various ACH associations such as the European Automated Clearing House Association. [44]
There are various usages of ACH systems; [7] the terminology related to different types of transactions varying in different countries. Most ACH payment systems support the following types:
In the United States, the ACH Network is the national automated clearing house (ACH) for electronic funds transfers established in the 1960s and 1970s. It processes financial transactions for consumers, businesses, and federal, state, and local governments. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct deposit for payroll, Social Security, and other benefit payments, tax refunds, and vendor payments. ACH direct debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills.
A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share account at credit unions, is a deposit account or bank account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the account owner "on demand" and is available for frequent and immediate access by the account owner or to others as the account owner may direct. Access may be in a variety of ways, such as cash withdrawals, use of debit cards, cheques and electronic transfer. In economic terms, the funds held in a transaction account are regarded as liquid funds. In accounting terms, they are considered as cash.
Cheque clearing or bank clearance is the process of moving cash from the bank on which a cheque is drawn to the bank in which it was deposited, usually accompanied by the movement of the cheque to the paying bank, either in the traditional physical paper form or digitally under a cheque truncation system. This process is called the clearing cycle and normally results in a credit to the account at the bank of deposit, and an equivalent debit to the account at the bank on which it was drawn, with a corresponding adjustment of accounts of the banks themselves. If there are not enough funds in the account when the cheque arrived at the issuing bank, the cheque would be returned as a dishonoured cheque marked as non-sufficient funds.
The Australian financial system consists of the arrangements covering the borrowing and lending of funds and the transfer of ownership of financial claims in Australia, comprising:
In banking and finance, clearing refers to all activities from the time a commitment is made for a transaction until it is settled. This process turns the promise of payment into the actual movement of money from one account to another. Clearing houses were formed to facilitate such transactions among banks.
An e-commerce payment system facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for offline transfer, also known as a subcomponent of electronic data interchange (EDI), e-commerce payment systems have become increasingly popular due to the widespread use of the internet-based shopping and banking.
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs), previously known as Bankers' Automated Clearing System, is responsible for the clearing and settlement of UK automated direct debit and Bacs Direct Credit and the provision of third-party services. Bacs became a subsidiary of Pay.UK on 1 May 2018, and responsibility for direct debit, Bacs Direct Credit, the Current Account Switch Service, Cash ISA Transfer Service and the Industry Sort Code Directory was given to Pay.UK.
A payment system is any system used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. This includes the institutions, payment instruments such as payment cards, people, rules, procedures, standards, and technologies that make its exchange possible. A payment system is an operational network which links bank accounts and provides for monetary exchange using bank deposits. Some payment systems also include credit mechanisms, which are essentially a different aspect of payment.
A direct debit or direct withdrawal is a financial transaction in which one organisation withdraws funds from a payer's bank account. Formally, the organisation that calls for the funds instructs their bank to collect an amount directly from another's bank account designated by the payer and pay those funds into a bank account designated by the payee. Before the payer's banker will allow the transaction to take place, the payer must have advised the bank that they have authorized the payee to directly draw the funds. It is also called pre-authorized debit (PAD) or pre-authorized payment (PAP). After the authorities are set up, the direct debit transactions are usually processed electronically.
Fedwire is a real-time gross settlement funds transfer system operated by the United States Federal Reserve Banks that allows financial institutions to electronically transfer funds between its more than 9,289 participants. Transfers can only be initiated by the sending bank once they receive the proper wiring instructions for the receiving bank. These instructions include: the receiving bank's routing number, account number, recipient’s name and dollar amount being transferred. This information is submitted to the Federal Reserve via the Fedwire system. Once the instructions are received and processed, the Fed will debit the funds from the sending bank's reserve account and credit the receiving bank's account. Wire transfers sent via Fedwire are completed the same business day, with many being completed instantly.
Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems, without the direct intervention of bank staff. Funds transfers are the primary mechanism used by the business community for fast and reliable transfer of funds between two parties. The funds transfer process generally consists of a series of electronic messages sent between financial institutions directing each to make the debit and credit accounting entries necessary to complete the transaction. A funds transfer can generally be described as a series of payment instruction messages, beginning with the originator's instructions, and including a series of further instructions between the participating institutions, with the purpose of making payment to the beneficiary.
Cash management refers to a broad area of finance involving the collection, handling, and usage of cash. It involves assessing market liquidity, cash flow, and investments.
Payment and settlement systems are used for financial transactions in India. Covered by the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007, legislated in December 2007, they are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems.
Nacha, originally the National Automated Clearinghouse Association, manages the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States, and is an association for the payments industry. The ACH Network serves as a network for direct consumer, business, and government payments, and annually facilitates billions of payments such as Direct Deposit and Direct Payment. The ACH Network is governed by the Nacha Operating Rules.
A payment processor is a system that enables financial transactions, commonly employed by a merchant, to handle transactions with customers from various channels such as credit cards and debit cards or bank accounts. They are usually broken down into two types: front-end and back-end.
A net settlement is a payment system used for inter-bank transactions. It is the process by which banks calculate the collective total of all transactions through designated times each day.
The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C. (PayCo) is a U.S.-based limited liability company formed by Clearing House Association. PayCo is a private sector, payment system infrastructure that operates an electronic check clearing and settlement system (SVPCO), a clearing house, and a wholesale funds transfer system (CHIPS).
Vocalink is a payment systems company headquartered in the United Kingdom, created in 2007 from the merger between Voca and LINK. It designs, builds and operates the UK payments infrastructure, which underpins the provision of the Bacs payment system and the UK ATM LINK switching platform covering 65,000 ATMs and the UK Faster Payments systems.
EBA Clearing is a provider of pan-European payment infrastructure wholly owned by shareholders that consist of major European banks.
National Automated Clearing House, introduced by National Payments Corporation of India, is a centralised clearing service that aims at providing interbank high volume, low value transactions that are repetitive and periodic in nature. Offering credit and debit service to corporates, banks, and financial institutions, the service, aimed at integrating all regional ECS into one National Payment System, is claimed to be better than its predecessor, Electronic Clearing Service.
