Editing ACH Network (section)

{{Short description|United States automated clearing house}}
{{About|a specific payment system in the United States|the generic concept of a payments clearing house| Automated clearing house}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Banking in the United States}}
{{Banking|transfer}}

In the [[United States]], the '''ACH Network''' is the national [[automated clearing house]] (ACH) for [[electronic funds transfer]]s established in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a financial utility owned by US banks, and is one of the largest payments networks in the United States, both by volume and by customer reach; virtually every bank account in the US, whether personal or commercial, is connected to the network.<ref name="piu">{{cite book
 | author-last1= Benson
 | author-first1=Carol Coye
 | author-last2= Loftesness
 | author-first2=Scott
 | author-last3=Jones
 | author-first3=Russ 
 | title =Payments Systems in the U.S.: A Guide for the Payments Professional
 | chapter=Core Systems: ACH
 | publisher =[[Glenbrook Partners|Glenbrook Press]]
 | series =
 | volume =
 | edition=3rd
 | date =2017
 | pages =47–64
 | language =English
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CqB2tAEACAAJ
 | isbn = 9780982789742
 | accessdate=2024-12-19}}</ref> 

ACH has a wide variety of [[consumer]] and [[Big business|enterprise]] applications, processing [[financial transaction]]s for consumers, businesses, and federal, state, and local governments. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in [[Batch processing|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 premium]]s, [[mortgage loans]], and other kinds of bills.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fedach_about.htm|title=Federal Reserve Board – Automated Clearinghouse Services|work = [[Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System]] |access-date= February 23, 2019 }}</ref>

The rules and regulations that govern the ACH network are established and maintained by the [[Nonprofit organization|nonprofit]] [[National Automated Clearinghouse Association]] (Nacha). 

In 2018, the network processed 23{{nbsp}}billion transactions with a total value of $51.2{{nbsp}}trillion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitaltransactions.net/same-day-transaction-boom-helps-propel-the-ach-to-a-51-trillion-year/|title=Same-Day Transaction Boom Helps Propel the ACH to a $51 Trillion Year|work=Digital Transactions|access-date= February 23, 2019 }}</ref> Contrast this with the card payment networks in the US, which in the same time period processed under $10 trillion in payments.
.<ref>{{cite web
 | url =https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fr-payments-study.htm
 | title =The Federal Reserve Payments Study: Cards and Alternative Payments, 2021 and 2022
 | last =
 | first =
 | date =2024
 | website =www.federalreserve.gov
 | publisher =[[Federal Reserve]]
 | access-date =2024-12-19
 | quote =}}</ref>