Success is a ladder than cannot be climbed with your hands in your pockets ~ American proverb

In a country often filled with broken promises and lip service, it’s refreshing to look at the track record of the Electronic Payments Association (NACHA), who introduced Same Day ACH for credits 5 years ago. NACHA, the rule maker and governing body for most financial transactions in the U.S., promised yearly enhancements to Same Day ACH including adding debits, expanding the hours to submit payments, and increasing the dollar limit for each payment. The payment’s world salutes NACHA for their honesty, transparency, commitment, and follow-thru.

Flashback to 2016, NACHA reported $1.3M payments worth $1.5B in the first 6 days of Same Day ACH processing. Wow! The crystal ball couldn’t have been more foretelling. According to Jane Larimer, CEO/President of NACHA, “In the first half of 2021, there were more than 291 million Same Day ACH payments—debits and credits—transferring $439 billion. Those figures are up 86.3% and 123% respectively from the first half of 2020. The tally since launch stands at 1.2 billion payments transferring $1.5 trillion.” Wow, Wow!

Same Day ACH streamlined payroll processing across the board allowing companies to hold onto funds longer and offering employees immediate access to their wages. The same day transfer of funds for consumers reduces late payments, replenishes digital wallets, and corrects financial mistakes quickly. The fast payments process for businesses tightens financial efficiencies, reduces costs, lowers fraud, and enhances liquidity.

Stage right, March 2022, “NACHA increases Same Day ACH dollar limits to $1M, adds supplemental data security requirements, and revises roles and obligations for  3rd party senders.” In the payment’s world, moving money faster is an advantage for most businesses, but it also carries a greater security risk due to the acceleration of processing. The window to transact funds is dramatically reduced with Same Day ACH from the next business day to the current one which means less time for transaction risk reviews resulting in more opportunities for quick unauthorized withdrawals from unsavory individuals.

How secure are ACH payments? There is no fail-proof security in the financial world especially for consumer payments; however, ACH payments are supported by NACHA’s vigilant governing body. Unlike credit card companies, NACHA is a pit bull watchdog that is constantly improving security across the payment system to protect consumers from cyber threats. NACHA reports that “they work with the payments industry to employ a comprehensive Risk Management Strategy that ensures the safety, security, and integrity of ACH payments. NACHA’s work as an industry guarantees that the ACH Network remains one of the safest available means of moving payments and information.”

The financial world has a neon-flashing target on its back for cyber security breaches. RIBBIT is one of the few data analytics companies that has 2 prestigious Accredited ACH Professionals (AAP) on staff, a testament to their focus on risk management and regulation compliance. RIBBIT’s team believes trustworthiness and accountability go together, so the support of two AAPs on staff assures clients of the highest level of regulation scrutiny and the lowest level of risk exposure for their financial data.

Stay tuned . . .