adminCredit unions that process ACH payments will need to add two more same-day windows to their operations by September of 2016. This week the voting membership of the Electronic Payments Association approved same day ACH to the NACHA Operating rules. This means that payments will move faster between financial institutions as two same-day windows are added to their afternoon process.
The thinking behind the rule is that it enables a ubiquitous same-day capability for virtually any ACH transaction, creating options for the businesses, governments, and consumers who want to move their money quicker. There are three key changes, reflecting feedback from the comment period. First, the morning same-day window was modified to allow for more time to process transactions, with settlement occurring at 1 p.m. ET. This new settlement time would become effective in Phase 1 instead of Phase 3, as originally proposed. Secondly, the rule creates an option for an additional method for ODFIs to use, at their discretion, with their originators to determine intent for same-day settlement. Third, there was an adjustment to the methodology for calculating the same day entry fee to exclude opportunity costs from its calculation.
Same day ACH will be implemented in a phased approach. In Phase 1, ACH credit transactions will be eligible for same day processing, supporting use cases such as hourly payroll, person-to-person (P2P) payments and same-day bill pay. Phase 1 is scheduled to begin Sept. 23, 2016.
To read more about the Same Day ACH Rule and the implementation of the three phases, visit NACHA’s website.
