New survey results released by NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association®, the steward and rule maker of the ACH Network, show that Same Day Automated Clearing House (ACH) usage is strong, with 80 percent of respondents expecting to see steady growth in 2017.
Twenty-three financial institutions, representing 63 percent of ACH Network origination volume, participated in a qualitative survey during December 2016 and January 2017 about Same Day ACH, an industry solution to move payments faster. Across the board, Same Day ACH has seen strong performance and usage, with 90 percent of respondents saying the volume of origination services was the same or higher than expected, and 83 percent saying the same about volume received.
The survey also shows that this faster payment solution is being implemented by businesses of all sizes. Of the financial institutions surveyed, 84 percent of respondents report they originated Same Day ACH transactions for middle market sized companies, 58 percent originated transactions for large companies and 37 percent say their small business clients are taking advantage of this faster payment option.
Additionally, Same Day ACH is being used for a variety of purposes, demonstrating the utility of this solution beyond the ability to make emergency payments. While 95 percent of surveyed financial institutions report that their clients are using Same Day ACH for emergency payments like payroll, 68 percent say clients are using it for one-time payments and 58 percent show businesses are using Same Day ACH to make regularly scheduled payments such as paying hourly employees.
One of the most important findings of this survey is that none of the respondents reported experiencing any increase in fraud due to Same Day ACH, whether as an originating or receiving financial institution. Same Day ACH by itself does not create any new vectors for fraud, such as new access channels or banking information.
“We are encouraged by the results of this survey, which validates that Same Day ACH is an effective, beneficial and safe faster payments solution that is meeting and, in some cases exceeding, the expectations of its users,” said Janet O. Estep, president and CEO of NACHA. “We were pleased to see that the vast majority of receiving financial institutions are delivering added benefit to their corporate customers now by providing transaction information to them after each of the three processing windows.”
Estep continued, “Given the strong support for and usage of Same Day ACH, processors and solution providers should do all that they can to fully unleash this capability by making origination and receipt easier for end users so that all may be able to fully capitalize on this faster payment capability. As we head toward implementing Phase 2, we, like a majority of the financial institutions utilizing Same Day ACH, expect to see the program continue to grow and benefit consumers and businesses who use the service for many of their payment needs.”
Financial institutions surveyed report the following regarding Same Day ACH origination services:
55 percent report volume was as anticipated; 35 percent said volume was higher than anticipated
100 percent reported a “client success story” that involved support for payroll in a new way
Financial institutions surveyed report the following when receiving Same Day ACH transactions:
61 percent report volume received was as anticipated; 22 percent said volume was higher than anticipated
83 percent provided transaction information to corporate clients after every processing window, with 74 percent delivering information to clients within 60 minutes of each processing window
An infographic highlighting the survey results is available in the Same Day ACH resource center.
By Sept. 15, 2017, financial institutions, processors and businesses should ensure they are prepared to receive and originate Same Day ACH debits by accessing the Same Day ACH educational resources at www.nacha.org/same-day-ach and performing adequate testing with stakeholders. Same Day ACH for debits will support significant industry uses cases such as consumer bill payment and account-to-account transfers.
Source: NACHA statement
