ACH transfers are not like same-network transactions such as when funds are sent via Cash App or Venmo etc., and they can take up to one to three business days to complete.
Here’s a rundown of the ACH transfer process:
Initiation – The originating party initiates a credit or debit transfer.
Batching – The originating institution (or ODFI) batches the transaction along with other ACH transfers.
Sending – Batched transactions are sent out to the ACH network at different intervals during the business day. Depending on when the request is submitted, these transactions can be sent within the hour or might not be sent until the next business day (potentially taking up to one business day to complete.)
Receiving – An ACH operator—either the Federal Reserve or the Electronic Payments Network—receives the batched transactions, sorts them, and submits the transactions to the RDFI. The ACH network submits transactions to receiving institutions five times per business day (this takes one business day to complete).
Processing – The receiving bank processes the transaction. To verify the debited account doesn’t contain insufficient funds, some financial institutions choose to hold funds for a set amount of time before depositing the transferred funds into the account to be credited (this can take between one to two business days to complete).
Depositing – ACH funds are deposited into the receiving accounts.
For more information on our processing times, please click here.