ACH (Automated Clearing House)

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the US bank-to-bank batch payment network for direct deposits and direct debits, settling in 1 to 3 business days at much lower cost than a wire transfer, and the most common way US businesses pay each other's invoices.

Applies in: United States

ACH is the workhorse of US B2B payments. Direct deposit (payroll, vendor payments) and direct debit (recurring subscription billing, utility payments) both run on ACH. Transactions are batched and settled overnight in most cases, with same-day ACH available for an extra fee. The cost is typically free to a few cents per transaction, in stark contrast to wire transfers at USD 15-50 each.

The trade-off is speed and certainty. ACH settles in 1 to 3 business days, where a wire transfer settles same-day. ACH transactions can also be reversed by the originating bank within a defined window (60 days for unauthorised consumer debits, shorter for B2B), which makes ACH less reliable than wire for time-sensitive or high-value payments. For routine US B2B invoicing in the four-to-five-figure range, ACH is the right default. For six-figure or cross-border, wire is the right default.

To accept ACH, the seller provides the buyer with the account's ACH routing number (9 digits) and account number. The buyer's bank uses the routing number to identify the receiving bank, and the account number to credit the right account. ACH is US-only; cross-border equivalents use SWIFT wire (with IBAN and BIC), and IBAN-based SEPA in Europe.

Common questions about ACH

What is the difference between ACH and a wire transfer?

ACH is a batch network settling in 1-3 business days at very low cost (typically free or a few cents). Wire transfers settle same-day but cost USD 15-50 each. ACH transactions can be reversed within a window; wire transfers generally cannot once cleared. ACH is the right default for routine US B2B; wire is the right default for high-value or time-sensitive transfers.

How long does an ACH transfer take?

Standard ACH settles in 1 to 3 business days, depending on the type of transaction and the banks involved. Same-day ACH (where supported) settles by end of the same business day for an additional fee. ACH does not operate on weekends or federal holidays, which can add 1-2 days to transfers initiated Friday or before a holiday.

Is ACH available for international payments?

No. ACH is a US-only domestic network. Cross-border payments from the US use SWIFT wire transfers (with the receiver's IBAN and BIC) or, increasingly, private payment networks (Wise, Payoneer, Stripe Cross-Border) that route through their own infrastructure. Some US banks offer International ACH Transactions (IAT) but it is not widely used.

Use JupiterInvoice for ACH

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Related terms

IBAN SWIFT/BIC Sort code

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