Why There Is No Instant ACH Processing

Having multiple payment options available to your customers is crucial to allowing more individuals to purchase your products and services. However, for certain types of payment options that are utilized less frequently, misinformation can abound. This makes it difficult for you to use new payments efficiently. Take, for example, Automatic Clearing House or ACH transfers. Some may boast instant ACH processing, but that is not currently possible with the service at hand. To better understand ACH transfers and why instant processing is not available, let’s take a closer look at this payment option and how you can accomplish more when you choose to offer ACH payments.

What Is an ACH Payment?

An ACH transfer occurs when a payment is made from one bank account to another- such as the direct deposits that you make when paying your rent. If you’re sending funds electronically to someone else’s bank account from your own, this is another example of an ACH transfer. As you can imagine, bank-to-bank transfers are a bit more involved than other forms of payment, which is why instant ACH processing is currently unrealistic.

How Long Do ACH Transfers Take?

ACH transfers will typically take anywhere from three to four days to settle, although it depends on when the transfer is made, what type of transfer it is (debit vs. credit), and which service you’re working with in order to process these payments. Why? Because ACH transfers run on the same schedule as banks, meaning that they’ll only be processed during business days and will be conducted along with other ACH transfers that are being made. Unfortunately, this means that there is no instant ACH processing. Learning this can be a major obstacle for those who have seen instant processing advertised or believed that it would be possible for their own business needs. The good news? While you won’t see instant transfers, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for long transfer periods.

Getting More Out of ACH

Certain services are able to offer improved transfer speeds that you may not find when working with processors. The SeamlessMerchant service is an excellent reflection of this. With SeamlessMerchant, it’s possible to circumvent these long transfer times and gain access to next-day funding. While it’s not instant ACH processing, it can still be more desirable than having to wait several days for payments to show up in your account.

Unfortunately, seeing ACH transfers immediately is not something that is possible given how the system works for these types of payments. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t see faster ACH transfers if they’re integrated into your own business. If you’re ready for faster ACH transfer times, make sure to get your free savings analysis and sign up for SeamlessMerchant at SeamlessChex to get access to the quick transfer times that your business deserves today!