2018 was a milestone year for the ACH Network. Payment volume climbed by almost 1.5 billion payments to 23 billion, the fourth straight year the ACH Network has added more than 1 billion new payments, a year-over-year increase of 6.9% and the highest growth rate since 2008. That’s nearly 70 payments for every person in the U.S.

The value of ACH payments in 2018 was $51.2 trillion, a 9.5 per cent increase over 2017. It marked the sixth consecutive year in which ACH payment value has risen by at least $1 trillion. For perspective, the value of last year’s ACH payments was more than 2 1/2 times that of the nation’s 2017 gross domestic product.

Several core ACH use cases saw substantial growth in 2018 including:

• Business-to-business (B2B) payments, up 9.4 percent to 3.6 billion, total value $34.9 trillion
• Direct Deposit, up 4.4 per cent to 6.8 billion, total value $9.7 trillion
• Internet payments, up 14.2 per cent to 5.9 billion, total value $2.9 trillion
• Payments from health plan to medical and dental providers, up 11.5 per cent to 306.7 million, total value $1.59 trillion
• Person-to-person (P2P) payments, up 32.2 per cent to 128.7 million, total value $209.6 billion.
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Source & Copyright©2019 - NACHA

Same Day ACH payments

Same Day ACH volume soared in 2018, the first full year with same-day debits as well as credits. There were nearly 178 million Same Day ACH payments last year: 98.3 million credits and 79.7 million debits. Overall Same Day ACH volume jumped 137 per cent from 2017. Total Same Day ACH value in 2018 was $159.9 billion, up 83 per cent over the year before.

Source & Copyright©2019 - NACHA

Already companies are using same-day ACH for payroll payments. “Same Day ACH gives payroll professionals a number of options for meeting their needs,” said Michael Herd, Senior Vice President of the ACH Network administration at NACHA, which administers the ACH Network. “When they have missed deadlines or emergencies, they can use Same Day ACH to make payments faster.”

Comments

The USA ACH network is clearly thriving. NACHA Chief Operating Officer Jane Larimer commented: “The results for 2018 make clear that the ACH Network is vibrant and continues to be a vital component of the nation’s economic engine. With more enhancements to Same Day ACH being rolled out this year and next, the experience for businesses and consumers will only get better.”