NACHA Approves Three New ACH Rules

10/22/2018

NACHA recently announced three new rules to expand the capabilities of Same Day ACH for financial institutions and their customers. To help our readers prepare, I have summarized each rule and provided effective dates.

New Rule #1 – Providing Faster Funds Availability

Effective September 20, 2019, the Providing Faster Funds Availability Rule increases the speed of funds availability by establishing additional standards for Same Day and non-Same Day ACH credits. The Rule requirements are as follows.

Rule Requirements for Same Day ACH Credits

Funds from Same Day ACH credits processed in the existing, first processing window must be made available to the customer by 1:30 p.m. in the Receiving Depository Financial Institution’s (RDFI’s) local time.
Funds from Same Day ACH credits processed in the existing, second processing window will continue to be made available to the customer by 5:00 p.m. in the RDFI’s local time.

Rule Requirements for non-Same Day ACH Credits

Funds from non-Same Day ACH credits will be made available to the customer by 9:00 a.m. RDFI’s local time on the Settlement Date, if the credits were available to the RDFI by 5:00 p.m. local time on the previous day (i.e., apply the existing “PPD Rule” to all ACH credits).
For non-Same Day ACH credits made available to the RDFI after 5:00 p.m. local time on the previous day, funds must be made available for withdrawal no later than the end of the Settlement Date.

New Rule #2 – Increases the Same Day ACH Per-Transaction Dollar Limit

Effective March 20, 2020, the existing Same Day ACH per-transaction dollar limit of $25,000 will be increased to $100,000.

New Rule #3 – Expands Access to Same Day ACH with a New Processing Window

This rule creates a third processing window, which will allow Same Day ACH transactions to be submitted to the ACH Network for an additional two hours every business day. Currently, the latest that an ODFI can submit files of Same Day ACH transactions to an ACH Operator is 2:45 p.m. ET. This Rule creates a third processing window that allows Same Day ACH files to be submitted to an ACH Operator until 4:45 p.m. ET. RDFI’s will be required to make funds available for Same Day ACH credits sent within this new processing window no later than the end of its processing day. An effective date of September 18, 2020 is contingent upon approval by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

For more details regarding these new Rules, visit NACHA’s website.

Staying compliant can be challenging, if you have any questions or need assistance preparing for these new NACHA Rules, email me or a member of our Financial Institutions Team so we can help.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need assistance, email paymentadvisors@saltmarshcpa.com or a member of our Financial Institutions Team so we can help.

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