Late Night ACH File Delivery for Many Begins Sept. 12

Late night ACH file deliveries have begun for many financial institutions as of Monday, Sept. 12. For others, the new part is Friday night file deliveries starting Sept. 16. Let’s break it down.

• If your credit union is a Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) client of the Federal Reserve, then Monday, Sept. 12 was the date late-night file deliveries started. By 11:30 p.m. ET every weeknight, except for federal holidays, you will receive an additional ACH file.
• If your credit union is an RDFI client of The Clearing House, you already receive a late-night ACH file Sunday-Thursday. Beginning Sept. 16, you will also receive one on Friday nights.

In all cases, the ACH Operators will send all ACH payments they have received since the previous transmission deadline. That includes one-day debits and credits due to settle at 8:30 a.m. ET the next business day, as well as two-day credits for settlement at 8:30 a.m. ET on the designated banking day. The files also will contain returns, but there won’t be any Same Day ACH payments, since those will have been completed earlier in the day.

Credit unions are likely wondering whether they have to process these files when they come in. The answer is no. Financial institutions can opt to continue processing as they do today. There is no rule that requires additional processing.

“Many financial institutions have been asking for this expansion of ACH operating hours, especially on Friday nights,” said Herd. “Nacha and the ACH Operators are pleased to make this enhancement.”

Check out the full article here.