ACH Operators announce third Same Day ACH processing schedule
February 19, 2020
Following Nacha’s confirmation (Off-site) of March 19, 2021 as the effective date for the new, third Same Day ACH window, The Clearing House and the Federal Reserve Banks, as the two ACH Operators, have agreed on the following processing schedule.
The deadline for the receipt of originated Same Day ACH payments from originating depository financial institutions (ODFIs) will be 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time; the target distribution time for the output to receiving depository financial institutions (RDFIs) will be 5:30 p.m. ET; and settlement will occur at 6:00 p.m. ET. This processing schedule is the same as the schedule estimated in Nacha’s ballot for this rule.
| Input Deadline | Target Distribution | Settlement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Same Day Eligible Forward Items | ||||||
| 10:30 a.m. ET (1030 ET) | 12 p.m. ET (1200 ET) | 1 p.m. ET (1300 ET) – current day | ||||
| 2:45 p.m. ET (1445 ET) | 4 p.m. ET (1600 ET) | 5 p.m. ET (1700 ET) – current day | ||||
| 4:45 p.m. ET (1645 ET) | 5:30 p.m. ET (1730 ET) | 6 p.m. ET (1800 ET) – current day | ||||
As a reminder, as of March 20, 2020, all ACH entries up to $100,000 will be eligible for Same Day ACH processing, except for IATs. All returns also are eligible to be processed using these same day ACH schedules, regardless of SEC Code or dollar amount.
Full processing schedules will be communicated on a later date, with specific information from each ACH Operator. The Federal Reserve Banks will post updates on the Same Day ACH Resource Center on FRBservices.org.
This confirmation follows the December 23, 2019, notice (Off-site) from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, approving the extension of the operating hours of the National Settlement Service to 6:30 p.m. ET, and the Fedwire® Funds Service to 7:00 p.m. ET, also effective March 2021.
Nacha, The Clearing House and the Federal Reserve Banks encourage all financial institutions to prepare to implement this new schedule, including end-to-end testing through file processing, settlement and reconciliation with your ACH Operator(s).