ACH transfer times at a glance
| Type of payment | When it settles |
|---|---|
| Same Day ACH, credit or debit | The same business day, at 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Standard ACH credit | The next banking day, or two banking days after it is sent |
| Standard ACH debit | The next banking day |
Settlement is the moment the banks exchange the money. Nacha says ACH payments can be processed in a matter of hours on the same business day, or scheduled for the next day or two business days away.
Two limits come from the rules.
- A credit can be dated up to two banking days ahead.
- A debit can be dated only one banking day ahead.
What happens, and when
- You start the payment. You tell your bank or payment tool to send it and choose a date.
- Your bank sends it to the ACH Operator. If you were before your bank’s cut-off, this happens the same day.
- The ACH Operator passes it on. The Federal Reserve distributes payments to receiving banks several times a day.
- The banks settle on the effective date.
- The receiving bank posts it to the account.
The ACH Network is open for processing 23¼ hours every business day and settles four times a day.
The ACH settlement times
The four settlement times are 8:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This is the Federal Reserve’s FedACH schedule. All times are ET.
| Payment | Bank’s deadline to send | Settles |
|---|---|---|
| Same Day ACH, window 1 | 10:30 a.m. | 1:00 p.m. the same day |
| Same Day ACH, window 2 | 2:45 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. the same day |
| Same Day ACH, window 3 | 4:45 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. the same day |
| Standard ACH | Six deadlines, the last at 2:15 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. on the settlement date |
These are deadlines for banks, not for you. Nacha’s guide says each sending bank has its own deadlines and processing dates. A business or a person must send earlier, by the bank’s own cut-off.
The ACH cut-off time
Your cut-off is whatever your bank or payment tool says it is. It is always earlier than the Federal Reserve’s deadline, because the bank needs time to check and bundle payments.
Miss the cut-off and the payment starts on the next banking day. Check this first when a payment arrives a day later than you expected.
When the money is available
Settlement between banks and money you can spend are two different moments.
Standard ACH credits. The receiving bank must make the money available for withdrawal by 9:00 a.m. its local time on the settlement date. Since September 18, 2026, an older condition, that the bank had to receive the payment by 5:00 p.m. the day before, has been removed.
Same Day ACH credits.
| Sent in | Available by, receiving bank’s local time |
|---|---|
| Window 1 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Window 2 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Window 3 | The end of the bank’s processing day |
The federal floor. Regulation CC says a bank must make an electronic payment available no later than the business day after the banking day it received the payment. An electronic payment here means a wire or an ACH credit.
ACH debits you collect. No availability rule protects the company that pulls a debit. Regulation CC leaves ACH debits out, because the receiver has the right to return the transfer. So a bank or processor may pay you later. Stripe, for example, lists four business days from payment creation as its standard settlement time.
What an ACH hold means
“ACH hold” is your bank’s own label, not a term from the ACH rules. It usually marks an ACH payment that the bank knows about but has not posted yet: a pending debit or a pending deposit. A pending payment posts on its settlement date.
Under the ACH rules, a bank may also delay a credit if it reasonably suspects the payment was not authorized or was sent under false pretenses. Regulation CC still applies. See what an ACH hold means for both meanings and what to ask your bank.
Weekends and holidays
ACH payments do not settle on weekends or Federal Reserve holidays. Payments only settle when the Federal Reserve’s settlement service is open.
- A payment sent after the cut-off on Friday cannot settle before Monday.
- Paydays that fall on a weekend or holiday are usually paid on the business day before.
- Bill payments due on a weekend or holiday are usually collected on the next business day.
Federal Reserve holidays in October to December 2026: October 12, November 11, November 26 and December 25.
Federal Reserve holidays in 2027:
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | January 18 |
| Presidents Day | February 15 |
| Memorial Day | May 31 |
| Juneteenth | June 19, a Saturday. Reserve Banks are open on Friday |
| Independence Day | July 4, a Sunday. Closed on Monday, July 5 |
| Labor Day | September 6 |
| Columbus Day | October 11 |
| Veterans Day | November 11 |
| Thanksgiving | November 25 |
| Christmas | December 25, a Saturday. Reserve Banks are open on Friday |
The Federal Reserve’s rule is that for a holiday on a Saturday, Reserve Banks open the Friday before, and for a holiday on a Sunday, they close the following Monday.
Why some ACH transfers take three days or more
The network does not take three to five days. When a transfer does, the extra time comes from somewhere else.
- You missed the cut-off, so the payment started a day late.
- A weekend or a Federal Reserve holiday added days. ACH payments do not settle on those days.
- The sender chose a later date. A credit can be dated up to two banking days ahead.
- Your provider waits before paying out. Some do this for debits, because a debit can be returned.
- The payment was returned. A wrong account number sends the payment back with a return code, and it has to be sent again.
When is an ACH payment final?
A credit you receive is yours once it is available, apart from set cases such as a sender’s reversal within five banking days.
A debit you collect is different. Most returns must come back by the second banking day after settlement. A personal customer who says a debit was not authorized has 60 days. See ACH disputes.
How to make an ACH payment arrive sooner
- Send before the cut-off. Ask your bank what time that is.
- Ask for Same Day ACH. It works for payments of up to $1 million ($10 million from September 17, 2027). See Same Day ACH.
- Check the details first. Test the number with the routing number checker. A returned payment costs days.
- Plan around holidays. Send payroll a day early in a holiday week.
- Use a different network when minutes matter. A wire within the US usually arrives the same business day. RTP and FedNow move money in seconds if both banks offer them. See instant ACH transfer and ACH vs wire transfer.
Common mistakes
- Counting calendar days. Only banking days count.
- Reading the Federal Reserve’s deadline as your own. Your bank’s cut-off is earlier.
- Expecting Same Day ACH by default. Ask your provider whether a payment will go same-day and what that costs.
- Treating a collected debit as cleared on day one. It can still be returned.
- Sending payroll on the pay date. Send it early enough to settle on payday.