Can an ACH payment go abroad?
Not by itself. The ACH network is a US system. Nacha describes it as a payment system that reaches all US bank and credit union accounts.
An ACH payment can still be one part of an international payment. The part that travels through the US ACH network must then be sent in a special format, called IAT. On the way out of the United States, or on the way in, the payment passes through a gateway.
Nacha’s guidance for banks is plain about the limits. IAT is a format and a payment type code, not a product. A bank that wants to offer international ACH payments to a country must work with a gateway that serves that country, or build its own links there. So the first question is always for your bank: does it offer the service, and for which countries?
What an IAT payment is
IAT stands for International ACH Transaction. Since September 18, 2026, Nacha defines it as an entry that is the US ACH network component of an international payment transaction.
An international payment transaction, in that definition, is a transfer of money that starts at, passes through or is delivered to an account at an office of a financial agency outside the United States. It also covers money received from a sender, or delivered to a receiver, through a facility of a financial agency outside the United States.
A gateway is the entry point to, or the exit point from, the United States for ACH payments. Nacha says a gateway can be an ACH Operator or a bank.
There is one IAT code for payments to people and to businesses.
Why an IAT payment carries more information
A domestic ACH payment names the receiver and gives a routing number and an account number. An IAT payment carries much more. Nacha says the format was changed at the request of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the part of the US Treasury that runs sanctions, and to meet an international standard.
Every IAT payment has seven extra records. They hold:
- the receiver’s name and address
- the sender’s name and address
- the name, the identification number and the country of the sending bank
- the name, the identification number and the country of the receiving bank
- a short reason for the payment, such as BUS for business or PEN for pension
Nacha says a physical address is there because OFAC asked for it. Banks use these details to screen the payment against sanctions lists.
How an IAT payment differs from a domestic one
| Domestic ACH payment | IAT payment | |
|---|---|---|
| Same Day ACH | Allowed | Not allowed. An IAT entry cannot be a Same Day entry |
| Extra records | Usually none | Seven are required |
| Who offers it | Banks and processors that send ACH payments | Only a bank with an international ACH service for that country |
| Reversal of a mistake | Allowed for set reasons within five banking days | On a best-effort basis. Nacha says the other country may not support reversals |
| Prenote | The US bank answers if something is wrong | Nacha says most countries do not support prenotes, so you may get no answer |
| Time limit for a return of a payment you sent abroad | Set by the ACH rules | Set by the other country |
Receiving a payment from abroad
Nacha says any US bank may receive an IAT payment. A bank cannot refuse one, or send it back, only because it is an IAT payment.
For a personal account, the usual US protections apply. Nacha says the consumer protections that apply to other consumer ACH payments apply to every payment sent with the IAT code. Nacha also says that parties outside the United States are bound by the laws of their own country.
Banks screen IAT payments against sanctions lists. Nacha calls this an accepted practice and says it must be done before the payment is posted. Nacha also says the bank may not delay the money only because a payment is international. If the screening finds a possible match, the bank must not post the payment until the question is cleared.
If an international payment is sent as a domestic one
A payment that is really international must not be sent with a domestic code such as PPD or CCD. Nacha says the business that sends the payments is usually in the best position to know whether the money will move abroad, so tell your bank when it does.
If the wrong code is used, the gateway can send the payment back as R85, or send a Notification of Change (NOC) with code C14, asking you to use IAT next time.
Return codes R80 to R85 are for international payments. Nacha says only a gateway uses them.
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| R80 | The international payment has a coding error, such as a wrong country code or currency code |
| R81 | The gateway has no agreement to send international payments for this bank or customer |
| R82 | The number that identifies the foreign bank is not valid |
| R83 | There was a settlement problem in the foreign payment system |
| R84 | The gateway did not process the payment |
| R85 | A payment going abroad was sent with a domestic payment code |
The change to the IAT definition on September 18, 2026
Nacha rewrote the definition of an IAT entry, effective September 18, 2026. It says banks and businesses found the old definition hard to understand, and that the new wording is meant to make it clearer when a payment is an IAT.
Nacha notes one effect to watch. If the new definition turns a payment that you used to send as a domestic payment into an IAT payment, your bank may need new agreements and more information from you. If you send or receive money across borders, ask your bank how the new definition applies to you.
Nacha approved two more changes that take effect on March 19, 2027. One adds an optional date of birth field for a person who sends or receives an IAT payment. The other adds wording that covers financial agencies abroad that are not banks.
The end of the Federal Reserve’s FedGlobal service
The Federal Reserve decided to end its FedGlobal ACH service. The last day it accepts new payments to Mexico and Panama is November 20, 2026.
The Federal Reserve announced this on November 25, 2025. It says the service takes no new sign-ups and that banks should move to other providers. FedGlobal is a service for banks, not for the public, so ask your own bank whether it sends international ACH payments and through which service.
ACH or wire for sending money abroad
| International ACH payment (IAT) | International wire | |
|---|---|---|
| Who offers it | A bank with an international ACH service for that country | Common at banks. The banks we checked publish a price for it |
| Bank identifier | Ask your bank | A SWIFT code, in place of a routing number |
| Speed | Not Same Day ACH. The rest depends on the other country | 1 to 5 business days at the bank we checked |
| Published price to send | We found none to quote | $40 to $50 at Chase for a business account, and $45 at Bank of America, for a wire in US dollars |
The wire prices are two banks’ published prices, checked on October 2, 2026. Chase’s schedule is effective June 14, 2026. They are examples, not rules.
Your rights as a consumer. When a consumer sends more than $15 abroad, the payment is a remittance transfer under a separate part of Regulation E. With a provider covered by that rule, the sender has 30 minutes after paying to cancel, if the money has not yet been picked up or deposited. The sender also has 180 days to report an error such as the wrong amount arriving or the money arriving late. The CFPB says common names for these payments are international wires, international money transfers and remittances, and that banks, credit unions and other money service businesses can all be providers.
More on wires is in ACH vs wire transfer.
The details an international payment needs
A payment inside the United States needs four details about the receiving account: the name on the account, the routing number, the account number and the account type. See what information is needed for an ACH payment.
A payment that crosses a border needs more.
- Paying someone abroad. Ask your bank which details it needs for that country. An international wire uses a SWIFT code in place of a routing number.
- Being paid from abroad. Ask your bank for its instructions for receiving an international wire, and give those to the payer.
Common mistakes
- Sending an international payment as PPD or CCD. It must be IAT. The wrong code can bring the payment back as R85.
- Assuming every bank sends international ACH payments. IAT is a format, not a service. Ask your bank.
- Expecting Same Day ACH. An IAT payment cannot be sent same-day.
- Giving a payer abroad only your ACH routing number. Ask your bank for its international wire instructions.
- Counting on a reversal. Nacha says an IAT reversal is handled on a best-effort basis.