ACH Processing Times

Bank-to-Bank Transfers

Bank-to-bank transfers at Paynote involve two steps:

  • Payment In (Debit) - Funds are pulled from the sender’s bank account (source) into the Paynote Network.
  • Payment Out (Credit) - Funds are pushed into the recipient's bank account (destination) from the Paynote Network.

The transfer processing time depends on the transfer speed chosen for both the debit and credit sides of the transfer.

Standard ACH Transfers

Standard ACH is the default processing option for bank transfers, requiring no additional setup or configuration. Any transfer created will automatically follow the standard clearing time. It applies to both ACH payment in (debit) and ACH payment out (credit) transfers.

Key Points to Note for Standard ACH Transfers:

  • Export deadline: Approximately 5 p.m. EST
  • Transfer processing time:
    • Debit transfers: 3-4 business days
    • Credit transfers: 1-2 business days
  • Processed on business days (processing unavailable on weekends and banking holidays)

Standard ACH Debit (Payment In)

A Standard ACH debit from a bank to the Paynote Network processes within 3-4 business days. This extended processing time accounts for ACH returns and processing delays, and checks on common return codes like insufficient funds and invalid bank accounts. If a failure occurs during ACH processing, the transfer will be marked with a return code.

STANDARD ACH DEBIT TRANSFER SCHEDULE

All times in Eastern Times (EST) (approximate deadlines)

Transfer created betweenTransfer exportedTransfer processed
Friday 5 p.m. to Monday 5 p.m.Monday 5 p.m.Thursday morning
Monday 5 p.m. to Tuesday 5 p.m.Tuesday 5 p.m.Friday morning
Tuesday 5 p.m. to Wednesday 5 p.m.Wednesday 5 p.m.Monday morning
Wednesday 5 p.m. to Thursday 5 p.m.Thursday 5 p.m.Tuesday morning
Thursday 5 p.m. to Friday 5 p.m.Friday 5 p.m.Wednesday morning

Standard ACH Credit (Payment Out)

A Standard ACH credit from the Paynote Network to a bank processes within 1-2 business days.

STANDARD ACH CREDIT TRANSFER SCHEDULE

All times in Eastern Time (EST) (*approximate deadlines)

Transfer created betweenTransfer exportedTransfer processed
Friday 5 p.m. to Monday 5 p.m.Monday 5 p.m.Tuesday morning
Monday 5 p.m. to Tuesday 5 p.m.Tuesday 5 p.m.Wednesday morning
Tuesday 5 p.m. to Wednesday 5 p.m.Wednesday 5 p.m.Thursday morning
Wednesday 5 p.m. to Thursday 5 p.m.Thursday 5 p.m.Friday morning
Thursday 5 p.m. to Friday 5 p.m.Friday 5 p.m.Monday morning

*Paynote cannot guarantee an exact deadline for transmission of ACH files. Please be mindful that these are target cut-off times for transfer processing.

Same Day ACH Transfers

We offer the option to enable Same Day ACH transfers at the account level within your application. With this feature, you can apply Same Day ACH to ACH debits, credits, or both. Once approved by Paynote, you’ll be able to initiate Same Day debits and/or credits seamlessly.

Same Day ACH accelerates the transfer process, debiting your customer's bank account within the export window. To safeguard against returns, a 2-day processing window is included.

Key Points to Note for Same Day ACH Transfers:

  • Available for both debit and credit transfers.
  • Export deadline (multiple throughout the day):
    • 10 am EST
    • 2 pm EST
    • 5pm EST
      • Note: These may vary depending on the financial institution.
  • Transfer processing time:
    • Debit: 1-2 business days
    • Credit: 0-1 business day
  • Processed on business days (processing unavailable on weekends and banking holidays)
  • Transaction limit: $1 million (enforced by Nacha)

Same Day ACH Debit (Payment In)

A Same Day ACH debit from the Paynote Network to a bank processes within 1-2 business days. To initiate a debit transfer with Same Day ACH processing, you can include the following clearing object in your API request:

SAME DAY ACH DEBIT TRANSFER SCHEDULE

All times in Eastern Time (EST) (*approximate deadlines)

Transfer created betweenTransfer exportedTransfer processed
4 p.m. to 10 a.m.10 a.m.10 am 2 days after payment is exported
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.2 p.m.10 am 2 days after payment is exported
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.4 p.m.10 am 2 days after payment is exported

*Paynote cannot guarantee an exact deadline for transmission of ACH files. Please be mindful that these are target cut-off times for transfer processing.

Same Day ACH Credit (Payment Out)

A Same Day ACH credit allows for expedited processing of funds from the Paynote Network to a bank account within 0-1 business days. To initiate a credit transfer with Same Day ACH processing, you can include the following clearing object in your API request:

SAME DAY ACH CREDIT TRANSFER SCHEDULE

All times in Eastern Time (EST) (*approximate deadlines)

Transfer created betweenTransfer exportedTransfer processed
4 p.m. to 10 a.m.10 a.m.12:30 p.m.
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.2 p.m.6 p.m.
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.4 p.m.6 p.m.

*Paynote cannot guarantee an exact deadline for transmission of ACH files. Please be mindful that these are target cut-off times for transfer processing.

RTP (Real-Time Payments)

RTP is a payment method that allows for near-instantaneous transfer processing.

Key Points to Note for RTP Transfers:

  • Available for credit transfers only
  • Export deadline: None
  • Transfer processing time: Funds available within minutes
  • Processed 24/7/365 (business days, weekends and banking holidays)