ACH receiving is the acceptance of incoming credit entries through the US Automated Clearing House Network into an eligible account. The payer initiates the transfer through its financial institution, and the receiving institution posts the entry to the named account. In business use, the term usually refers to collecting customer or client payments rather than originating ACH debits.
How does ACH receiving work?
The payer gives its bank or payment provider a payment instruction. The originating financial institution sends the entry to an ACH Operator, which routes it to the Receiving Depository Financial Institution, or RDFI. The RDFI checks the entry and either posts it to the recipient account or returns it under the applicable network rules.
The recipient may see a pending, posted or available balance at different times. Those statuses shouldn’t be treated as interchangeable. Finance should reconcile the bank or provider record to the invoice and keep the network reference when one is available.
What details does the payer need?
ACH instructions commonly require the recipient name, routing number, account number and account type. A business may also provide an invoice number, customer code or other payment reference so the receipt can be matched without relying on the amount alone.
- Confirm that the account accepts the intended ACH credit type.
- Provide the exact routing and account details issued for ACH, since wire instructions may differ.
- Tell the payer which reference to include and where it should appear.
- Record the expected amount, effective date and payer before the credit arrives.
ACH receiving, ACH origination and Global ACH
ACH receiving describes the incoming side of an ACH credit. ACH origination is the creation and submission of an ACH credit or debit by an originator through an originating institution. Global ACH is broader and informal: it may combine ACH with foreign exchange, cross-border movement and a separate local payout rail.
An International ACH Transaction has a specific meaning under Nacha rules. A provider’s use of “global ACH” doesn’t by itself establish that an entry is classified as an IAT.
What should finance verify after receipt?
A posted credit should be matched to the correct payer, invoice, currency and reference. If the value differs from the open balance, check deductions, duplicate payments and conversion before closing the receivable. Keep any return or reversal notice with the original receipt so the ledger doesn’t show cash that is no longer available.
Nacha’s ACH guide identifies the RDFI as the institution that receives ACH entries from an operator and posts them to the receiver’s account.
