The ACH Network, operated by Nacha, is holding its ground as the US payments market gets faster, with Same Day ACH growth outpacing the wider network in the second quarter of 2026.
According to recent data published by Nacha, the organisation that operates the ACH Network, Same Day ACH transactions grew by 29.5% year on year to 435.7 million in Q2. The value of the payments increased 28.1% to $1.3tn.
This means the option, which allows same-day settlement of payments submitted through the network’s three daily processing windows, has now recorded its third consecutive quarter with more than $1tn in payment value.
“The phenomenal growth of Same Day ACH demonstrates its value as a safe, fast payment method for consumers, businesses and other organisations,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO.
Established in 1974, the ACH Network has become a core part of the US payments system, processing electronic payments between bank accounts for direct deposits, bill payments and business transactions.
Same Day ACH, introduced in 2016 to give users a faster option within the network, allows payments to be processed multiple times during the day rather than waiting for the traditional ACH settlement cycle.
Larimer expects the growth to continue next year because the dollar limit will increase to $10m in 2027, matching FedNow. She explained that this will “strengthen Same Day ACH’s position in the market as a compelling faster payment method.”
Businesses keep ACH going
The wider ACH Network also posted strong growth in Q2, with total payments rising 6.2% year on year to 9.3 billion and the value of those payments increased 11.1% to $25.9tn.
Business-to-business (B2B) payments were a key part of the success, jumping 9.9% to 2.2 billion transactions during the quarter.
Other parts of the network also improved during the period, with internet payments climbing 7.6% to 3 billion transactions and peer-to-peer payments increasing 21% to 136.6 million.
Direct deposits rose 3.6% to 2.3 billion payments and healthcare payments increased 2.3% to 141.4 million.
Nacha has noted a change in how businesses use Same Day ACH in particular, with companies increasingly integrating it into everyday operations such as payroll, supplier payments and cash-flow management.
Faster expectations
Markets around the world expect payments to be as fast as possible, which has meant networks like ACH face competition from real-time rails such as RTP and FedNow. This puts more pressure on ACH to offer quicker options without losing its reach and reliability.
ACH is a batch-based network that settles payments over one to two business days, with Same Day ACH offering same-day settlement through three intraday processing windows.
RTP, run by The Clearing House since 2017, and FedNow, launched by the Federal Reserve in 2023, settle transactions individually and immediately, clearing funds within seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Despite that speed advantage, ACH still leads on reach. Nearly every US bank and credit union is connected to the ACH Network, while FedNow had signed up around 1,500 institutions by the end of 2025, working toward the Federal Reserve’s goal of roughly 8,000, and RTP has onboarded just over 1,000 institutions, reaching more than 65% of US demand deposit accounts.
The difference in coverage means a real-time payment isn’t guaranteed to reach every recipient instantly, whereas ACH, including its same-day option, can reach the majority of US bank accounts.
Cost is another signficant reason why ACH is still competing against real-time payments because its batch processing keeps per-transaction costs low, which suits high-volume, recurring payments like payroll, subscriptions and supplier invoices.
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