An ACH credit is a payment the payer pushes from its own bank account into someone else's over the ACH Network. Direct deposit of wages is the standard example. The payer's bank (the ODFI) sends the payment to an ACH Operator, which passes it to the receiver's bank (the RDFI). Nacha says credits are just under half of ACH payments and settle the same day, the next banking day or in two banking days. For a standard credit received in time, the receiving bank must make the money available by 9:00 a.m. local time on the settlement date.
What is an ACH credit?
An ACH credit moves money into an account at the request of the person or business paying. The payer starts it. That is the difference from an ACH debit, where the business being paid pulls the money with the account holder's authorization.
Nacha uses direct deposit as its example. An employer sends each employee's bank details, amount and pay date to its own bank before payday. The employer is the Originator and its bank is the ODFI. The ODFI sends the file to an ACH Operator, either the Federal Reserve or The Clearing House. The Operator routes each payment to the employee's bank, the RDFI, which credits the account. The employee is the Receiver.
How common are ACH credits?
Nacha says ACH credits are just under 50% of ACH payments and debits just over 50%. Common credits include:
- payroll by direct deposit
- tax refunds and government benefits
- payments a business sends to suppliers
- refunds sent back to a customer's bank account
How long does an ACH credit take?
The sender picks the settlement date. Nacha says a credit can settle the same day, the next banking day or in two banking days. Most settle in one banking day or less. Only the US Treasury can send credits with a settlement date more than two banking days out.
Nacha's funds availability rules then set when the receiver can use the money:
| Credit type | Available to the receiver by |
|---|---|
| Standard credit, received by 5:00 p.m. local time the day before | 9:00 a.m. local time on the settlement date |
| Standard credit received later | End of the settlement date |
| Same Day ACH credit, first window | 1:30 p.m. local time |
| Same Day ACH credit, second window | 5:00 p.m. local time |
| Same Day ACH credit, third window | End of the RDFI's processing day |
See Same Day ACH for the windows and the per-payment limit.
Does an ACH credit need an authorization?
The receiver usually agrees to receive credits, for example by giving an employer their bank details. Nacha's rules set the strictest requirement on consumer debits. Under its Meaningful Modernization rules, effective September 17, 2021, only consumer debit authorizations require a writing that is signed or similarly authenticated.
How does an ACH credit show up for a business taking payments?
Most businesses meet ACH credits in two places:
- Customers paying by bank push. A customer can send a credit to the business's account from their own online banking. The business has to match it to the right invoice, because the customer controls the amount and timing.
- Refunds. Stripe processes an ACH Direct Debit refund as a separate credit to the customer's bank account, never as a reversal. It takes up to three business days and can't be canceled. It isn't labeled as a refund on the customer's statement. It appears as a credit that references the original payment's statement descriptor, so Stripe recommends telling the customer when you send one.
For a payment plan, a debit the business pulls on schedule is easier to track than credits customers push on their own timing.
- Nacha: How ACH payments work
- Nacha: What is ACH
- Nacha: Providing faster funds availability
- Nacha: Expanding Same Day ACH
- Nacha: Meaningful modernization
- Stripe: ACH Direct Debit
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.