ACH Direct Debit is Stripe's way to take payments from US bank accounts. On Stripe's standard pricing it costs 0.8% per payment, capped at $5, or 1.2% for two-day settlement. Standard settlement takes up to 4 business days, and the payment can still fail in that time. The customer must authorize the debit through a mandate and the bank account must be verified. A failed payment costs $4 and a disputed one $15. Consumers can dispute an ACH debit for up to 60 calendar days, and those disputes are final.
What is Stripe ACH Direct Debit?
It lets you pull a payment from a customer's US bank account. Stripe calls it "a reusable, delayed notification payment method." Reusable means the customer's bank details can be saved for later payments, such as each installment on a plan. Delayed notification means you don't know right away whether the payment worked. Stripe says it can take up to 4 business days to receive acknowledgement of success or failure.
What does ACH cost on Stripe?
From Stripe's pricing page:
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| ACH Direct Debit, standard settlement | 0.8% per payment, $5.00 cap |
| ACH Direct Debit, two-day settlement | 1.2% per payment |
| Instant bank account validation | $1.50 |
| Micro-deposit verification | Free |
| Failed payment | $4.00 |
| Disputed payment | $15.00 |
Worked example: on an installment of $1,108.33, 0.8% would be $8.87, so the $5 cap applies and the fee is $5.00. The same installment by card at 2.9% + 30¢ costs $32.44. The cap starts to matter on any payment above $625.
How long does an ACH payment take on Stripe?
| Settlement | Timing | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (T+4) | 4 business days from payment creation | 9 pm Eastern |
| Faster (T+2), eligible US users | 2 business days from payment creation | 2 pm Eastern |
After a payment settles to your Stripe balance, it pays out on your payout schedule. A payment can fail any time until it is confirmed. If it fails after the funds reached your balance, Stripe removes them straight away.
What does the customer have to do?
Three things are different from a card payment:
- Authorize the debit. The customer accepts a mandate. Stripe's hosted checkout and Payment Element show the mandate wording and record acceptance. See ACH authorization.
- Verify the account. The customer signs in to their bank, or enters account details by hand and confirms micro-deposits. Customers have 10 days to verify with micro-deposits.
- Give their name. The billing details must include the account holder's name.
To comply with Nacha rules, the customer must get a copy of the mandate. By default, Stripe emails it when the customer gives a billing email address.
What are the limits?
- Minimum payment: $0.50.
- Refunds: full refunds only, within 180 days of the payment. They take up to 3 business days and arrive as a separate credit, not as a reversal.
- Disputes: a consumer can dispute for up to 60 calendar days, and a business account for up to two business days. Disputes in those windows are final. See ACH dispute.
What happens after a dispute or certain failures?
The mandate stops working. Stripe says a dispute invalidates the mandate, so you need to resolve it with the customer and collect a new authorization before you debit again. If the customer disputes a later payment too, Stripe blocks the bank account. Stripe can also block an account after certain returns, to comply with Nacha rules.
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.