ACH payments volume climbs to over 20 billion transactions - Nacha

According to NACHA, the steady growth of the Network can be attributed to the expansion of the use of native electronic payments, increased use of online payments by consumers, and the escalating use of the ACH Network for vendor payments and business-to-business transactions.

Native Electronic Payments
Native electronic payments - those payments which start as an electronic payment (i.e., non-check conversion applications) - increased 5.31 percent over 2010. According to NACHA, the statistics reflect an ongoing trend of increasing preference for fully electronic payments.

"These statistics show that more and more consumers and businesses are making the conscious decision to use electronic payment options over paper checks or cash," said Janet O. Estep, president and CEO of NACHA. "As advancements within the payments industry continue, ACH payments also continue to adapt to meet various needs of both consumers and businesses alike."

Consumers' Use of Direct Payment via ACH
Examining consumer behavior, CIE (consumer-initiated entries) transactions grew 13.35 percent year-over-year. Used primarily in online banking and bill pay, CIE volume benefitted from the expanding use of SVP and EBIDS for PayOnly as financial institutions enabled direct payments by consumers via ACH credit payments.

WEB transactions - or Direct ACH debit payments made when authorization is given via the Internet or a mobile device - also continued on an upward trajectory. WEB transactions increased 9.45 percent and made up 16.67 percent of total Network volume. NACHA estimates that 80 percent of these transactions are to pay bills via companies' or billing services' websites.

"Consumers want convenient, versatile, and secure payment options," said Estep. "Direct Payment via ACH puts consumers in control and provides them with the flexibility to make payments through their bank or credit union's online banking service, the companies they do business with, and via mobile applicatpplications. The breadth of safe and convenient payment options available through the ACH Network makes electronic payments a flexible choice for consumers."

Direct Payment via ACH for Business-to-Business Transactions
In 2011, business-to-business transactions saw steady growth as well. CTX and CCD transactions - or those business transactions enabling the use of addenda records - increased 12.69 percent and 4.89 percent, respectively, over 2010. The use of addenda records for these transactions grew significantly as well, with CTX addenda use increasing 9.74 percent over 2010 and CCD addenda use increasing 13.43 percent during the same period. This shows that businesses are embracing the core competency of the Network to transmit payments plus information, as they realize the value of straight through processing.

Network Quality Indicators
Even though Network use is increasing, the volume of returned transactions remained flat when compared to 2010. Overall, the Network return rate decreased 2.0 percent to 0.98 percent of transactions in 2011.

The volume of debit transactions returned as unauthorized declined even more: 3.14 percent from 2010. The unauthorized debit return rate for 2011 remained steady at 0.03 percent.

"This sustained positive trajectory of unauthorized returns attests to the quality of ACH transactions," said Estep. "Better quality leads to increased efficiencies and reduced costs for all parties involved in the value chain."

Top 50 Originators and Receivers
Coinciding with the release of ACH Network volume information, NACHA also announced the top 50 largest financial institution Originators and Receivers of ACH payments in 2011.

The Top 50 ODFIs originated almost 14.2 billion ACH transactions, which is 96.1 percent of the commercial ACH Network volume. The Top 50 RDFIs received 9 billion ACH transactions, which is 56.6 percent of the total ACH Network volume.