US ACH volumes hit new highs
The ACH Network processed 21.5 billion transactions valued at more than $46.8 trillion in 2017, representing increases of 5.7 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, over 2016, according to new data released by NACHA—The Electronic Payments Association.
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It is the third year in a row in which the number of new ACH transactions increased by more than one billion, and the ACH Network’s growth rate for 2017 is the highest since 2008.
“2017 marks another significant achievement in the evolution of the ACH Network, as transaction volume was exceptionally strong and Same Day ACH was made fully available,” said NACHA Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Jane Larimer. “The continued robust growth comes as no surprise as the ACH Network continues to evolve to meet the needs of financial institutions, businesses and consumers.”
The growth of both ACH transaction volume and value this year propelled the ACH Network to new heights. In 2017, nine billion ACH credit transactions had a total value of more than $30 trillion and the more than 12 billion debit transactions had a total value of more than $16 trillion. All told, the value of ACH Network transactions was more than double the U.S. GDP and the volume is more than 66 times the number of people in the U.S.
Additional data is also available in an infographic of growth by different payment types in 2017, including:
A 5.6 percent increase in business-to-business transactions (3.3 billion transactions)
A 5.8 percent increase in payroll and other consumer Direct Deposit transactions (6.5 billion transactions)
A 13.1 percent increase in internet transactions (5.2 billion transactions)
A 23.3 percent increase in person-to-person transactions (97 million)
A 478 percent increase in Same Day ACH transactions (75 million)
In addition to ACH Network transactions, which are processed by ACH Network operators, financial institutions surveyed by NACHA reported 4.2 billion “on-us” ACH transactions. On-us transactions are not processed by ACH Network operators, but instead represent ACH transactions in which the same financial institution is both the originating and receiving institution. This on-us ACH transaction volume is 5.3 percent higher than similar volume reported in 2016.
NACHA also released the Top 50 rankings of financial institutions for both originating and receiving ACH transaction volume. For the Top 50 originating financial institutions, 2017 ACH Network transaction volume increased 4.8 percent over 2016 to 18.5 billion, which constitutes 93 percent of commercially initiated ACH payments (exclusive of federal government volume). For the Top 50 receiving financial institutions, 2017 ACH Network volume rose 6.3 percent to 12.6 billion, which constitutes 59 percent of all ACH Network volume.