Source: Wespay

New Schedule: FedACH Processing Schedule (frbservices.org)

Both the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House recently announced the planned implementation of an additional ACH file delivery (window) to each of their daily processing schedules starting mid-September 2022.  The new window will allow Originating Depository Financial Institutions (ODFIs) to send a file to their ACH Operator at 10:45 pm ET/7:45 pm PT/4:45 pm HT.  Receiving Depository Financial Institutions (RDFIs) can opt-in to receive this file approximately 45 minutes later at 11:30 pm ET/8:30 pm PT/5:30 pm HT.

The ACH Operators are implementing this new window to accelerate the delivery of evening ACH activity and provide RDFIs with the option to process these files when received to better reflect customer account balances over a full-day cycle or weekend (in the case of Friday night files).

Wespay has provided answers to some of the key facts related to this new window below:

Is my financial institution requied to participate in this new ACH processing window?
No.  This new window is completely voluntary for both ODFIs and RDFIs to participate in.

Why would my FI want to consider updating its collection schedule to receive a file out of this new ACH window?
RDFIs would be able to reflect customer account balances for received ACH transactional activity that will settle the following morning.  This may be most advantageous on Friday nights/Saturday mornings, where RDFIs would be able to provide their accountholders visibility over the weekend to ACH activity that will post to their account on Monday morning.

RDFIs that have opted to post credits early would be able to make the ACH credits received in this new window available to its accountholders the evening this new file is received as opposed to the following morning when these transactions are currently made available.

For ODFIs, participating in this new window is a way to demonstrate to Originators that it is processing originated entries as fast as possible, enabling expedited visibility to their entries as described above

Are Same Day ACH Entries included in this new window?
No.  This new ACH window will NOT include Same Day ACH entries.  The entries in this file will contain all ACH payments that the ACH Operators have received since the previous ACH window, including:

• 1-day debits and credits, scheduled to settle at 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT/2:30 am HT on the next banking day
• 2-day ACH credits, scheduled to settle at 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT/2:30 am HT on the second banking day following the current banking day
• ACH return entries
• U.S Treasury payments

When will the ACH Operators schedule inter-bank settlement for this new window?
This new schedule only involves the delivery of the ACH entries themselves.  There will not be an additional inter-bank settlement window.  The ACH Operators will settle the volume in this new window on the following banking day at 8:30 am ET/5:30 am PT/2:30 am HT.

When will the ACH Operators implement this new window?
The Federal Reserve will begin the new file delivery schedule on Monday, September 12, 2022 and The Clearing House will begin on Friday, September 16, 2022.