By Victoria Day, Chief Communications Officer of Nacha.
Victoria Day is Chief Communications Officer at Nacha. In this email interview with FinTech Edition, she explains what drove Same Day ACH volume up 30% in the first nine months of 2026, what Nacha expects when the per-payment limit rises to $10 million in September 2027, why institutions pick Same Day ACH over instant payment rails, and what the new Next-Gen Currency Project Team will look at.
What is driving the faster growth each quarter this year, and which payment types account for most of the third-quarter increase?
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The continued growth of ACH payments reflects the overall growing demand for faster payments and the move from paper checks to safer and more reliable electronic payments.
The increase is spread among a number of payment types. Through the first nine months of 2026, Same Day ACH volume increased 30% over the same time period in 2025 to 1.3 billion payments.
Businesses are increasingly moving their payments from paper checks to ACH, both traditional ACH and Same Day ACH, because of ACH’s reliability, efficiency, and its optimal speed. Compared to the third quarter of 2025, business-to-business payments increased 9.7% to nearly 2.3 billion payments. Healthcare claim payments to providers increased 2.6% to more than 144 million. Direct Deposit grew by 54 million payments, and consumer online payments for bills and account transfers continue to see significant growth, climbing 7.5% to 3.1 billion payments.
What share of third-quarter Same Day ACH value came from payments close to the current per-payment limit?
The average payment values for traditional ACH and Same Day ACH are nearly identical, reflecting the growing adoption of Same Day ACH by organizations as a standard payment option rather than one reserved for specific transactions or payment amounts.
When the Same Day ACH per-payment limit increased to $1 million in 2022, it expanded opportunities for businesses to use Same Day ACH. The increase to $10 million in September 2027 will create additional opportunities.
The expansion of Same Day ACH transaction limits makes a wider range of payments eligible for same-day settlement, particularly higher-value business payments. For an Originator that may not have considered Same Day ACH at any level because it did not meet their higher-dollar needs, the increased limit may attract new volume at dollar amounts below the current limit as an Originator could streamline all their ACH payments as Same Day ACH.
Business-to-business payments are particularly significant. More than 60% of Same Day ACH dollar value comes from B2B payments, demonstrating their importance.
What change in volume do Nacha members expect once the limit rises to $10 million in 2027?
Since Same Day ACH launched in September 2016, its growth has demonstrated strong and sustained demand for faster payments. From just 13 million payments in its first partial year, Same Day ACH grew to 347 million payments in 2020, 697.5 million in 2022, and 1.4 billion payments valued at $3.9 trillion in 2025.
Growth has accelerated as Same Day ACH capabilities have expanded. Following the increase in the per-payment limit to $1 million in 2022, annual Same Day ACH volume more than doubled by 2025, while the value of those payments increased 129%.
That momentum has continued in 2026. Through the first three quarters of 2026, Same Day ACH volume increased 30% to 1.3 billion payments, valued at more than $3.6 trillion.
With the per-payment limit increasing to $10 million in September 2027, Same Day ACH will be available for an even broader range of payments, particularly higher-value business payments. Nacha anticipates the change will create additional opportunities for invoice payments, payroll funding, insurance claims, merchant settlement, tax payments and cash concentration, supporting continued growth.
When financial institutions choose Same Day ACH over RTP or FedNow for the same payment, what reasons do they give?
Different payment scenarios have different requirements, and the growing range of faster payment options gives financial institutions and their customers the flexibility to select the method that best meets their needs.
Same Day ACH offers several important distinctions. It uses existing ACH infrastructure and familiar payment formats and processes, has the capability to reach nearly every U.S. bank and credit union account, and supports both credit and debit payments. It also provides the efficiency of batch processing, which can be particularly valuable for businesses managing large numbers of payments.
Same Day ACH provides a balance of reliability, reach and operational efficiency at optimal speed while allowing organizations to manage payment timing and cash flow.
What is the stablecoin project team working on first, and when will it report?
Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance recently announced its Next-Gen Currency Project Team, which will explore the global use of digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits, for moving money.
The team, led by Nacha and the Digital Sovereignty Alliance, will develop tools to help navigate the bridge between digital assets and traditional payments, track regulatory developments, identify the operational implications for the payments landscape, and deliver educational resources to the industry. The project team participants will work together to determine the priority and timelines for the deliverables. Interested parties can learn how to participate on its website: https://www.nacha.org/next-gen-currency-project-team.
