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Launched in 2016, the Same Day ACH service has seen widespread adoption all over the US from businesses looking to speed up their payment operations. Nacha, the governing body for ACH in the US, wanted to open up the network to businesses and merchants that needed quicker settlement times than the existing Standard ACH service offered.
In-demand use cases like faster payroll, time-sensitive invoices, urgent insurance claims, and accelerated online payments meant that businesses flocked to the new network. This has led to an average year-on-year growth in payment volume of 130% since inception.
While businesses have been enjoying faster settlement times over the last few years, the Network is not without its limitations. Bulk payments are cumbersome and require manual creation of batch files, and the lack of visibility into payment status can be a concern for many organizations.
The net outcome of this is that yes, the payments settle faster, but the time spent doing the administration work is the same as the Standard ACH service.
And that’s where VoPay comes in.
Organizations essentially have three options if they want to use bulk payments on the Network: they either continue inputting payments into their files manually, pay for an additional service that creates the file, or they build a system to do it for them.
The latter option will not be possible for most businesses, as it requires extensive time, money, and expertise. We know this because we have built such a system into the backend of the VoPay platform.
VoPay’s ACH Account, whether through the Standard ACH service or Same Day, automatically creates, validates, and processes ACH files through the Network. Users can fully automate which transactions go into the file by hitting our API endpoints, or setting them up through our Payment Portal.
Another big drawback is the limited visibility into transaction status, especially with bulk payments. Most business ACH accounts provided through traditional banks only give overall file confirmation once it has been processed, or very limited item status confirmation.
VoPay provides detailed transaction status information at the individual file item level. This is a game changer for businesses when it comes to disputing payments and reconciling transactions. These details can be viewed directly in the VoPay Portal, or by making an API request.
Nacha has multiple rules and regulations in place for network participants, and one of these rules is that sufficient steps must be taken to validate consumer bank accounts upon first use through the network. Nacha is neutral on the specifics, however, it is mandatory for merchants that use online-initiated debits.
We launched VoPay Verify in early 2024, which uses Nacha’s primary method of bank account verification, which they call ‘Micro-Entries’. Micro-Entries, also known as micro transactions, involve depositing a small amount of money into a new customer's bank account, so that the business can then ask the customer to verify the amount deposited. This process confirms the ownership and validity of the bank account provided, reducing the likelihood of fraud and payment errors.
VoPay has been pioneering alternative payments rails through its API-first technology for almost a decade. Alongside Same Day ACH we give users access to several real-time A2A payment methods in the US, such as the RTP rail and FedNow payments. These options allow businesses to move funds at any velocity they like, accompanied by the scale and security that the VoPay platform brings.
If you want to see our complete Fintech stack in action, you can book a demo with one of our experts, or test our API functionality in the sandbox here.
