NACHA Rule Changes

All ACH originators are required to follow the NACHA rules. If you originate with us, your contract binds you to the NACHA rules.

For your convenience, please find summary information on recent and upcoming changes below:

ACH Operations Bulletin #1-2025 Same-Day Processing of ACH Returns by RDFIs

Effective: 2025-06-03 SummaryA Nacha Request for Information in 2024 asked, “As an RDFI, do you currently return any entries using the same-day windows?” Only 59% of respondents said they use Same Day ACH processing windows to send any returns. Of those that do, 45% use same-day processing for less than half of their returns. The responses suggest that many RDFIs are foregoing the benefits of sending returns in a same-day window. Nacha recommends faster returns... Read More

RISK MANAGEMENT TOPICS

Effective: 2024-10-01 These Rule amendments become effective on Oct 1, 2024 and are part of a larger Risk Management package intended to reduce the incidence of successful fraud attempts and improve the recovery of funds after frauds have occurred. DetailsIncluded in this portion of the Risk Management Rule amendments are: Codifying Expanded Use of Return Reason Code R17,Expanded Use of ODFI Request for Return/R06,Additional Funds Availability Exceptions,Timing of Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit, andRDFI Must... Read More

MINOR RULES TOPICS

Effective: 2024-06-21 These changes will amend the Rules to address a variety of minor topics. Minor changes to the Rules are expected to have little-to-no impact on ACH participants and no significant processing or financial impact. Minor topics included within these Rules: General Rule for WEB EntriesDefinitions of OriginatorOriginator Action on Notification of ChangeData Security RequirementsUse of Prenotification EntriesClarification of Terminology – Subsequent EntriesThese minor changes will become effective June 21, 2024. TechnicalThese minor changes... Read More

NOTICE OF AMENDMENT TO THE 2023 NACHA OPERATING RULES: Network Administration Fees

Effective: 2024-01-01 The Nacha Operating Rules require each Participating Depository Financial Institution that transmits or receives ACH entries (commercial and Federal Government) to pay an annual fee and a per-entry fee to cover costs associated with the administration of the ACH Network. These Network Administration Fees apply to all entries subject to the requirements of the Nacha Operating Rules, whether such entries are transmitted via an ACH Operator, sent directly from one Participating DFI to... Read More

Micro-Entries (Phase 2)

Effective: 2023-03-17 The Micro-Entry Rule defines and standardizes practice and formatting of Micro-Entries, which are used by some ACH Originators as a method of account validation. Phase 2 of this Rule will be effective March 17, 2023 Originators of Micro-Entries will be required to use commercially reasonable fraud detection, including the monitoring of Micro-Entry forward and return volumes.

Third-Party Sender Roles and Responsibilities

Effective: 2022-09-30 The overarching purpose of these Rules is to further clarify the roles and responsibilities of Third-Party Senders (TPS) in the ACH Network by Addressing the existing practice of Nested Third-Party Sender relationships, and Making explicit and clarifying the requirement that a TPS conduct a Risk Assessment. The two Rules will become effective September 30, 2022, with a 6-month grace period for certain aspects of each rule. DetailsNested Third-Party Senders Defines a Nested Third-Party... Read More

Micro-Entries

Effective: 2022-09-16 DetailsThis Rule will define and standardize practices and formatting of Micro-Entries, which are used by some ACH Originators as a method of account validation This Rule will: Define “Micro-Entries” as ACH credits of less than $1 and any offsetting ACH debits, used for the purpose of verifying a Receiver’s account Standardize the Company Entry Description and Company Name requirements for Micro-Entries Establish other Micro-Entry origination practices Apply risk management requirements to the origination... Read More

Supplementing Data Security Requirements (Phase 2)

Effective: 2022-06-30 This rule supplements previous ACH Security Framework data protection requirements by explicitly requiring large, non-FI Originators, Third-Party Service Providers (TPSPs) and Third-Party Senders (TPSs) to protect deposit account information by rendering it unreadable when it is stored electronically. Implementation began with Phase 1 which applies to those with ACH volume of 6 million transactions or greater annually. Phase 2 applies to those with ACH volume of 2 million transactions or greater annually. DetailsIn... Read More

Increasing the Same Day ACH Dollar Limit

Effective: 2022-03-18 This rule will continue to expand the capabilities of Same Day ACH. Increasing the Same Day ACH dollar limit to $1 million per payment is expected to improve Same Day ACH use cases, and contribute to additional adoption. DetailsIncreasing the dollar limit has been a frequently asked for change by ACH end-users. Most recently, a summer 2020 survey of corporate ACH end-users resulted in recommendations for Same Day ACH: Increase or remove dollar... Read More

For more information, the complete NACHA rules are available online here: https://www.nacha.org/rules