“Nacha’s Phixius service announced today that financial institutions and service providers have processed more than 2 million payment-related transactions on the platform this year. Phixius provides for the exchange of payment-related information and can be used for risk management and fraud prevention. To date, Phixius’ network reaches more than 1,700 financial institutions and 10,000 businesses. “The need for account validation continues to drive transactions on the Phixius Network,” said George Throckmorton, Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives & Network Development at Nacha, who oversees Phixius. “We continue to hear from a wide variety of organizations that want to join Nacha’s payment information exchange network.”

“Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance has created a new resource aimed at financial institutions, billers and payments processors. Voice Payments: Guide to Nacha’s Operating Rules identifies the most common conversational payments use cases, offers answers to frequently asked questions and assists in determining the Standard Entry Class (SEC) Codes for consumer bill payment use cases using voice-assisted devices or smart speakers for ACH payments.  “Over the past two years, Nacha has updated its Operating Rules and Guidelines to reflect emerging technology, including voice payments within the ACH Network. Voice Payments: Guide to Nacha’s Operating Rules assists by identifying the specific provisions that apply in a variety of use cases,” said Jennifer West, AAP, APRP, Senior Director, Payments Innovation Alliance, Nacha. “The publication offers important guidance to banks, credit unions, billers and payment processors offering conversational ACH payment options.”

“Following the increase of the Same Day ACH dollar limit to $1 million in March 2022, Nacha and the ACH Operators – the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House – have completed the latest phase in the acceleration of ACH payments with the implementation of “Late Night ACH.”  Implemented in mid-September 2022, the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House now deliver late night ACH files to all receiving financial institutions in the ACH Network by 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time on business days, accelerating the delivery of ACH payments that otherwise would be received on the next business morning. “This service enhancement was implemented in response to ACH industry participant requests,” said Michael Herd, Senior Vice President of ACH Network Administration, Nacha. “Receiving institutions can use this accelerated payment information to better reflect customer account balances for pending payment activity. This can be especially impactful on Friday nights in advance of a weekend or even a holiday weekend.” Through the first seven weeks of service, late night file delivery accelerated tens of millions of ACH payments each week. Nacha estimates an average of nearly 10 million ACH payments per day were delivered in these new files on Monday through Thursday. The average volume was significantly larger on Friday nights, with Nacha estimating an average of more than 50 million ACH payments per Friday.”

“Steady growth continued for the ACH Network in the third quarter of 2022, with 7.6 billion payments processed valued at $19.2 trillion. Those are increases of 4.2% and 6%, respectively, from a year earlier. Same Day ACH showed particularly robust growth. There were 176.6 million same-day payments, up 23.5% from the third quarter of 2021. The value of those payments—$478.5 billion—reflects a 102.7% rise from a year ago.”

“A study commissioned by Nacha found the sizable majority of the nation’s younger millennials are paid by Direct Deposit but revealed a stark contrast between W2 employees and gig workers. Overall, 97% of workers ages 22-34 have a bank or credit union account, with 83% receiving their pay by Direct Deposit. However, among W2 employees, 88% use Direct Deposit, while only 47% of gig workers are paid this way. Of the respondents that receive Direct Deposit payments, more than three-quarters cite key attributes of reliability, trustworthiness, ability to be paid on time, security and ease of use. “Among younger W2 workers, Direct Deposit is widely understood, used and appreciated,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO. “There is an opportunity to educate younger gig workers on the value of Direct Deposit as a fast, convenient, reliable and environmentally-friendly way to receive their pay.”

“Nacha released a report on its latest Risk Management Framework today, providing a new strategy for industry participants in both the ACH Network as well as other payments systems to address new and persistent frauds that increasingly make use of credit-push payments. Common examples of fraud scenarios that target credit-push payments include vendor impersonation, business email compromise and payroll impersonation, which result in money being sent out from the accounts of bank account holders. These frauds are significant, with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reporting that in 2021 there were $2.4 billion in losses due to business email compromise-style frauds. Nacha’s strategy identifies three themes in payments risk management and areas of focus for new initiatives.”

“Nacha’s Phixius service, a trusted peer-to-peer network for efficient and safe exchange and verification of payment-related information, announced today that financial institutions and service providers in the Phixius network have utilized the service more than 1 million times so far this year to verify payment-related data. Phixius enables businesses to validate data such as routing and account numbers, and there are plans to support additional data validations later in 2022.”

“The ACH Network moved 7.5 billion payments in the second quarter of 2022, led by growth in Same Day ACH and business-to-business (B2B) payments. This quarter was the first in which the Same Day ACH dollar limit was $1 million per payment, following the increase on March 18, 2022. There were 185 million Same Day ACH payments transferring $486 billion in the second quarter, respective increases of 24.4% and 94.4% over the same timeframe in 2021…For the quarter overall, the ACH Network moved 7.5 billion payments, a growth of 3.5%, transferring $19.6 trillion.”

Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance has created a legal and risk mitigation resource guide for financial institutions seeking to implement voice payments capabilities and applications (skills) through smart devices, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Nest. As part of the series of Alliance Executive Briefings addressing conversational payments, Voice Payments Contractual Considerations for Financial Institutions provides background on the importance of Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) when offering voice payments services and how terms may be modified to best fit their skill. This guide also offers an overview of use cases, best practices for risk mitigation and a glossary of terms. Written by the Alliance’s Conversational Payments and Cybersecurity Response Project Teams, it complements their other titles including Voice Payments: An Introduction and Overview; A Deep Dive into the Technology Behind Voice Payments; and Unwrapping Smart Speakers.

“Accelitas is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH Account Validation. As a Preferred Partner, Accelitas is a part of a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network…Accelitas helps companies reimagine financial access through the transformative power of data. Their expertise in AI-powered analytics and alternative data delivers fast, fair and frictionless ways to grow business with confidence. They offer real-time ACH validation solutions for low-cost account validation checks and more extensive account screening for loans and other high-value transactions.”

“Nacha has approved Nacha Certified status for Bill.com (NYSE: BILL), a leading cloud-based software platform which facilitates ACH payments.  Nacha Certified is a voluntary program for Third-Party Senders in the ACH Network, such as Bill.com. By meeting rigorous criteria, Nacha Certified companies demonstrate to their customers, peers and others that they meet Nacha’s standards for high-quality ACH payment processing, including strong corporate governance and effective Nacha Rules compliance and risk management. This is Bill.com’s second time achieving Nacha Certified with the first in 2018.”

“Bluefin is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH Data Security. In becoming a Preferred Partner, Bluefin joins a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.”

“Finicity, a Mastercard company, is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for Account Validation through Finicity Pay™, an integrated solution set of Finicity’s open banking platform. In becoming a Preferred Partner, Finicity joins a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.”

“ValidiFI is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for Account Validation. In becoming a Preferred Partner, ValidiFI joins a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network…ValidiFI’s digital platform delivers comprehensive data and technology solutions. Its customers – including the fast-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading financial service providers – use ValidiFI for account opening, credit decisions, risk management, compliance and payment facilitation.”

“iCheckGateway.com is now a Nacha Preferred Partner for ACH Solutions and Automation. In becoming a Preferred Partner, iCheckGateway.com joins a select group of innovators that Nacha recognizes for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.”

“In its continued efforts to shape the future of the payments industry and to develop thought leadership relevant to financial services, Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance released two new resources specific to voice payments and cybersecurity. The Alliance, a membership organization, brings together diverse, global stakeholders – including financial institutions, solution providers, corporates, and more – to support payments innovation.”