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Same Day ACH Debits Coming September 15th, 2017!

You have probably gotten used to a little lag-time between giving your account number to a merchant or biller for a one-time payment and when the item actually clears your account. On September 15^th this will be changing for many of those transactions made by phone, on-line, and for electronic checks and those checks converted to ACH. The Federal Reserve will begin processing same-day ACH (Automated Clearing House) debits.

What does this mean? In the past, ACH debit transactions were processed only once daily. After September 15th, ACH debits will post multiple times per day just as credits currently do. This means that payments you make may post to your account the same day. Most importantly, many items that you currently see pending for a duration of time when logged into online or mobile banking may no longer do so. Same Day ACH Debits may also enable you to make faster on-line bill payments as well as faster crediting when you are moving money among transaction accounts that you own at different financial institutions. Your scheduled recurring items are not affected, only one-time payments.

Tips to be Prepared

• Don’t assume funds will clear the day after you make a purchase or payment. Make sure you have the money available in your account at the time you give your account number or write a check to any merchant or biller.
• Even if you write checks when making purchases in person, retailers can choose to convert your checks to ACH and now process them within hours on the same day.
• When reviewing your account balance on-line or on the mobile app, please be sure to look at the “Available Balance” amount, and not the “Current Balance” or “Ledger Balance”. Other pending transactions like debit card transactions that you have made earlier may “hold” the money from the time of authorization until the merchant processes the items. The “Available Balance” helps keep you from spending the authorized funds.
• The credit union has no control over when transactions clear your account. It depends on when the company you scheduled the transaction with processes those transactions. We also cannot guarantee your direct deposit will go into your account before any transactions are processed that day. If you have questions about your balance, please use our online or mobile banking services or contact our Member Services Department.