Review this article to learn more about taking an ACH payment.
Unlike credit card payments, ACH Direct Debit payments are not a real-time payment method. It can take up to 10 business days to fully authorize the transaction with the buyer's bank and confirm if it failed or succeeded. However, Finix will deposit the money in your account 3-5 days after the transaction is posted, and deal with the chargeback if the payment fails at the payer's bank level.
Buyers can dispute the transaction up to 60 days from the initial payment date.
Card Time To Deposit = T + 2 (transaction + 2 days).
ACH Time To Deposit = T + 5 (transaction + 5 days).
The fee for processing an ACH payment is 1% with a maximum of $35. To learn more about merchant/convenience fees, see here.
To process a payment using ACH Direct Debit, the following information will need to be collected from the buyer:
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Account Owner Name.
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Bank Code (Routing Number).
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Bank Account Number.
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Account Type (Checking/Savings).
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Account Owner Address.
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Account Owner Email.
ACH Payment Status
ACH Direct Debit payment begins with the status of Pending. From there, you can review the three states for ACH Direct Debit payments below:
Failed ACH Direct Debits
An ACH Direct Debit can fail for a variety of reasons, including:
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Incorrect or Invalid Account Number.
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The buyer's bank account blocks ACH Direct Debits.
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Insufficient funds from a buyer's bank account.
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Buyer files a dispute on a payment they didn't agree to.
When an ACH Direct Debit fails, the Finix creates an ACH Return to recover the original payment amount.
ATTENTION
Most disputes arise within 3-5 business days of the transaction. However, buyers can dispute ACH Direct Debits for any reason up to 60 days after the payment is processed.
ACH Direct Debits older than 60 days are guaranteed not to be disputed or returned.
ACH Settlement Timing
ACH Direct Debits take longer than credit card payments to move and settle funds. To account for this, the Payment Merchant creates a minor delay to accommodate any ACH Returns that could occur. This delay is called an ACH Settlement Delay.
The settlement for an ACH should occur up to 5 days after the transaction is submitted.
ACH Direct Debit Authorization
Before processing any ACH Direct Debit payments, the buyer must agree to the following statement:
By clicking submit, you authorize us to initiate an automated clearing house (ACH) one-time debit in your name to your bank account indicated above. The amount of this transaction as noted above will be presented to your financial institution by the next business day. You further agree that once you click submit you may not revoke this authorization or cancel this payment.
ACH Direct Debit Confirmation.
After the payment is submitted, the following confirmation will be submitted to the buyer:
Thank you for your payment in the amount of $xx.xx. Please print this authorization for your records.
You have authorized us to initiate an automated clearing house (ACH) one-time debit in your name to your bank account. This transaction will be presented to your financial institution by the next business day. You further agree that you may not revoke this authorization or cancel this payment.