How to Do an ACH Transfer: Step-by-Step Guide for Businesses

A merchant at a laptop with a credit card making an ACH payment.

Chasing payments while juggling the process of collecting money from customers and paying suppliers can be exhausting. If you want to avoid credit card fees and the risk of sending wire transfers, ACH payments are a reliable, secure way to send and receive funds.

ACH transfers can help you automate and streamline the payment process, making transactions both timely and efficient. Read more to find out how to make an ACH payment, how to accept them from your customers, and how long the process may take.

Key Takeaways

An ACH transfer is a way of sending or receiving money. Your customers can use ACH transfers to pay you for goods or services, and you can use them to make secure vendor payments. ACH is also a convenient way to automate your payroll with reliable timing for direct deposits.
There are two types of ACH payments: ACH credits, which let you send money from your account to another account, and ACH debits, which let you withdraw money from someone else’s account with their permission.
ACH payments are relatively simple to process, regardless of whether you’re sending or receiving money. You will need some basic information (like account and routing numbers) to process an ACH transfer.
ACH transfers are becoming increasingly popular as a secure, efficient way to send or receive funds. According to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve, over 20 million ACH transfers are made every year, totaling over $42 trillion in annual volume. ^[1] Federal Reserve. “Commercial Automated Clearinghouse Transactions Processed by the Federal Reserve–Annual Data.” Accessed October 3rd, 2025

What Are the Two Types of ACH Payments?

Merchants next to a phone and payment terminal learning how to take an ACH payment.

As mentioned, there are two different types of ACH payments: ACH credits and debits. There are a couple of key differences between the two:

ACH Credits: ACH credits are push payments initiated by the sender to transfer funds to a designated recipient. With this payment method, you send money from your bank account to someone else’s account. They are a secure and efficient way to send payments to vendors, offer refunds, or even pay affiliate commissions.
ACH Debits: ACH debits are pull payments initiated by the recipient to withdraw money from someone else’s account. Of course, this requires authorization from the account you’re debiting. Especially if you accept online payments, ACH debits are a simple way to charge your customers without exchanging cash.

How To Do an ACH Credit Payment

If you’re wondering, “How do I send an ACH payment?” follow the steps below.

1. Access Online Banking

Rather than visiting a brick-and-mortar bank to deposit and withdraw cash or keeping track of a stack of checks, ACH transfers are handled digitally, which is more convenient. Start by accessing your account online or through your bank’s mobile app.

2. Initiate Payment

Once you log into your account, your bank should offer an option to initiate payments. This may be titled “Send and Receive Payments,” “Money Transfers,” or something similar. Once you find this link, you should have the option to initiate an ACH payment or ACH transfer.

3. Enter Recipient Details

When you initiate your ACH transfer, your financial institution will ask for recipient details. These details typically include the recipient’s name (or business name), account number, and routing number, but your financial institution may have other requirements.

4. Input Payment Information

Next, you’ll need to provide payment information. This typically includes the amount of money you’d like to send and the reason for the payment.

5. Review and Confirm

Review the information you’ve entered. Keep in mind that inaccuracies could lead to the loss of a payment or a delay in getting your payment to the person or business you’re attempting to pay.

How To Do an ACH Debit Payment

Follow the steps below to learn how to do an ACH transfer to accept ACH debit payments.

1. Obtain an ACH Debit Authorization

To accept ACH debits from customers or other businesses, you must have documentation proving that you have the right to debit a specific amount of money from a person’s or business’s bank account via ACH debit. This means you need to get an ACH debit authorization, which may be a physical document or an online form that your customer uses, which permits you to charge their account.

2. Complete the Form

Once you’ve received an ACH debit authorization, complete the ACH debit transaction form with your bank or payment processor. If you’ve received an ACH debit authorization, you should have all the information you need to complete it.

3. Set a Payment Schedule

Next, set a payment schedule. This can be a one-time payment that goes through immediately, a series of fixed payments, or a subscription-style payment through which you make ACH debits weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

4. Authorize Payment

Review the information you entered to charge your customer via ACH debit and submit the payment request for authorization. From this point, ACH debit payments typically take between one and three business days to complete — unless there is an issue with the customer’s account, such as insufficient funds.

What Information Is Needed for ACH Payments?

If you’re wondering, “How do I set up ACH payments?” the information you need depends on the type of ACH payments you’re processing: credits or debits.

ACH credit

ACH credits are payments that you send via Automated Clearing House to another bank account. Here’s the information you’ll need to process an ACH credit:

Recipient’s Name: You’ll need the full name of the person or business you’re sending money to.
Recipient’s Routing Number: The recipient’s routing number tells the Automated Clearing House which financial institution you’re sending money to.
Recipient’s Account Number: This tells the Automated Clearing House which account it should deposit the funds into at the designated financial institution.
Reason for Transfer: This is usually an optional field, but taking an extra few seconds to fill it out can help solidify your recordkeeping, making it easier to manage your books in the future.

ACH debit

ACH debits are payments that you receive through the Automated Clearing House network. Here’s the information you’ll typically need to process an ACH debit payment:

Authorization: You must be authorized — in writing (or digitally) — to debit money from a third-party account via ACH. Authorization forms typically include all the information below.
Payer’s Name: You’ll need the exact name as it appears on the bank account you’re debiting money from. This could be a business name or a personal name.
Payer’s Routing Number: This tells the ACH which financial institution you’ll be debiting money from.
Payer’s Account Number: This is the account number from which you’ll be debiting the money.
Reason for Transfer: This is typically a required field when you’re debiting money via ACH. Offer a clear and detailed reason for the transfer in case there are any disputes in the future.

Accept ACH Payments in Your Business With PaymentCloud

A merchant next to a phone making an ACH payment.

ACH payments are generally easy to send through your online banking portal. But what if you want to accept ACH payments from your customers? That’s where a reliable payment processor comes in.

We offer an easy-to-use payment processing solution that makes sending and receiving secure ACH payments simple. If you’re having trouble with frequent chargebacks, or other financial institutions have marked your business as “high-risk,” we can help. With PaymentCloud, you can accept instant ACH transfers, send ACH payments online, and even set up recurring billing.

Find out how to start accepting ACH payments online by contacting us today.

FAQs About ACH Payments

While ACH payments are a relatively inexpensive and highly efficient way to send and receive money, you may have questions if you haven’t used this payment option before. Find answers to some of the most common questions about ACH payments below.

Is there a fee for ACH payments?

Many financial institutions offer ACH payments with minimal or no fees to the sender. Depending on the bank you’re making the transfer to or from, you may pay a small fee. For example, Bank of America charges $3 for standard ACH delivery or $10 for next-day delivery.

There may be other ACH fees involved in special circumstances:

Rush Fees: Most ACH transfers involve a processing time of one to three days. However, your bank may offer a rush option if you need your transfer to process faster. Just keep in mind that taking advantage of the rush option may come with a fee.
Payment Processor Fees: While banks don’t typically charge you a fee to send ACH payments through your online banking portal, you’ll normally pay small fees to accept ACH payments through a payment processor.

How long do ACH payments take?

ACH transfer times can vary. Most ACH payments take between one and three business days, but same-day ACH transfers are possible with some rush options.

Do all banks allow ACH transfers?

The vast majority of banks offer ACH transfers.

Can I make international ACH payments?

Yes, international ACH transfers may be an option, depending on the financial institution you work with. You may be charged a higher fee for international ACH transfers than you would for domestic transfers.