The fourth quarter of 2021 saw gains in business-to-business and same-day ACH network payments.
02/23/2022 4:00 P.M.
1 minute read
ACH Network payment volume grew 6.1% during the fourth quarter of 2021, marked by strong gains in the health care and business-to-business (B2B) sectors and same-day ACH payments, according to a report from Nacha.
Additionally, health care claim payments to medical and dental practices recorded a 13.4% rise in the fourth quarter of 2021—426 million more than the same time in 2020, as professionals continue to recognize the convenience and safety of receiving their funds electronically. With 112.2 million payments, the fourth quarter 2021 marked the second consecutive quarter with more than 100 million payments.
“The fourth-quarter results reaffirm what we have been seeing almost from the start of the pandemic: a sustained move to electronic payments among businesses, consumers and governments,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha president and CEO, in the report. “The nation is well-served by the modern ACH Network.
Overall, B2B payments—which were on the rise even before the pandemic accelerated the move toward electronic payments—increased by 17.4%.
Direct deposit volume declined 1.4% from 2020, when the second round of economic impact payments was included in the volume and expanded unemployment benefits expired during the third quarter of 2021.
Same-day ACH volume and value rose 75.1% and 92.9% respectively in the fourth quarter with 169.3 million total payments valued at $268.4 billion.
“Businesses are increasingly seeing the power of [s]ame-[d]ay ACH as a safe and reliable way to make faster payments,” Larimer said.