ACH transactions show an increase of 5.3 percent in 2016

The new statistics, released by NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association, this represents an increase of 5.3% over 2015 volume. More than that, is the third consecutive year in which volume grew by a billion transactions or more over the previous year. Additionally, USD 43.7 trillion was transferred over the ACH Network last year, an increase of 5.1% compared to 2015.

With the launch of Same Day ACH credits in September 2015, this payment type was responsible for more than 13 million credit transactions totaling nearly USD 17 billion. Same-day Direct Deposits made up 52% of Same Day ACH volume; business-to-business (B2B) transactions made up 32% of Same Day ACH; person-to-person (P2P) payments constituted 13.5 % of same-day volume; and consumer bill payments made up the remaining 2% of Same Day ACH volume.

Additionally, in 2016, the ACH Network processed almost 12 billion debit transactions, which constitute 58% of overall ACH Network volume. While the volume of debit transactions validates its value to end users, credit transactions are important payment types for businesses and consumers, with credit transactions also growing by more than 5% in 2016.

B2B transaction use was not only strong among same-day transactions, but traditional ACH transactions as well. B2B credit payments grew significantly with CTX credits increasing 5.6% and CCD credits by 5.1%. More than that, businesses leveraging the Network’s ability to send payments and information together increased within these categories. More than 2.1 billion addenda records were transferred over the Network through CTX and CCD transactions, an increase of almost 9% over 2015. Healthcare payments via ACH, a specific CCD transaction, grew 15.6% to almost 242 million transactions.

In addition to B2B transaction growth, the ACH Network saw growth in transaction categories in which consumers serve as the recipient of the payment, specifically Direct Deposits via ACH, P2P payments, and online payments.

Direct Deposits are credit transactions that include all transfers of funds from a company or government agency into a consumer’s account. In 2016, the Network transferred 6.1 billion Direct Deposits, an increase of 5.1% over 2015. Direct Deposits now make up 30% of overall ACH volume.

P2P payments, a WEB/online credit payment, saw growth as well. P2P payments increased 38.5 to almost 79 million transactions.

In addition to WEB credits, WEB debits, another online transaction type, saw increases as well. In 2016, the ACH Network transferred 4.6 billion WEB debits or online transactions, marking an increase of 12.7% over 2015. Combined, WEB credits and WEB debits make up 23% of overall ACH Network volume.