ACH Debit Payment Processing Timeline

When a payment is funded through ACH debit, the processing time is longer compared to manual deposits due to the way the ACH network is structured. Manual deposits made through wire transfers or ACH push deposits can typically be completed within one business day. In contrast, ACH debit transactions usually take about four business days to process.

Timeline 

The ACH (Automated Clearing House) Debit payment processing timeline is as follows:

1. Submission and Approval: The payer submits and approves payment instructions to Tipalti before the 4 PM PST cutoff.

2. Debit Process Initiation: Tipalti will debit the funds from the configured bank account. This process takes 4 business days.

3. Funds in virtual account: The funds will hit your virtual account (VA) on the 4th business day around 7 AM PST.

4. Payment Processing: Once the funds are in the VA account balance, payments are then submitted using those funds.

The timeline can be broken down into the following stages:

• Day 0: Payment is submitted and approved before 3:30 PM PT.
• Day 1 to Day 3: Debited funds go through the processing period.
• Day 4: Funds are credited to your VA, available around 7 AM PST, and payments can be processed from there.

Additional important points:

• The auto-debit starts after the payment is approved and not when it's submitted.
• The funds processing time considers several factors, like the payment method being used (wire, eCheck, check, etc.), the currency opted for by the payee, and the beneficiary bank location.
• To ensure timely processing, payment instructions need to be scheduled and approved 4 business days before the payment is due.

If you need payments to be debited on a specific date, use the schedule payment feature if you are using the Bills module.