*Available for payments in US dollars
Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a network that facilitates the electronic transfer of funds between bank accounts across the United States. Managed by NACHA (formerly known as the National Automated Clearing House Association, or NACHA), this system is often referred to as the ACH network or the ACH scheme.
An ACH payment is an electronic bank-to-bank transfer made through the ACH network (just like EFT in Canada), rather than through card networks like Visa or Mastercard. It is also commonly known as an ACH transfer or ACH transaction. If you are located in the US and serves local customers, ACH would be a great payment option.
ACH payments can be initiated by either the payor or the payee, depending on the agreement in place. For this reason, it's referred to as "merchant-initiated". With ACH, the payee can "pull" funds from the payor’s bank account, provided proper authorization has been given.
Keep in mind that setting up an ACH does not automatically enable recurring payments. You need to turn on the "Auto-Pay" option for the customers in your Notch dashboard.
Best practices:
If you already have an agreement on file—whether collected online, by email, by phone (using an approved script), or as a physical hard copy—then you're all set. If you don’t have an agreement, you can send one directly from the ACH setup prompt in your Notch dashboard. Once completed, the signed form will be stored electronically for your records.
How to add ACH as a payment method?
1. Get a void cheque from your customer
2. Go to the "Customers" page in the Notch portal and click into a customer, then click the "Edit Details" button on the top right corner
3. Go the the "Payments" tab and select the "Set up CAD or US Bank Account" option
4. Enter your customer's bank account information
5. Then click the button to send your customer a digital agreement
6. You will be able to process payments once your customer accepted the agreement!
What bank account details do I need to collect from my customers for ACH payments?
- Branch number
- Institution number
- Account number
Benefits: Lower cost compares credit cards and highly secure.