Capital Brief: Fed Weighs Same-Day Final ACH Settlements

The Federal Reserve Board is requesting comment on whether it should make automated clearing house transactions final on the day they are settled.

Settlement occurs when the Fed completes all the credits and debits for any given ACH transaction. Currently, ACH transactions are not final until the morning after the funds are settled. This is to give the Fed time to reverse a transaction if a bank does not have enough funds to cover the payment. If the change is made, the Fed would impose new risk-control requirements on ACH users. Comments are due March 18.

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