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The Federal Reserve banks announced today that they plan to introduce a system so banks can clear and settle certain automated clearinghouse transactions on the same day instead of in one or two business days. Richard R. Oliver, executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and manager of the Fed's Retail Payments Office, says the system, scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2010, represents the first significant change in ACH-settlement schedules in 35 years. The accelerated-settlement service would be voluntary and would require both the originator and the receiver to opt in, he says. It would apply only to NACHA-established "e-check" debits, checks converted to electronic transactions, and debits initiated by telephone or the Internet. It would not apply to credit transactions, such as payroll direct deposits or online bill payments.
