ACH Payment

An ACH payment is an electronic funds transfer processed through the Automated Clearing House network, a system widely used in the United States to move money directly between bank accounts without relying on paper checks or wire transfers. ACH payments are commonly used by employers to deposit employee wages, as well as for a wide range of other business transactions such as vendor payments and recurring bill payments. Compared to wire transfers, ACH payments typically cost less to process and are well suited for routine, recurring transactions like payroll, though they generally take slightly longer to settle, often one to a few business days depending on the specific type of ACH transaction. This makes ACH the standard choice for scheduled payroll runs, where the timing is predictable and known well in advance. For companies managing payroll domestically within the United States, ACH payments are the backbone of how most employees actually receive their pay. Companies with international employees need a different set of payment rails and processes for each country, since the ACH network itself is specific to the U.S. banking system, which is one reason many companies rely on global payroll providers or Employer of Record partners to handle cross-border payment logistics.