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The big automated clearing house network Nacha says the volume of ACH payments made at originating institutions increased 7.4% from 2023’s report on the top 50 originators and receivers. Nacha released its annual rankings Thursday and says the volume of ACH payments made at originating financial institutions accounted for 93.8% of the network’s total commercial payments volume. In the 2023 report, they accounted for 93.1% of that volume.
As in 2023, Wells Fargo & Co. was the top originator, with 8.7 billion in ACH debit and credit payments, up 6.6% from the prior year. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. were second and third, respectively in 2024, as they were in 2023. The top 2024 receiving FI was Bank of America, at 3.8 billion in payments volume, up 8.5% from 2023. Chase and Wells were second and third, as in 2023. Most consumers know of the ACH as the mechanism for direct deposit of their paychecks.
The volume bump among the top 50 is emblematic of strong growth in ACH payments overall. In 2024, overall ACH network payment volume was up 6.7% from 2023 to 33.6 billion payments. “ACH payments continue to grow because they enable businesses, consumers, and government agencies to send and accept payments at optimal speed to every bank and credit union account in the United States,” a Nacha spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News. “The flexibility of ACH is a major driver of its popularity: payments can be processed the same day, the next day, or on a scheduled date that works best for the parties involved. Whether it’s settling accounts payable, disbursing government benefits, or collecting rent, ACH offers speed, accuracy, and peace of mind for senders and recipients alike.”
Particularly strong use of same-day ACH volume contributed to that growth. “In 2024, same-day ACH payment volume surpassed 1.2 billion payments, transferring a total of $3.23 trillion. This marks a 45.3% year-over-year increase in volume and a 32.9% increase in value—more than double the growth rate seen from 2022 to 2023,” Nacha says.
That’s especially evident in business-to-business payments, a segment where paper checks continue to find favor. “Same-day ACH B2B payments grew by 50.5% in volume and 35.5% in value in 2024, totaling 392.8 million payments and $1.87 trillion transferred. This rapid adoption highlights how businesses are increasingly leveraging same-day ACH for faster settlement of invoices, improved cash-flow management, and more efficient financial operations,” the spokesperson says. “Overall, same-day ACH is playing a critical role in driving both the growth and modernization of the ACH network.”
The growth among the top 50 originating and receiving banks and credit unions mirrors that of the ACH network overall, Nacha says, “with significant increases in B2B transaction and Internet consumer bill payments.”
Approximately 9,000 financial institutions in the United States receive ACH payments for their account holders, Nacha says, with the “vast majority of financial institutions also [providing] origination services for customers.”
