How ACH Works

Home Forums General Discussion 2018 Tax Season How ACH Works

  • This topic has 5 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 6 years ago by Jamie.
  • Topic Starter
  • #4223529
    Steve

      I’ve been seeing g a lot of posts about people looking for potential early deposits, how SBTPG is shady and that they hold your money, etc. So I thought I’d help educate people with how the Automated Clearing House process works.

      Let’s say, for example, that you got an update from WMR on 2/17/18 with a DDD of 2/22.

      First off, it is a rule of the Automated Clearing House that transactions don’t get processed on weekends or Federal banking holidays. As a result, you won’t see standard ACH types of transactions take place on these days, because their systems will not process transactions on these days.

      Back to the 2/17 update…

      Generally speaking, an ACH transaction can be sent 5 days ahead of when it is due to arrive at the receiving bank. Most ACH customers send their information for processing 2 business days in advance. This ensures time for the deposit, without and unforeseen circumstances, to arrive at the receiving financial institution.

      There are different rules in place regarding the types of ACH transaction (credit, debit, same-day ACH) that come into play with how financial institutions receive this information through the network. At current, most should be getting updates twice daily.

      THEN, depending on the receiving financial institution, your deposit could be processed in any number of ways: real-time credit to the account, manual processing of the ACH transaction by hand on the institution’s schedule (yes, this still happens!), or they may choose to hold the funds until the instructed deposit date.

      Services like SBTPG rely on information coming from the ACH network in order to credit and route your deposit to your account. Once it receives your refund from the government, the ACH process starts all over again.

      In the example above, which is where I believe a lot of us are right now, there will not be any movement until 2/20/18. This is due to the weekend (2/17-18) and Presidents’ Day (2/19). Deposit information from the government has most likely already been sent into the ACH network. Your respective financial institutions will pick up this information late on Tuesday, possibly as late as early Wednesday morning.

      From there, it’s anybody’s game.

      Hope this helps some of you waiting. I know it sucks, I could use my refund as well.

    Viewing 4 reply threads
    • Author
      Replies
      • #4223745
        Jamie

          Thank you Steve! I do believe most people do not understand how ACH’s are processed.

        • #4223732
          Hey There

            @tessa

            I hear ya. Just a bunch of foolishness with some of the people on here. Didn’t think desperation will drive people insane to this level…lmao.

          • #4223721
            Sara

              Thought this was interesting….

              Important Holiday Notice
              American National Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank will be closed on Monday, February 19, for Presidents Day.

              Please keep in mind that transactions cannot settle on Monday, February 19.

              To ensure payment by Friday, February 16, your ACH entries should be processed through iBank on Thursday, February 15, and dated for February 20. We recommend that you transmit the ACH information prior to 9:30 AM.

              Any transactions initiated on Friday, February 16, will not settle until Tuesday, February 20.

            • #4223708
              Steph

                Thank you for taking the time to educate. People are complaining when the 22nd isn’t even here yet.

              • #4223701
                Tessa

                  I am so glad you posted this. I have always filed through tt and always have my fees taken out. It’s always the day before the dd date. It’s the same every year. I’ve never seen a more vicious year than this one. It’s just been crazy on here.

              Viewing 4 reply threads
              • The forum ‘2018 Tax Season’ is closed to new topics and replies.