ACH B2B Payment Volume Jumps 9.4% as Businesses Abandon Paper Checks

The ACH Network, administered by the U.S. electronic payments association Nacha, is a key funds-transfer system for corporate payroll, accounts payable and supplier payments. Businesses have long relied on paper checks, but processing costs, slow settlement and fraud risks are prompting finance departments to adopt ACH. Growth in B2B transactions is therefore an important gauge of the digitization of corporate payments.

Nacha's latest data showed first-quarter business-to-business payment volume on the ACH Network rose 9.4% from a year earlier to 2.1 billion transactions, while Same Day ACH volume surged 23.6%. The network processed $24.1 trillion during the period, indicating that businesses are accelerating their shift away from paper checks and driving demand for faster electronic payments.