ACH isn’t going anywhere—it’s still doing the heavy lifting.
That’s how Neeraj Gupta, SVP of Product Management at Alacriti, framed it in a recent webinar titled “ACH and Real-Time Payments: Finding the Right Mix,” this discussion offered a deep dive into how credit unions can modernize payments without abandoning the reliable rails that members trust. While real-time payments are gaining ground fast, ACH remains a critical backbone, especially for recurring, non-urgent, and high-volume transactions.
A foundation worth building on
ACH has powered electronic money movement for decades, from payroll deposits to bill payments and recurring transactions. According to Nacha, ACH payment volume grew by 7.7% in 2023 and 6.7% in 2024, with direct deposit and P2P transactions leading the charge. It’s no surprise: ACH is cost-effective, widely supported, and dependable.
What’s changing, however, is how financial institutions are thinking about ACH—not as a standalone solution, but as part of a unified, multi-rail strategy.
Why ACH still matters
Despite the growing momentum behind the RTP® network and FedNow® Service, ACH volumes continue to rise:
When asked about ACH, Gupta shared, “It is the most prolific rail for banking. It’s not going anywhere. And when we drill into the use cases specifically, there are some really interesting findings. We’re seeing continued year-over-year growth in both payment count and dollar volume.”
The root cause: ACH or legacy systems?
The challenge many credit unions face isn’t with ACH itself, but with the legacy systems supporting it. Manual workflows, lack of visibility, and fragmented infrastructure limit operational efficiency and member experience. According to Gupta, over 90% of financial institutions are actively investing in payments infrastructure to prepare for rising volume and new use cases.
Gupta pointed to challenges such as routing number validation, manual exceptions, and limited visibility into ACH transactions. “It’s not uncommon to see manual workflows, siloed systems, and poor visibility into ACH transactions. That’s where credit unions feel the friction—and where modernization becomes critical,” he noted.
Need for interoperability
Today’s members expect a modern payment experience—fast, flexible, and frictionless. That means offering ACH alongside RTP and FedNow, not instead of them. The solution isn’t choosing one rail over another; it’s leveraging interoperability through a unified payments hub.
The real value lies in the end-to-end execution—not just the message over the rail, but how the payment is orchestrated, automated, and presented to the member in a meaningful way.
A centralized payments hub allows institutions to:
- Route transactions dynamically based on speed, cost, and risk
- Present members with simple, rail-agnostic options
- Integrate ACH more deeply with digital banking channels
- Improve exception handling and reconciliation in real time
While real-time rails shine in urgency-driven scenarios like instant loan disbursements or off-hours P2P transfers, ACH continues to lead in:
- Payroll and benefits distribution
- Subscription billing and insurance premiums
- Utility and rent payments
- Healthcare disbursements
In fact, ACH is becoming the preferred choice for payers in the healthcare industry, replacing paper checks for efficiency and cost savings.
The right mix for the future
When asked about how credit unions should balance their rails, Gupta emphasized a flexible, use-case-driven approach: “A balanced mix of ACH and real-time payments is where most institutions are headed, for now. Over time, we’ll see use cases stabilize: recurring payments staying on ACH, urgent ones shifting to real-time.”
In a poll, the audience was asked how they see the future mix of ACH and real-time payments in their organization:
- 40% of attendees said they expect a “balanced mix” of ACH and real-time payments
- 24% foresee ACH with some real-time payments
- 7% said they plan to stick with ACH only
- 17% were unsure
Gupta recommended starting with Receive, as institutions often see usage almost immediately—especially from wallet defunding. As member demand grows, Send can be built out on top of that.
In commercial segments, ACH can be monetized effectively, particularly with bundled or tiered pricing models that package ACH with real-time payment options.
ACH must be part of a broader payments strategy that supports cross-rail orchestration through a unified payments hub. Equally important is the experience behind this journey: when financial institutions have the flexibility to choose speed or cost, they gain a truly rail-agnostic experience that ultimately enhances the member experience.
As credit unions modernize, a future-ready approach isn’t about replacing ACH—it’s about maximizing its potential within a broader, more dynamic payments ecosystem. For a deeper dive into the ACH, watch the full webinar “ACH & Real-Time Payments: Finding the Right Mix for Your Institution.”
Alacriti’s centralized payment platform, Orbipay Payments Hub, provides innovation opportunities and the ability to make smart routing decisions at the financial institution to meet their individual needs. Financial institutions can take full ownership of their payments and control their evolution with ACH, Wire, TCH’s RTP® network, Visa Direct, and the FedNow ® Service, all on one cloud-based platform. To speak with an Alacriti payments expert, please contact us at (908) 791-2916 or info@alacriti.com.
