ACH transfers | Moov Documentation

ACH moves money between US bank accounts in batches: debits pull funds into Moov and credits push funds out. It's the lowest-cost rail for bank payments, with funds arriving the same or next banking day.

Moov doesn't move money directly between external bank accounts. Funds always pass through Moov, so a bank-to-bank transfer is an ACH debit into Moov followed by an ACH credit out. Moov can do both legs in a single transfer when the source and destination are bank accounts linked to Moov accounts.

ACH processing flow diagram

Before you start

Capabilities: the destination needs collect-funds.ach to collect with ACH debits, and the source needs send-funds.ach to send ACH credits. See payment methods and capabilities.
Bank accounts: link a bank account. To debit it, first verify it with instant micro-deposits or a verification partner.
Eligibility: not every use case is eligible for bank-to-bank ACH transfers. Ask Moov if you're unsure.

Choose an ACH payment method

Payment method	Direction	Use it to	Transfer shape
`ach-debit-fund`	Money in	Fund your own wallet, for example before sending payouts	Bank account → Moov
`ach-debit-collect`	Money in	Collect a payment from a customer, such as a bill or subscription	Bank account → Moov
`ach-credit-same-day`	Money out	Pay out to a bank account the same banking day	Moov → bank account
`ach-credit-standard`	Money out	Pay out to a bank account the next banking day	Moov → bank account

Moov processes ACH debits same day whenever a window is available. Debited funds are held for two banking days before they're available, unless the account is approved for faster ACH. Limits per payment method are in transfer limits, and you can pass ACH payout fees to the recipient with feePaidBy.

Find ACH answers

Question	Go to
What are the cutoff times, and when are funds available?	ACH processing speed
What do the `achDetails` statuses mean? How do I set the statement descriptor, SEC code, or addenda?	ACH details, SEC codes & addenda
What happens when a payment is returned, and what does each return code mean?	ACH returns
How do I cancel an ACH transfer?	Cancel an ACH transfer
How do I fix a bank account errored by an R29 return?	Self-serve R29 returns

The open source moov-io/ach library reads, writes, and validates Nacha ACH files.

In this section

Processing speed

Moov ACH cutoff times, when funds become available under standard or faster same-day processing, and the qualifications for faster ACH processing.

Details & SEC codes

Read achDetails and rail statuses on ACH transfers, and set custom statement descriptors, SEC codes, and TXP or remittance addenda when creating a transfer.

Returns & exceptions

How Moov handles ACH returns before and after the clearing period, what each return code means, and which bank account status and action follows.

Cancellations

Cancel an ACH transfer through the Moov API or Dashboard before the debit or credit originates, including cancellation windows and transfer groups.

R29 self-serve

Approved accounts can reset a bank account errored by ACH return code R29 by attesting the end user reauthorized debits, via the API or Moov Dashboard.