Same-Day ACH has three submission windows each business day, with Operator cutoff times of 10:30 AM, 2:45 PM, and 4:45 PM Eastern. Miss one and your payment rolls to the next window or the next business day. Those are the deadlines set by the Federal Reserve’s FedACH system; your own bank almost always enforces an internal cutoff one to two hours earlier so it has time to bundle and transmit files.1Federal Reserve Financial Services. FedACH Processing Schedule
The Three Daily Windows
Each window has three timestamps that matter: when your file has to reach the ACH Operator, when the banks settle with each other, and when the recipient’s bank has to make the money usable.1Federal Reserve Financial Services. FedACH Processing Schedule2Nacha. Same Day ACH Schedules and Funds Availability
Morning Window
- Submission deadline: 10:30 AM ET
- Settlement: 1:00 PM ET
- Funds available to the recipient: 1:30 PM in the recipient’s local time zone
Afternoon Window
- Submission deadline: 2:45 PM ET
- Settlement: 5:00 PM ET
- Funds available: 5:00 PM local time
Evening Window
- Submission deadline: 4:45 PM ET
- Settlement: 6:00 PM ET
- Funds available: 5:00 PM local time
The evening window was added specifically to give West Coast businesses more usable hours in their workday. Note the local-time detail on funds availability: a payment settling at 6:00 PM ET in the evening window still requires the receiving bank to make funds available by 5:00 PM in the recipient’s own time zone. Banks that hold funds past those deadlines face compliance scrutiny under Nacha’s enforcement process.
Your Bank’s Internal Cutoff Is Earlier
The 10:30, 2:45, and 4:45 times are when files must reach the ACH Operator, not when you can hand them to your bank. Financial institutions build in buffer for validation, bundling, and transmission, and that buffer typically runs one to two hours. If you’re aiming for the 2:45 PM ET window, your bank may need your file by 1:00 PM ET. Miss the internal deadline and the payment slides to the next Operator window, or to the next business day if there isn’t one left.
The buffer varies by institution, by product, and sometimes by the channel you use to submit (file upload versus API versus manual entry). Payroll teams and accounts payable groups that depend on same-day timing should confirm the exact internal deadlines with their bank rather than assuming they line up with the Operator schedule. If you originate high volumes, ask for the cutoffs in writing.
Days the System Doesn’t Run
Same-Day ACH runs only on days the Federal Reserve’s National Settlement Service is open. No weekends, no federal holidays.3Nacha. ACH Payments Fact Sheet A file submitted Friday afternoon that misses the last window won’t settle until Monday, and if Monday is a federal holiday it pushes to Tuesday. Holiday-dense stretches in November and December can stack multiple non-processing days back to back.
The practical rule for payroll: if employees need to be paid Friday, you’re submitting within Friday’s cutoff windows. If Friday is a federal holiday, you’re submitting Thursday within Thursday’s windows. Building the Federal Reserve holiday calendar into your payment schedule is the difference between on-time deposits and awkward conversations.
Files That Won’t Qualify for Same-Day
Two things determine whether a file gets same-day treatment: how it’s coded, and what kind of transaction it is.
To trigger same-day processing, the originator sets the Effective Entry Date in the ACH file header to the current business date. Adding “SDN” in the Company Descriptive Date field further signals same-day intent to the ACH Operator. If the date is set to a future business day, the transaction runs on the standard multi-day timeline instead.
Two standard entry class codes are permanently excluded from same-day processing regardless of how the file is dated:4Federal Reserve Financial Services. Same Day ACH Frequently Asked Questions
- IAT (International ACH Transaction), which requires sanctions screening that can’t be compressed into the same-day timeline.
- ENR (Automated Enrollment), used for federal government program enrollments and excluded by rule.
Prenotification entries, the zero-dollar test transactions used to verify account information, are eligible for same-day settlement and carry the standard same-day fee.4Federal Reserve Financial Services. Same Day ACH Frequently Asked Questions
Return Deadlines Are Different
When a same-day payment bounces for insufficient funds, a wrong account number, or an authorization problem, the return can also settle the same day if it moves fast enough. Electronic return entries submitted to FedACH before 4:45 PM ET are processed and settled at 6:00 PM ET that same day.4Federal Reserve Financial Services. Same Day ACH Frequently Asked Questions Paper returns have an earlier deadline of 8:00 AM ET for same-day settlement.
A few points worth knowing on returns:
- The $0.052 same-day interbank fee is not assessed on return entries, even when they settle same-day.
- The return entry should carry the same effective entry date as the original forward transaction under ACH rules.
- A return entry cannot be future-dated and still qualify for same-day settlement. Returns with a current, stale, or invalid date will still process same-day as long as they meet the submission deadline.
Faster returns cut both ways. You learn sooner that a payment failed, which helps cash management. You also have less time to react before the reversal hits your settlement account.