---
title: "What is ACH (Automated Clearing House)? Definition"
description: "ACH is the US network for batch electronic payments between bank accounts, used for payroll, vendor payments and direct debits. ACH payments are..."
url: https://realpayee.com/glossary/ach
canonical: https://realpayee.com/glossary/ach
date_published: 2026-10-05
date_modified: 2026-10-05
author: RealPayee
---

# ACH (Automated Clearing House)

> ACH is the US network for batch electronic payments between bank accounts, used for payroll, vendor payments and direct debits. ACH payments are cheaper and slower than wires and some can be returned, but fraudulent ACH credits sent after a fake bank-detail change are still often lost.

_Published 2026-10-05 · Updated 2026-10-05 · By RealPayee_

## Related terms

- [Wire transfer](https://realpayee.com/glossary/wire-transfer): A wire transfer is a fast, bank-to-bank electronic payment (in the US, typically via Fedwire or, internationally, via SWIFT) that is generally final once settled.
- [Positive Pay](https://realpayee.com/glossary/positive-pay): Positive Pay is a bank service that matches checks presented for payment - and with ACH Positive Pay, incoming ACH debits - against the items a company issued or authorized, flagging exceptions for review.
- [Authorized push payment (APP) fraud](https://realpayee.com/glossary/authorized-push-payment-fraud): Authorized push payment fraud is when a victim is tricked into sending a payment themselves to an account controlled by a fraudster.

## Why it matters for finance teams

Most payment fraud reaches AP as a request that looks legitimate. Understanding ach helps your team spot it and apply the right control: verify bank-detail changes and large payment requests with the real person, out-of-band, before money moves. Our free [bank-change policy template](https://realpayee.com/templates/vendor-bank-change-policy) puts that into a written rule.

Full glossary: https://realpayee.com/glossary · All terms as JSON Lines: https://realpayee.com/feeds/glossary.jsonl

## Related

- [Wire fraud prevention: how to stop bank wire fraud](https://realpayee.com/wire-fraud-prevention) - Controls that prevent business wire fraud: out-of-band verification, payment thresholds, dual approval and audit trails. (markdown: https://realpayee.com/wire-fraud-prevention.md)
- [ACH fraud: how it works and how to prevent it](https://realpayee.com/blog/ach-fraud-prevention) - The four kinds of ACH fraud that hit businesses, why ACH credits are hard to recover, and a practical prevention checklist for AP and treasury teams. (markdown: https://realpayee.com/blog/ach-fraud-prevention.md)

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