2009

Payflow ACH Payment Service Guide 11
2
About ACH Payments
The Payflow ACH Payment Service enables you to electronically collect payments from your
customers for either single-entry or recurring payments by directly debiting your customers’
checking or savings accounts.
The most common uses of ACH are online bill payment, mortgage and loan repayment and
direct deposit of payroll. ACH payment is an efficient and cost-reducing alternative to paper
checks and credit cards.
On the Internet, ACH is primarily used for person-to-person (P2P), business-to-customer
(B2C), and business-to-business (B2B) payments.
This chapter provides an overview of how the ACH payment system works.
In This Chapter
z “Benefits of ACH Payments” on page 11
z “How Does ACH Work?” on page 11
z “ACH Terminology” on page 14
Benefits of ACH Payments
z By providing ACH service, you provide your customers with an alternative to credit cards
or checks.
z The ACH network provides lower-cost payment than either checks or credit cards.
z ACH payments are faster than checks.
How Does ACH Work?
ACH payments are electronic payments that are created when the customer gives an
originating institution, corporation, or other customer (Originator) authorization to debit
directly the customer’s checking or savings account for the purpose of bill payment.
Customers who choose ACH payment must first authorize you to debit their bank account for
the amount due. Authorization must conform to the requirements of the ACH Operating Rules
and must be either written and signed or electronically displayed. See
www.nacha.org and
Chapter 3, “Summary of Authorization Requirements,” for details.
Today, Payflow ACH Payment supports the following payment types:
z Electronic Check: TEL and WEB payments
z Check Conversion: POP, ARC, and RCK payments