NACS Submits Comments on ACH Proposal

NACS argues that fees included in current proposal on same-day ACH transfers are akin to swipe fees, would amount to price-fixing.

February 10, 2015

WASHINGTON – On February 6, NACS responded to NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association’s request for comment on its proposal to implement same-day Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transactions. The proposal seeks to modernize the U.S. ACH system, which currently offers next-day processing as its fastest option, to allow for same-day processing of most ACH transactions. To pay for this upgrade, NACHA proposed charging an 8.2 cent “interbank fee” per same-day ACH transaction.

While recognizing that faster settlement of ACH transactions would be beneficial, NACS criticized the proposal to implement an interbank fee, noting that it appears suspiciously similar to a swipe fee, and would ultimately undermine ACH as a low-cost alternative to payment cards. The NACS comments stated that “NACHA setting the prices that all banks will charge for ACH amounts to price-fixing, with NACHA as the hub in a classic hub-and-spoke conspiracy.” Essentially, by setting a central fee, NACHA raises serious antitrust concerns and potentially distorts the market.

NACS argued that the proposal would not update the ACH system in the most technologically advanced way and urged NACHA to implement real-time processing, which is already available internationally and in other areas of the U.S. payments system. NACS noted that merchants will have to invest heavily to ensure their systems will be compatible with same-day processing — and “no merchant wants to invest in a system that will be considered obsolete when he finishes paying for it.”

The NACS comment letter is available here.

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