Most ACH payments settle within one business day: Nacha estimates that 80% of ACH credits and debits “settle in one banking day—or less,” and a credit can settle the same day, the next banking day or in two banking days (Nacha). ACH payments do not settle on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays. A payment your bank sends on Thursday, December 24, 2026 for next-day settlement lands on Monday, December 28, because Christmas Day (Friday, December 25) and the weekend are skipped.
The live status shows the next Federal Reserve holiday that stops ACH settlement, and the holiday guides list every date.
FedACH processing times and cut-offs
The Federal Reserve’s FedACH service publishes these windows for banks. All times are Eastern Time, from the FedACH processing schedule (effective September 12, 2022, checked October 23, 2026):
| Payment type | File deadline for the bank | Settlement |
|---|---|---|
| Same Day ACH, window 1 | 10:30 a.m. | 1:00 p.m. same day |
| Same Day ACH, window 2 | 2:45 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. same day |
| Same Day ACH, window 3 | 4:45 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. same day |
| Next-day and future-dated | 10:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 10:45 p.m. or 2:15 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. on a later business day |
Two points that matter for your own ACH cutoff time:
- These are the Federal Reserve’s deadlines for banks, not for you. Your bank or payroll provider sets its own, earlier cut-off for your request, and that is the time to plan around.
- Not every window runs every night. According to the schedule, the 8:00 p.m. deadline occurs “only Sunday through Thursday, and not on Friday.”
Items that are not eligible for same-day settlement settle at 8:30 a.m. ET on the next banking day or a later settlement date. Same Day ACH has a limit of $1 million per payment, effective March 18, 2022, according to Federal Reserve Financial Services.
Do ACH payments process on weekends?
No ACH settlement takes place on a Saturday or Sunday. FedACH does accept files on Sunday evening (the 8:00 p.m. window runs Sunday through Thursday), so a file sent on Sunday can settle at 8:30 a.m. ET on Monday. In practice:
- A payment your bank submits after Friday’s last same-day window settles on Monday at the earliest.
- If that Monday is a Federal Reserve holiday, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18, 2027, it settles on Tuesday, January 19.
Nacha describes the common industry practice for weekend and holiday dates: paydays “are paid on the prior Friday, while bill payments are due and collected on the next business day.”
What happens to an ACH payment sent before a holiday
Federal Reserve Financial Services publishes, for each holiday, when FedACH processing ends and when it resumes (holiday schedules). For the last three holidays of 2026 it lists:
| Holiday | FedACH processing ends | Processing resumes |
|---|---|---|
| Veterans Day (Wed, Nov 11, 2026) | Nov 10, 2026, 11:30 p.m. ET | Nov 11, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ET |
| Thanksgiving Day (Thu, Nov 26, 2026) | Nov 25, 2026, 11:30 p.m. ET | Nov 26, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ET |
| Christmas Day (Fri, Dec 25, 2026) | Dec 24, 2026, 11:30 p.m. ET | Dec 27, 2026, 5:30 p.m. ET |
For a Monday holiday the pattern is different: processing stops early on Saturday (for Columbus Day 2026, at 3 a.m. ET on October 10) and resumes on the evening of the holiday itself, ready for settlement on Tuesday. On October 23, 2026, the page listed these windows for 2026 only; the 2027 windows had not been published.
Worked example: a payroll file before Christmas 2026
An employer’s bank sends a next-day ACH credit file to FedACH on Thursday, December 24, 2026.
- Next banking day after Thursday, December 24: Friday, December 25 is Christmas Day, a Federal Reserve holiday. Not a business day.
- Saturday, December 26 and Sunday, December 27: weekend. Not business days.
- Monday, December 28: a regular business day. FedACH settles the file at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Funds for the employee: under the Nacha rule described below, the employee’s bank must make the money available by 9:00 a.m. its local time on Monday, December 28.
Had the bank sent a Same Day ACH file by the 4:45 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday, December 24, it could have settled at 6:00 p.m. ET that Thursday. FedACH processing for the holiday then stops at 11:30 p.m. ET on December 24 and resumes at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 27.
You can check counts like this with our business days calculator.
Saturday holidays do not stop ACH
When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the Reserve Banks stay open on the Friday before. ACH payments settled normally on Friday, July 3, 2026, and they will on Friday, June 18, Friday, December 24 and Friday, December 31, 2027, although federal offices are closed on those days. See the 2027 bank holidays for the full year.
How long does ACH take to reach your account?
Settlement is when banks pay each other. When you can use the money depends on the funds-availability rules in the Nacha Operating Rules:
- Regular (not same-day) ACH credits: since September 18, 2026, the receiving bank must make the money available “no later than 9:00 a.m. (RDFI’s local time) on the Settlement Date” (Nacha).
- Same Day ACH credits: the Nacha Operating Rules require availability by 1:30 p.m. local time for the first same-day window and by 5:00 p.m. local time for the second, as Nacha’s guidance for receiving banks explains (Nacha RDFI guidance).
- ACH debits: Nacha says a debit “cannot have a settlement date that is more than one banking day into the future.”
Some banks show a deposit earlier than these deadlines. Nacha notes that some banks and credit unions “may advance their own funds” before settlement. That is a choice of your bank, not a rule.
The calendar below shows the three-day weekends of 2027, when ACH payments pause for three days in a row.