Stimulus check: What is an ACH Credit from the IRS?
Over 90 million Americans have received their $1,400 stimulus payments, the majority through direct deposit with the money transferred directly into their bank account.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirmed on Wednesday that in conjunction with the Treasury, it has sent out over 90 million stimulus payments since President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan last week. Payments of up to $1,400 per individual began being processed on Friday 12 March with some people receiving their checks the following day.
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Most stimulus payments made by direct deposit
The vast majority of the stimulus payments have been made through direct deposit with the money transferred automatically into citizens’ bank accounts. The Treasury mailed approximately 150,000 paper checks worth approximately $442 million to citizens who, for one reason or another, do not have a current bank account.
The IRS make it clear that for most people, the stimulus checks will arrive in their accounts automatically – no action is required. Payment is made by ACH transaction – ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, a computer-based electronic network for processing financial transactions. It is basically another way of saying direct deposit - when you wake up on a Friday and see that your salary was automatically deposited into your bank account, that’s ACH. The ACH network in the US is governed by NACHA, who are responsible for handling and sending stimulus payments to the bank accounts of millions of Americans who are eligible for an impact payment under the American Rescue Plan.
Settlement date: Wednesday 17 March 2021
The IRS announced that the settlement date for the initial wave of tens of millions of economic impact payments by AHC (direct deposit) will be Wednesday 17 March 2021. This was the date when the IRS provided the funds to the banks and credit unions who in turn, would transfer the funds into the accounts of recipients. Under Nacha rules banks and credit unions had to make the funds available to account holders by 9:00 a.m. local time on the settlement date - 17 March.
So if you have discovered this week that your bank balance is looking much healthier than normal and also notice the letters ACH Credit on your bank statement, then it is likely that your stimulus check has hit your account.