ACH Processing Windows & Settlement Timing

Overview

In planning settlement timing of an ACH to payees, it should be understood that the exact timing is subject to updates from multiple participating financial institutions, and as such is not fully controllable and cannot be guaranteed. GrailPay orchestrates file delivery according to preset windows, and there is then flexibility within these windows for participating financial institutions to action and communicate updates.

Numerous factors influence the exact timing of events on participant bank accounts and funds availability, including the posting policies of destination financial institutions, which GrailPay cannot alter or influence.

GrailPay delivers ACH files to our banking partner according to a preset schedule based on the Federal Reserve’s preset ACH windows. Our file delivery batches Standard and Fast ACHs, which our banking partner then distributes based on the set speed of each individual payment within its own file distribution schedule to the Fed.

---

Processing Windows

Window	Recommended Submission to GrailPay	GrailPay to Bank File Transmission	Bank to Fed File Transmission	Fed to Bank File Update Expected
First Fast ACH	9:00am ET	9:15am ET	10:30am ET	1:30pm ET
Second Fast ACH	1:00pm ET	1:15pm ET	1:30pm ET	5:00pm ET
Third Fast ACH	2:30pm ET	2:45pm ET	3:00pm ET	6:00pm ET
Standard ACH	5:15pm ET	5:30pm ET	6:00pm ET	8:30am ET next day
Instant Payments	Instant payout upon settlement of the first-leg ACH debit, or prefund an account for instant payouts upon API call.

Note

The exact timing of status changes on Fast ACH payments typically occurs anytime within the window from the Bank to Fed File Transmission time up until the Fed to Bank File Update Expected time. While status changes on individual payments submitted concurrently to the same window on any given day are typically consistent, the exact timing of status changes within a given window can vary from day to day, sometimes considerably.

---

End-to-End Payment Settlement

End-to-end settlement covers the full path from payment creation through to funds reaching the payee — the debit on the payer all the way through to the credit to the payee.

A payout is preceded by a first-leg ACH debit — the capture, or pay-in — and the payout to the payee typically follows once that capture has settled. Where an account is prefunded, a payout may be released without first waiting on a capture.

Because each leg moves through the processing windows above, expected end-to-end timing depends on the speed of the payment and on when it is created relative to those windows. As with the windows themselves, the timings below reflect what we generally expect rather than a guaranteed schedule, and remain subject to the posting policies and actions of the participating financial institutions.

Note

GrailPay offers pre-funded payout flows on a per-request basis.

Speed	Expected End-to-End Payout Settlement Timing
Standard ACH	Generally T+4 — the capture settles the following business day, a two-day payout delay applies, and the payout then settles.
Fast ACH (same / next day)	Same day or next day, depending on the time of creation relative to the fast windows.
Instant	Real time — upon settlement of the first-leg capture, or immediately from a prefunded balance.

---

Individual Payouts

An individual payout is picked up at the next applicable processing window following its creation.

Speed	Flow of Funds	Expected Payout Settlement
Standard ACH	Transmitted in the 5:30pm ET window; the capture settles the following business day, followed by a two-day payout delay before the payout runs through the same process.	T+4
Fast ACH (same / next day)	If created in time for the capture to settle — generally by around 1:00pm ET — the payout is released in the final fast window the same day.	Same day if created in time; otherwise next day
Instant	Released in real time, either on settlement of the first-leg capture into GrailPay’s FBO, or immediately from a prefunded balance.	Real-time

---

---

---

Batch Payouts

Batched payouts group the pay-ins of many payments from many payers to one payee into one payout, thereby consolidating cost to you and reconciliation line items for the payee.

Speed	Flow of Funds	Expected Payout Settlement
Standard ACH	All Standard payments collect into the 5:30pm ET file and follow the same path as an individual payout; batching makes no difference to timing.	Generally around T+4
Fast ACH (same / next day)	Batched pay-ins collect at the final fast window of the day and are released into a payout the following morning.	Next day
Instant	Generally funded from a prefunded balance and released in real time; where not prefunded, release follows settlement of the funding capture.	Real-time

---

---

---

Questions?

If you’re encountering any issues, please reach out to support@grailpay.com.

---