When will this ACH payment settle?
Enter when you submit the file. We apply the Federal Reserve's banking calendar and the FedACH window cutoffs to give you the settlement date — including the holiday rules most calendars get wrong.
The rule that trips people up
Federal Reserve Banks do not follow the federal government's holiday observance. When a fixed-date holiday lands on a Saturday, federal offices close the preceding Friday — but the Reserve Banks stay open, and ACH settles normally that Friday. When one lands on a Sunday, the Reserve Banks close the following Monday.
This matters roughly twice a year. In 2026, Independence Day falls on Saturday, July 4 — so Friday, July 3 is a normal banking day for ACH, even though much of the country is off work. Getting this backwards means a payroll file lands a day late.
What counts as a banking day
A banking day is any weekday that is not a Federal Reserve holiday. ACH does not process on weekends or Reserve Bank holidays, so settlement math has to count banking days, not calendar days. A standard two-day entry submitted the day before Thanksgiving settles the following Monday, not Saturday.
Same Day ACH cutoffs
FedACH runs three Same Day windows each banking day. Files submitted by 10:30 AM ET settle at 1:00 PM ET, by 2:45 PM ET settle at 5:00 PM ET, and by 4:45 PM ET settle at 6:00 PM ET. Miss the last one and the entry moves to the next banking day. Your own bank's cutoff is usually earlier than the Fed's — often by hours — so treat these as the outer limit, not your deadline.