What is an ACH payment?

When a tenant pays rent by ACH, they authorize a debit from their bank account, and the money moves to the landlord's account through the ACH network rather than over a card network. A standard ACH payment usually takes one to five business days to clear; same-day ACH exists, but not every processor offers it.

ACH costs less than card payments: processors usually charge a small flat fee per transfer instead of a percentage of the amount. The trade-off is that an ACH payment can be returned after it looks complete, most often for insufficient funds or a closed account, typically within two banking days. A consumer can also dispute an unauthorized debit for a longer period after their statement.

For landlords, that means two habits: wait for a payment to settle before treating it as final (especially for a first payment or a security deposit), and decide in advance how the lease handles a returned payment.