ACH transactions

[Tommy Trussell]

On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 5:57 AM, Graham Todd<grahamtodd2 at googlemail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:51:36 -0400
> Steve Reilly <sfreilly at roadrunner.com> wrote:
>
>> > BTW what are ACH transactions?
>> >
>> automated clearing house
>>
>> pos terminal readers read the routing and account # on the check, you
>> get the check back after its converted electronically and transmitted
>> to ACH.  merchants receive $$ alot quicker than paper checks.
>> basically like using a debit card but its paper.  im sure theres
>> something like it where you are, maybe not called the same thing.
>>
>>
>> steve
>
> Thanks Steve.
>
> In the UK, cheques are usually only issued to persons having a Current
> Account (and not all banks issue cheques), while businesses have a
> Business Account.
>
> I've never known cheques to be returned to Current Account holders as a
> matter of course - I do not have a cheque book, for instance - and I am
> given a Debit Card (not a Credit Card such as Visa or Mastercard) - to
> enable me to withdraw cash from a "hole in the wall" (ATM machine) or
> shop online.  If I want to get a *copy* of a cheque, the bank will make
> a charge to me for the copy.
>
> The contract for a Business Account is different, and I've always
> assumed the business *does* get cheques back but likewise I've always
> assumed the banks make a charge for doing so.

In the last decade, it has become rare for ANY bank to return a check
to the person who wrote it -- I believe all banks have gone to a
system where the monthly statement (whether online or on paper)
includes an image of the canceled check. Up until about 15 years ago I
believe almost all US banks would return the actual original paper
check to the customer, although they were also required to keep an
image archived for some set number of years. US banking regulations
changed a few years back to reduce the "float time" for check
transactions, and they also specified how the paper was handled.

ACH transactions have been in existence for decades, but their usage
has expanded greatly in recent years. I am sure this due to cost
containment AND changed banking regulations, as well as more people
becoming accepting of online transactions. In the past few years there
has been a virtual explosion in ways an individual can transfer money
from various types of accounts. I write fewer and fewer paper checks,
whereas a dozen years ago they were still the way most bills got paid.

But for whatever reason folks in the US have not been keen on using
stored value or "smart" cards.