An ACH, or Automated Clearing House, transfer is one of the main ways to send or receive money online. ACH transfers account for the online bill payments you make and the direct deposits you receive, along with other transfers. Here’s a guide to how they work and how much they cost.

An ACH transfer is the electronic movement of money between banks through the Automated Clearing House network.

ACH transfers include external funds transfers, person-to-person payments, bill payments and direct deposits from employers and government benefit programs. Business-to-business payments are another example. (If you own a small business, see our guide to ACH transfers for businesses.)

For sending money to friends and family, many transfer providers — including banks and third-party apps like PayPal, Venmo and Zelle — use the ACH network.

These timelines are based on rules from the National Automated Clearing House Association, or NACHA, the trade group that oversees the network. Upon receiving the money, a bank or credit union might also hold these transferred funds for a period of time, so the total delivery time varies.

NACHA rules ensure that banks can process payments the same day they’re sent, but it’s up to each bank whether it charges you for expediting a payment.

Person-to-person payments that you initiate through your bank or third-party apps such as PayPal can cost a small fee, depending on the platform and payment method.

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The table below lists the costs to transfer money between banks for some of the country’s largest financial institutions, including Chase’s external transfer fee and Bank of America’s transfer fee.

Sending money via ACH between banks can be convenient, but check with your financial institution to find out more about their ACH policies and any limitations, which could include:

ACH transfers differ from wire transfers, a type of bank transfer that’s usually faster and more expensive. Whereas ACH transfers may take days, domestic wire transfers may be completed in minutes or hours.

ACH transfers cost a few bucks at most, but sending a bank wire transfer within the U.S. tends to cost from $20 to $30, and there’s usually a fee to receive one. The wire network, however, processes transactions in real time, so you can generally expect U.S. wire transfers to be delivered within hours, if not minutes. Because of its cost and speed, a wire transfer is best for large-sum and time-sensitive transfers, either in the U.S. or abroad.

Nearly every financial institution has a cutoff time for transfer requests; respecting those will help your money arrive on time. If you submit a transfer request after the cutoff — around the end of the business day — it generally won’t be processed until the next business day.

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You can also pay to upgrade the delivery speed of your ACH transfer if your financial institution offers the option. Some banks offer next-day delivery, usually for an extra cost. Even then, “next day” usually means “next business day,” not “next calendar day.” But rules implemented in March 2018 make it possible for most ACH payments, including payroll and account-to-account transfers, to be processed the same day they’re requested.

You can also use Zelle, a payment app that works directly with hundreds of banks and credit unions. Zelle delivers money to the recipient right away and the transfer is finalized later through normal ACH processing or in real time if the bank uses the RTP network, a real-time payment system. Zelle doesn’t charge fees, but some banks might.

ACH transfers can be a cheap way to move money, but if you're the one sending funds, check out your bank’s policies first. This will help you avoid fees, unexpected processing delays and potential limits so you can make the most out of the service.