Nacha Members Approve Rules to Enhance International ACH Transactions

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nacha voting members approved five Nacha Operating Rules changes aimed at increasing the awareness and efficiency of International ACH Transactions, or IATs.

“The U.S. ACH Network has supported the capability to send and receive cross-border ACH payments for decades,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO. “These Rules changes should make IATs easier and more efficient to use.”

The existing Nacha Rules for IATs became effective in 2009, replacing previous cross-border ACH payments with a new transaction rule set and format that enabled compliance with the Travel Rule and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanction programs. Approximately 121 million IATs were made in 2024.

One of the approved Rules refines the definition of an IAT with the goal of making it easier for ACH Originators and Originating Depository Financial Institutions (ODFIs) to determine whether a payment should be classified as an IAT.

The other approved Rules are aimed at transaction and data efficiency. They include adding the capability to carry a person’s date of birth for sanctions screening; adding a new return reason to indicate an issue with sanctions screening as distinct from other return reasons; recognizing the possibility that the financial agency outside the U.S. is a non-traditional account-holding institution or organization; and requiring U.S. financial institutions to register IAT-specific contacts in Nacha’s ACH Contact Registry.

About Nacha

Nacha governs the thriving ACH Network, the payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast Direct Deposits and Direct Payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts. There were 33.6 billion ACH Network payments made in 2024, valued at $86.2 trillion. Through problem-solving and consensus-building among diverse payment industry stakeholders, Nacha advances innovation and interoperability in the payments system. Nacha develops rules and standards, provides industry solutions, and delivers education, accreditation, and advisory services.