About NEACH

About NEACH

A CURATED HISTORY OF NEACH

2023 will be one for the record books. Not only does it mark another dynamic year in payments, but it also serves as the 50th anniversary of NEACH, a milestone we are proud to celebrate.

Back in 1973, we became one of the first payment associations, providing guidance and support to financial institutions (FIs) before Nacha even existed. As the years have gone by, we have grown our offerings to keep pace with developments in the payments industry.

It’s incredible just how far we’ve come. Consider, for example, that in 1973 the first mobile call was made in an experiment, and today, we seamlessly move billions of dollars via mobile devices—just one breakthrough in our elite history. With that prestigious evolution in mind, we wanted to mark our anniversary with “NEACH’s Top 10” milestones that celebrate our successes over the years.

Throughout all of this change, we have been proud to consistently serve as the primary source of electronic payments knowledge, education, and leadership in New England, a mission we continue to advance today. But we wouldn’t be who we are and where we are without the trust and support of all of you, our members. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in support of NEACH and to advance payments.

This is a year for celebration, so watch for upcoming announcements on ways to join us in marking our collective achievements. For now, I’ll simply close by saying, happy 50th birthday, NEACH! Your years look good on you.

Sean Carter, AAP, NCP
President & CEO
NEACH

1973

On January 31, NEACH was incorporated to support the advancement of electronic payments in New England. Subsequently, the NEACH Board approved the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston as the ACH Operator for New England.

1974

In July, the very first electronic files were processed in New England by New England Merchants National Bank (now a part of Bank of America). In addition, that year NEACH helped to form Nacha to ensure consistent rules and standards as payment volume continued to climb.

1975

The Social Security Administration began testing Direct Deposit, paving the way for 94 percent of Americans to get paid electronically today

1993

Historically, ACH entries were held on magnetic tape reels, which is how ‚nancial institutions exchanged information and confirmed deposits. All of that changed on July 1 of this year, when FIs were required to migrate the data to an all-electronic ACH format.

1990s

A number of check conversion Standard Entry Class (SEC) codes were launched, enabling FIs to convert paper checks to electronic payment instruments with ACH.

2001

Coming quickly on the heels of check conversion, ACH payments initiated on the Internet and by phone debuted, creating new opportunities for electronic payments.

2009

IAT, the SEC code for international ACH transactions, entered the picture, supporting the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC) requirements for greater scrutiny around international payments.

2015

NEACH Payments Group (NPG) was founded to support the increased payments strategy, audit, and assessment needs of New England ‚nancial institutions.

2016

Same Day ACH went into effect on September 23, creating one of the ‚rst faster payment transactions for the industry. In addition, NEACH launched Pacing Payments, an online community to support member institutions in staying on top of all emerging and faster payments topics. It later became today’s Innovating Payments.

2023

FedNowSM instant payments will launch, making it the First new federal payments rail in 40 years.