!!! Overview[1]
[{$pagename}] or [Automated Clearing House], is an electronic [Funds Transfer System] ([network]) for [Payment Transactions] in the [United States]


Normally [{$pagename}] refers to the [Automated Clearing House] used in the [United States]. The [{$pagename}] [Network] serves as a network for direct consumer, business, and government payments, and annually facilitates billions of payments such as direct deposit and direct payment.

[{$pagename}] direct debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills. Debit transfers also include new applications such as the point-of-purchase ([POS]) check conversion pilot program sponsored by [NACHA]. 

Both the government and the commercial sectors use [{$pagename}] payments. Businesses often use [{$pagename}] online to have customers pay, rather than via [Payment Cards].

Rules and regulations that govern the [{$pagename}] network are established by [National Automated Clearing House Association] ([NACHA]) and the [Federal Reserve]. 

The [Federal Reserve Banks], through the [FedACH] system, are collectively the nation's largest [ACH] operator composed of 60% of commercial interbank [ACH] transactions; the remaining 40% was processed by the [Electronic Payments Network] ([EPN]), the [United States]' only private-sector [ACH] operator. [Electronic Payments Network] and the [Federal Reserve Banks] rely on each other for the processing of some [Transaction Accounts] when either party to the transaction is not their customer. These interoperator transactions are settled by the [Federal Reserve Banks]. 

[Payment Cards] transactions __NOT__ handled by [{$pagename}] networks but rather by private [Payment Card] [Payment Networks]

!! More Information
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* [#1] - [Automated Clearing House|Wikipedia:Automated_Clearing_House|target='_blank'] - based on 2015-03-03