An automated clearing house (ACH) is an electronic network capable of carrying out different types of money transfers between banks. As the primary method of electronic payment available to both institutions and individuals, ACH payments dominate, with 7 billion transfers made in the first quarter of 2022 alone.

While consumer bill payment is still the largest percentage of ACH transfers, there are a whole host of ACH categories, including business-to-business (B2B), direct deposit, and person-to-person.

Companies working in the ACH payment industry include Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ), National Processing, and PaymentCloud.

ACH transfers can either be made as credit or debit payments and since 2016 there is the option for money to be fully transferred on the day of payment. Security checks often mean the transfer can take several days, and while the majority of transfers remain multi-day, the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) reported that some of the greatest growth is in same-day payments, suggesting that delivery speed is an important consideration in the rapidly expanding digital market.

One company looking to take advantage of the spurt in same-day ACH payments is Usio Inc. (NASDAQ: USIO). Usio describes itself as among the first fintech companies able to achieve same-day delivery of funds at a rate considerably cheaper than credit card transfers. It also touts a NACHA Third-Party Sender certification, a voluntary certification that serves as an indicator of the companies striving to provide top-quality payment solutions.

Usio is a cloud-based, broad-industry fintech company that offers a variety of payment solutions to businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. Its services include payment facilitation (PayFac), prepaid card issuing, card processing, and ACH payments.

Usio especially looks to serve clients seeking B2B transactions, disbursements, and bill payments. Its website claims to employ multiple originating financial depository institutions (OFDIs) to painlessly transfer money, arguing that its ACH system makes transferring funds both simpler and cheaper, while its NACHA certification guarantees the highest level of compliance.

Usio claims to have a strong profit margin on each transaction, with ACH payments now making up 24.9% of Usio’s revenue. It also announced an increase, on average, of 23% across all categories of ACH payments from the first quarter of 2021 to the same period in 2022.

Its growth in ACH transactions is coming at a time when the company is expecting to report record expansion in its electronic payment and financial processing, according to an April 26 press release. It has seen a total increase of 18% in dollars processed from the first quarter of 2021 to 2022, processing a record $2.4 billion for the second quarter of 2022.

To learn more about Usio, visit its website .