ACH vs wire

ACH vs wire is the everyday choice between two US rails: ACH is the cheap, batched option that settles in a day or two, while a wire transfer is the fast, same-day option that costs far more and can’t be undone.

How it works

• Cost: ACH runs from free to a few cents per payment; a wire typically costs $15–$50 each side.
• Speed: ACH settles in one to two business days; a wire moves same-day, often within hours.
• Finality: ACH can be reversed within network rules; a wire is effectively irreversible once sent.

Rule of thumb: batch the routine payments through ACH, save the wire for large, urgent, one-off transfers.

Why it matters

Defaulting to a wire for every payment quietly burns money — pay a hundred contractors by wire and the fees alone can run into thousands you didn’t need to spend. Defaulting to ACH for a time-critical, high-value transfer is the opposite mistake: the recipient waits days for money they needed today. The right call is per payment, not a house rule.

How Fynex does it

Fynex picks the rail per payout — ACH for routine, non-urgent US payments and a wire only when speed or finality justifies the cost — so you never overpay out of habit. See Faster Payments vs BACS vs CHAPS for the UK equivalent.