ACH Validation¶
The ACH Network, or Automated Clearing House network, is a system in which funds are electronically transferred from one party to another. ACH transfers allow for safe money transfers online, such as for direct deposits or bill paying.
Bank account details captured in Evergiving for US bank accounts (ACH) comprise:
- a routing number and
- account number.
On entry they can be validated with Standard ACH Validation or optionally, Live ACH Validation
What is ACH Verification?
ACH verification process is a digital safety precaution used by sellers to reduce financial risk when handling check payments at point of sale, online or in-person. The verification process allows sellers to verify a customer’s bank account in real-time, significantly reducing faulty or fraudulent payments.
Standard ACH Validation¶
As standard, Evergiving validates the routing number, and returns the financial institution/bank name, with reasonable accuracy, from publicly available data.
This form of validation or ‘account verification’ is the standard you’ll find from most Payment Gateways and CRM. There are a few limitations with this:
- No check digit / algorithm
- No account number length format
- Not all accounts support ACH
- No way of knowing if the account is live/will support the transaction request
Live ACH Validation 💰¶
This is an optional paid add-on.
Live ACH Validation Features¶
Live ACH validation is maintained by an inter-bank conglomerate, and has the following features:
- Accurate daily
- Covers 95% US banks and financial institutions
- Verifies the routing number and account number belong to a live account
- Confirms the account accepts ACH
- Verifies the account has enough money for the transaction
- Validation response instantly at point of sale
Live ACH Validation Responses¶
As a fundraiser you get the following responses:
| Responses | Accepts the details and submits |
|---|---|
| The account exists, is open, accepts ACH and had enough money in it to support the transaction as of last night | ✅ |
| The account doesn't exist, or doesn't have enough money in it to support the transaction | ❌ |
| The account is valid and open but it doesn't support ACH | ❌ |
| The bank doesn't participate (5%) but it’s possibly OK because the account structure is good | ✅ or ❌ |
| The bank participates, the account is unknown but the structure is good. Could be a brand new account | ✅ or ❌ |
Cost¶
Each time a fundraiser enters ACH details you will be charged USD 0.50, whether the account details are returned as valid or not.
During Configuration
To protect against fraud/overuse, the number of failed attempts allowed per day is configurable. We recommend allowing no more than 5 failed attempts per fundraiser per day, but this setting is up to you as the cost is passed on directly. Once the number has been reached, the ACH option will be disabled for that fundraiser, for the rest of the day.
- You will need to decide whether points 4 and 5 on the fundraiser responses are valid or invalid accounts. We’ll configure the Campaign accordingly.
Contact support@evergiving.com if you would like to add it to a Campaign.