Understand the initial limits for ACH transactions and how you can increase those limits for your organization.
Limits can be frustrating—especially when you are not expecting them. The purpose of this article is to help you understand the initial limits for ACH transactions, why they exist, and how you can apply for an increase.
Initial ACH Limits
When you complete the My Well Ministry application, we take that information and send it to our underwriting department for processing. This department exists to help filter out possible fraudulent organizations in order reduce our overall risk. This is important because it helps us continue to offer the lowest possible rates to as many ministries as possible.
Bank account transactions are processed differently than credit cards, and part of this process is to set initial limits for ACH transactions. The limits are based on a variety of factors, unique to each merchant, based on the information provided in the application. Monthly volume, bank statements, types of transactions, and the amount requested are all a part of this process.
Understanding How ACH Limits Work
Generally, limits apply per customer for a six day period. So, if your limit is set to $5,000, it means each donor will be limited to a maximum of $5,000 donated for a seven day period.
Here Is An Example:
If 1,000 people all wanted to give $5,000 from 1,000 different bank accounts, that is fine. That would be $5,000,000.
If 5,000 people want to give $5,000 from 5,000 different bank accounts and two weeks later they all want to give from those same bank accounts, that is fine as well.
But if 5,000 people want to give $5,000 from 5,000 different bank accounts and six days later one of those people tries to give $1.00 from the same bank account, it would not be approved.
After reading these examples, we hope it's clear that these limits impact individual donors who are giving large amounts, and not your monthly aggregate volume.
How Can I Increase My ACH Limits?
If you plan to have donors routinely give amounts higher than the initial limit, we recommend that you let us know as quickly as possible. Large limits require approval by our ACH provider and not under our direct control. It often takes several days, and up to a week to grant a request for an increase, so the sooner we know, the sooner we'll be able to submit the request.
Due to the risk in processing higher amounts, very large limits will be assessed a .25%–.5% fee per transaction that goes directly to our ACH provider.
To request an increase to your ACH transactions, you can contact us or start a chat with us using the icon in the bottom right of any page on our site!