The Real Cost of Accepting Checks vs ACH Payments
Once you count everything, accepting an ACH payment usually costs a business far less than a paper check. In the worked example below, a check costs about $7.40 to collect versus about $2.70 for ACH, and the bank's deposit fee is the smallest part of the check's cost.
Key takeaways
- A check's bank fee is often under a dollar, but staff handling, days waiting for cash, and returned items push the true cost much higher.
- ACH runs on the bank network, not the card networks, so there is no interchange or card brand assessment. You pay your provider's per-item, percentage, or monthly fees plus return fees.
- ACH is not automatically cheaper: an uncapped percentage ACH price on large invoices can cost more than a check.
- ACH payments can be returned for insufficient funds just like checks, so both methods carry return risk.
- Run your own numbers by method, including time and float, before deciding how hard to push customers off paper.
What it actually costs to accept a check
The visible cost is what your bank charges. That can include a per-item deposit fee, a monthly fee for remote deposit capture (scanning checks in the office), or lockbox fees if a bank receives and processes your mail. For many small businesses these add up to cents or a few dollars per check, which is why checks feel free.
The larger costs sit outside the bank statement. Someone opens the mail, matches the check to an invoice, handles short or combined payments, scans or drives to the bank, and posts the payment in your accounting system. When a remittance stub is missing, that one check can take 20 minutes of detective work.
Then there is float: the days between the customer saying the check is in the mail and the money being usable in your account. Mail time, internal processing time, and your bank's funds availability policy all stack up. If you carry a line of credit, or simply have bills due, those days have a real cost.
Finally, checks bounce. A returned check usually brings a bank fee, staff time to chase the customer, and sometimes a lost payment. Altered and counterfeit checks are a separate fraud risk. A check that appears to clear can still be returned days later.
What it costs to accept ACH
ACH moves money bank to bank through the ACH network. There is no interchange (the fee card issuers set on each card transaction) and no card brand assessments. Your cost is whatever your bank or payment provider charges. Common structures are a flat fee per transaction, a percentage of the payment, or a percentage with a per-transaction cap, often plus a monthly or batch fee.
There are two ways money arrives by ACH. With an ACH credit, your customer pushes the payment from their bank. Your incoming cost is usually small, but the remittance detail can be thin, so matching still takes work. With an ACH debit, also called an eCheck, you pull the payment with the customer's authorization through a provider. This gives you control over timing, and the payment data lands already tied to the invoice.
ACH has risks of its own. Payments can be returned for insufficient funds, closed accounts, or disputed authorization, and each return typically carries a fee. Consumer accounts get a much longer window to dispute unauthorized debits than business accounts, which is one reason B2B ACH tends to be lower risk. Standard settlement usually takes one to two business days. Some providers hold funds longer, or keep a reserve (a portion of funds held back against returns), for new accounts or unusually large tickets. Ask about both before you sign.
Worked example: 200 invoices a month
Take a hypothetical wholesale distributor that collects 200 invoice payments a month, averaging $2,500 each, or $500,000 a month. Every figure below is an assumption for illustration, not a quote.
Checks: a $0.25 deposit fee per item ($50), $30 a month for remote deposit capture, and six minutes of staff time per check at a $25 per hour loaded labor cost ($500). Assume seven days from due date to available funds. About $16,667 arrives per day, so roughly $116,667 is in transit at any time. At an assumed 9% annual cost of capital, that float costs about $875 a month. Add one returned check a month at a $12 bank fee plus staff time (about $25). Total: about $1,480 a month, or $7.40 per check.
ACH debit: an assumed $0.50 per transaction ($100) plus a $15 monthly fee, and two minutes of staff time per payment (about $167). Assume two days to available funds, so about $33,333 is in transit and float costs about $250. Add one return at an assumed $5 fee plus staff time (about $15). Total: about $547 a month, or roughly $2.74 per payment.
In this example the gap is roughly $930 a month, or about $11,200 a year, and most of it comes from labor and float, not bank fees. Your numbers will differ with your volume, ticket size, staff costs, and payment terms. Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
To run this with your own inputs, use our free Card vs ACH vs Check: B2B Invoice Payment Cost Comparison at https://touchsuite.com/tools/. Enter your invoice count, average invoice size, and payment mix, and it shows what each method costs you in fees, staff time, and days waiting for cash.
Run your own numbers
Compare what each invoice payment method really costs you in fees, staff time, and days waiting for cash.
Open the free Card vs ACH vs Check: B2B Invoice Payment Cost Comparison Book a 15-minute callWhat most comparisons get wrong
Most articles compare checks and ACH on fees alone. On that basis checks often look cheaper, because a $0.25 deposit fee beats a $0.50 ACH fee. That comparison leaves out the two biggest costs of paper: people handling it and money sitting in transit.
The fix is to price staff time and float explicitly, even roughly. Time one week of check processing from mail to posting, divide by the number of checks, and multiply by a loaded hourly cost. For float, multiply your average daily receipts by the extra days checks take, then by what money costs you, whether that is your credit line rate or the return you could earn on cash. If those two lines are larger than your bank fees, they are the ones that matter.
When ACH can cost more than a check
ACH wins easily on flat per-item pricing. On percentage pricing with no cap, large invoices change the math. At an assumed 1% uncapped rate, a $2,500 invoice costs $25 to collect by ACH, more than three times the $7.40 all-in check cost in the example above. At $20,000, that same 1% is $200.
If your average invoice is large, look for flat per-item ACH pricing or a percentage with a low per-transaction cap. If you only receive a handful of payments a month, a monthly ACH fee can also outweigh the savings. Check your actual volume against the pricing before switching. Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
Moving check payers to ACH without friction
Make ACH the easiest option. Put a pay link or ACH instructions on every invoice, keep a signed ACH debit authorization on file for repeat customers, and pull payment on the due date so nobody has to remember. Some businesses offer a small early-payment discount for electronic payment. Others simply stop printing a remit-to mailing address on the invoice.
Protect the switch. Business email compromise often shows up as a fake request to change bank details. Confirm any change to your own or a customer's account information by phone, using a number you already have on file. If you are considering charging extra for checks or card payments, rules vary, so confirm with the card brands, your provider, and your state before doing it.
If you want help pricing ACH for your invoice sizes or setting up eCheck alongside cards, talk to a payments specialist at https://touchsuite.com/contact.
Frequently asked questions
Is ACH always cheaper than accepting checks?
Usually, once you count staff time and float, but not always. Uncapped percentage ACH pricing on large invoices, or a monthly ACH fee spread over very few payments, can cost more than a check. Compare your actual pricing against your actual volume.
Can an ACH payment bounce like a check?
Yes. ACH payments can be returned for insufficient funds, closed accounts, or disputed authorization, and each return typically carries a fee. Business accounts generally have a shorter window to dispute unauthorized debits than consumer accounts.
How long does it take to get funds from ACH versus a check?
Standard ACH usually settles in one to two business days, though some providers hold funds longer for new accounts. A mailed check adds mail time, internal handling, and your bank's availability policy, which together often run several days or more.
Does ACH have interchange fees like credit cards?
No. ACH does not use the card networks, so there is no interchange or card brand assessment. You pay your bank or provider's per-item, percentage, or monthly fees, plus any return fees.
How do I figure out what checks really cost my business?
Add your bank deposit fees, the staff time to process each check at a loaded hourly rate, the cost of money sitting in transit, and returned-item costs. The Card vs ACH vs Check comparison tool at https://touchsuite.com/tools walks through each line with your own inputs.
How we put this together
The worked examples use made-up but realistic assumptions: per-item and monthly bank and ACH fees, staff minutes per payment, a $25 loaded hourly labor cost, days to available funds, a 9% annual cost of capital, and return frequency. None of them are TouchSuite rates or quotes. The mechanics described (no interchange or card brand assessments on ACH, flat versus percentage ACH pricing, return fees, holds, and reserves) reflect how ACH and check deposits generally work. Your bank's funds availability policy, return fees, and your provider's ACH pricing are on your bank and merchant statements and in your agreements, so verify them there before relying on any estimate. Fee levels and network rules change, so treat these figures as current-period illustrations and recheck them annually. Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.