Prepare Now for Nacha Rule Changes Taking Effect in March and June 2026

Nacha (formerly the National Automated Clearing House Association) is implementing new rules in two phases to strengthen fraud detection and standardize ACH payment descriptions with effective dates in March and June 2026. These changes impact all organizations originating ACH transactions and are applicable to ACH processes, templates, and internal fraud controls. In preparation, your company may need to apply system changes and update fraud monitoring practices.


How to prepare

  • Determine which phase and timeline below applies to your organization’s ACH volume.
  • Review your ACH templates to ensure “PAYROLL” and “PURCHASE” descriptors will be used correctly.
  • Work with your internal partners to assess your company’s current fraud detection capabilities. Be sure to identify any gaps and address as needed to ensure compliance.
  • Engage your third-party service provider or internal technology resources to prepare for required updates.

Phase I effective March 20, 2026: Fraud Monitoring Requirements and Standardized ACH Company Entry Descriptions

Fraud monitoring requirements: Applicable only for ACH originators and third-party service providers with more than 6 million ACH debit/credit entries in 2023. Note, fraud monitoring requirements are applicable to all other ACH originators beginning June 19.

The following requirements focus on impersonation attempts through business email compromise (BEC), vendor impersonation, and account takeover.

  • Implement risk-based fraud detection processes for ACH entries to detect suspicious activity.
  • Conduct mandatory annual reviews of these processes.
  • Pre‑processing monitoring (screening entries before submission) is not required.

Standardized ACH Company Entry Descriptions: Applicable for all ACH originators and third-party service providers with Payroll and Purchase ACH entries.

ACH originators must begin using the following standardized descriptors:

  • PAYROLL — Required for wage‑related Prearranged Payment and Deposit (PPD) credits.
  • PURCHASE — Required for e-commerce transactions (WEB debits).

Note: Entry description changes may require updates to payroll systems, ERP systems, templates, and/or file creation tools.


Have questions or need assistance?

Contact Synovus Customer Care at 888-SYNOVUS (796-6887) or your banking representative.

Visit the Nacha site to view additional information about rule changes and Rules and Risk Management Resources for originators.