Online small business lender OnDeck announced earlier this month that it would begin offering a new service aimed at helping improve cash flow management and predictability for small businesses. New and existing OnDeck Term Loan and Line of Credit customers who qualify will now be able to take advantage of same day ACH transfers to and from their bank accounts when they draw on funds or make a payment.
In introducing this new feature, OnDeck hopes to alleviate the long-standing difficulties in the traditional ACH transfer process—one which can be lengthy and lack transparency as to when transactions will clear. An ACH transfer occurs when funds are electronically moved between banks via the Automated Clearing House network. Traditionally, such transfers can take several business days to post, creating significant obstacles for small businesses looking to meet financial obligations.
Under OnDeck’s new feature, qualifying customers can take advantage of same business day ACH transfers by 5:00 PM local time whenever they create a new loan or draw on their line of credit by 10:30 AM that day. The amount of these same day ACH transfers is subject to the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)’s $25,000 cap.
The feature also works for qualified customers looking to make a payment via ACH, with customers’ bank accounts being debited the same day that a payment is initiated. The benefit for OnDeck’s customers here is predictability; the service removes the need to guess as to when a transaction will clear, proving improved clarity for day-to-day business cash flow management.
As OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow noted, "At OnDeck we take pride in leveraging the best technologies that exist in the ecosystem to provide a superior experience to our customers. We were the first online small business lender in North America to offer instant funding using the Visa debit network. And, with our Same Day ACH service, we have demonstrated again our commitment to relentlessly innovating on behalf of small businesses to provide our customers with faster service."
Vice President of Product Management Shaleen Prakash concurred, stating that "today's announcement marks an important step forward in how small businesses access capital online and subsequently deploy those funds on behalf of their business…Same Day ACH transfers are a game changing option for small businesses because they provide access to needed capital by the end of the business day and offer better visibility and certainty into the timing of the transactions clearing in their bank account, which in turn leads to better cash management."
