Glossary · ACH vs wire (SWIFT)
ACH vs wire transfer,
and where SWIFT fits
ACH moves US bank payments in batches, cheaply, the same day or within a day or two; a wire moves one payment at a time and settles it the same day for good; SWIFT is the network banks use to send each other the instruction when that wire crosses a border.
ACH vs wire (SWIFT)
ACH first. Nacha, which writes its rules, describes it as "a payment system that reaches all U.S. bank and credit union accounts", and the Federal Reserve, one of its two operators, calls its service batched: payments are collected and cleared in windows, not one by one. An ACH payment can settle the same business day or be scheduled a day or two out. It needs a routing number and an account number, it is domestic, and it is the cheapest way to pay anyone with a US account.
A domestic wire is the other US rail. It goes one payment at a time through the Federal Reserve's Fedwire Funds Service, which the Fed describes as the service for "mission-critical, same-day transactions", and once it settles it is final: there is no reversal window like ACH's. That is why a house closing or a large time-critical payment goes by wire, and why a wire costs more.
SWIFT is not a third way to move money. Swift calls itself "a globally inclusive cooperative made up of over 12,500 institutions across more than 200 countries and territories", and what it carries is the instruction. The money moves through accounts the banks keep with each other, sometimes through an intermediary bank that takes its own fee, which is why an international wire can take days, why the amount that arrives can be smaller than the amount sent, and why the payee's bank needs a BIC (the SWIFT code) beside an IBAN or an account number. So "ACH vs SWIFT" is really ACH against an international wire.
Neither is the whole map. In the euro area the ACH-like network is SEPA, addressed by IBAN; in the UK it is Faster Payments, addressed by sort code and account number. For a supplier or a contractor abroad the honest comparison is the fee at both ends plus the rate, which the payment cost calculator adds up, and the international vendors guide prices five ways side by side. It is also the point where a stablecoin enters the conversation.
Side by side
ACH, a domestic wire and an international wire on one table
Each figure from its source's own page on 23 October 2026.
| ACH | Domestic wire | International wire (SWIFT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Batched payments between US bank accounts | One payment, settled between banks through Fedwire | An instruction sent bank to bank over Swift; the money moves through their accounts |
| Speed | Same day, settling at 1:00, 5:00 or 6:00 pm Eastern under Same Day ACH, or a day or two | Same business day | 1 to 5 business days at Bank of America; nearly 60% of Swift GPI payments credited within 30 minutes |
| Limit per payment | $1 million for Same Day ACH; $10 million from 17 September 2027 | Set by your bank | Set by your bank |
| Cost to send | $0 at Mercury | $30 at Bank of America; $30 online at Wells Fargo; $0 at Mercury | $45 in US dollars at Bank of America; $0 in dollars at Mercury, 1% to convert |
| Cost to receive | $0 at Mercury | Bank of America may charge $15 | Bank of America may charge $15; intermediary banks may deduct on the way |
| Can it be undone | A duplicate, a wrong amount or a wrong receiver can be reversed within five banking days of settlement | No: final once settled | A recall is a request the receiving bank may refuse |
| What you need | Routing and account number | Routing and account number | The bank's BIC, an IBAN or account number, the payee's name and address |
Bank prices are each bank's own and change; a foreign-currency wire with no fee still carries the bank's exchange rate markup.
Which to use
ACH or wire,
decided by the payment in front of you
The scale
How much travels on each
How this shows up in Orla
A contact's bank rail is entered as a form with a scheme, SEPA and IBAN, UK sort code, US ACH, or SWIFT for everywhere else, and the fields for that scheme appear. An IBAN or a US routing number with two digits swapped is refused as it is typed, the mistake that otherwise surfaces once the money is somewhere else.
Where a space has these connections switched on: from a connected Mercury account US payees are paid by ACH and everyone else by international wire, in US dollars only; Orla requests each payment into Mercury's own approval queue and never sends it, and a payee set up in Mercury for wires only waits rather than going by ACH. From a connected Slash account, Send via Slash creates the transfer by ACH when the payee's details there accept it and by domestic wire when they accept only that; an international wire is sent from Slash itself, because it needs a purpose code from the payee's bank.
Whatever the rail, a payment Orla sends or drafts to details the payee was never paid on waits until the new details are confirmed, by someone other than the person who proposed it (in a space with a single signer, by that signer saying they checked by phone), and the month leaves with each payment's bank reference beside it.
Questions
The questions people ask about ACH and wires
Is ACH or a wire faster?
A wire, usually: a domestic wire settles the same business day. Same Day ACH closes most of the gap, with settlement at 1:00, 5:00 and 6:00 pm Eastern for payments up to $1 million, and standard ACH takes a day or two.
Is ACH cheaper than a wire?
Almost always. On 23 October 2026 Bank of America listed $30 to send a domestic wire and $45 for an international wire in US dollars; Mercury listed ACH, domestic wires and US-dollar international wires at $0. Your own bank's fee schedule is the answer that counts.
Is a wire transfer the same as SWIFT?
No. A domestic US wire goes through Fedwire and never touches SWIFT. An international wire is instructed over SWIFT, the messaging network between banks, and settled through the banks' accounts with each other.
Can I cancel an ACH payment or a wire?
An ACH payment sent in error, a duplicate, a wrong amount or a wrong receiver, can be reversed by the sending bank within five banking days of settlement under Nacha's rules. A wire is final once settled; a recall is a request the receiving bank may refuse.
What is the Same Day ACH limit?
$1 million per payment today. Nacha lists a new rule raising it to $10 million per payment, effective 17 September 2027.
Can I pay a supplier abroad by ACH?
No, ACH reaches US bank and credit union accounts. Abroad it is an international wire, the local scheme of their country through a transfer service, or a stablecoin if they ask for one; the international vendors guide compares them with fees.
Sources, read on 23 October 2026
- Nacha, ACH Network →
a payment system that reaches all U.S. bank and credit union accounts
- Nacha, Same Day ACH limit to $10 million →
The effective date is September 17, 2027.
- Nacha, Reversals and enforcement →
within 5 banking days following the Settlement Date of the Erroneous Entry
- Nacha, ACH Network volume in 2025 →
Full year ACH Network volume totaled 35.2 billion payments
- Federal Reserve Financial Services, FedACH Services →
batched payment services that enable an electronic exchange of debit and credit transactions through the ACH network
- Federal Reserve Financial Services, Fedwire Funds Service →
mission-critical, same-day transactions
- Swift, Who we are →
over 12,500 institutions across more than 200 countries and territories
- Swift, Swift GPI →
Nearly 60% of Swift GPI payments are credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes
- Bank of America, wire transfers →
No wire transfer fee, but exchange rate markups apply.
- Wells Fargo, wire transfers →
a $30 fee for digital wires and a $40 fee for branch wires
- Mercury, pricing →
both ACH payments and domestic wires are free to send and receive
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