The Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a real-time funds transfer network that allows merchants to accept secure electronic payments from their customers. It's used by thousands of companies, both large and small, and it's one of the most popular ways for merchants to accept payments online.

ACH is an electronic network that facilitates the exchange of financial transactions between financial institutions. The Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network was developed by the Federal Reserve Bank and has been in operation since 1973. It's used by all types of businesses, including small businesses.

The ACH network is often used to process large-scale, recurring electronic transactions between financial institutions, businesses, and consumers. It's the primary means by which direct deposits and corporate payments are made in the United States.

ACH payments are used by businesses to collect funds from customers' bank accounts or credit cards and make deposits directly into their own bank accounts.

ACH is similar to direct deposit in that it allows you to transfer money into your bank account. However, the difference between ACH and direct deposit is that ACH is used for business-to-business transactions, while direct deposit is used for consumer transactions.

ACH works as follows: when someone pays you using ACH, they send information about their payment through their bank and then your bank receives it on their behalf. Your bank then credits your account with the amount of money specified by your customer's bank.