Can I receive ACH payments in India?

What is ACH?

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the US network banks use for domestic transfers — payroll, vendor payments, bill pay. It runs under Nacha’s rules and moves money between US bank accounts identified by a routing number and an account number. Nacha says ACH payments can be processed the same business day or scheduled for the following day, and senders can schedule credits up to two business days out. Because it is domestic, the sender pays a domestic fee — often nothing — and no intermediary bank touches the money.

Why can’t an Indian bank account receive ACH?

ACH only moves money between accounts at US institutions. An Indian account has an IFSC and a SWIFT code, not a US routing number, so a US client’s bank has nowhere to send an ACH credit. To be paid by ACH you need US account details that sit inside the US banking system and settle onward to India.

How does a US receiving account work?

1. A cross-border collections provider issues US account details — an account number and routing number — for your business.
2. Your client adds them as a vendor and pays by ACH (or Fedwire) as they would pay any US supplier.
3. The dollars land in the receiving account, held for you through an RBI-authorised Payment Aggregator – Cross Border.
4. They are converted to INR and settled to your own Indian bank account, reported under your purpose code, with a remittance advice for your records.

It is not a US bank account you own, and you do not need a US company to use one. EEFC vs a receiving account explains what you do and do not hold.

ACH vs Fedwire vs SWIFT: which should my client use?

Same Day ACH has a per-payment limit — $1 million, per Nacha. On the India side, RBI caps each transaction a cross-border payment aggregator processes at ₹25 lakh, so a very large milestone may need to be invoiced in parts that match the work, or sent by bank wire.

What do I give my client?

• The account number and ACH routing number of the US receiving account. If the details show separate ACH and wire routing numbers, say which is which.
• The account name — your business — exactly as it is registered.
• The bank name and address shown with the account details, and the account type (usually checking).
• Your invoice number as the payment reference, so the payment matches the invoice.
• For clients outside the US: the SWIFT details instead, with charges set to "OUR".

Why is ACH usually cheapest?

An ACH transfer stays inside the US banking system, so no intermediary bank takes a cut and your client pays a domestic fee (often nothing). Dollars arrive whole, and the only cost left is the conversion to rupees — which is why the rate against mid-market is the number to compare. On a small, recurring invoice the difference is large: a $20 intermediary deduction on a $300 SWIFT payment is almost 7% of it.

Is ACH safe for my client and for me?

ACH is how US businesses pay most of their vendors, so a US accounts-payable team is used to it. The risks are the ordinary ones: send the payment details on your own invoice, tell clients you will never change them by email alone, and confirm any change with a call. A client paying the wrong account is the most common way an ACH payment goes astray.

What paperwork still applies in India?

Being paid by ACH changes how the money travels, not the export rules. You still put a purpose code on the invoice, file the EDF for services invoiced from 1 October 2026, realise the payment within 9 months, and keep the remittance advice. The complete guide to receiving international payments in India covers each step.

On Payzoplus

Each customer gets their own US account details in your business’s name, held through our RBI-authorised payment partner, so a payment arrives already matched to them. Rupees settle T+1 to your own bank. For each settlement you get the bank’s payment advice (the FIRA) exactly as it was issued, and our own remittance advice, which ties the payment to its invoice, remitter, purpose code and exchange rate. We do not issue e-BRCs: those are generated on the DGFT platform from the data banks report. See receiving accounts.