Rent
ACH transfer
An electronic bank-to-bank payment sent through the Automated Clearing House network, commonly used for rent debits and payouts.
Glossary
Rent
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An ACH transfer moves money between bank accounts through the Automated Clearing House network. In rental operations it can collect tenant rent, fund a deposit account, or send an owner or vendor payout. An ACH debit pulls funds under an authorization; an ACH credit pushes funds from the sender.
Submitted, processed, settled, available, returned, and reversed are different states. A successful submission is not proof that the receiving bank accepted final funds. Keep the authorization, amount, effective date, account token, processor event, settlement status, and any return code together.
Example: a tenant authorizes a $1,600 debit on Monday. The ledger can show a pending payment immediately, but the landlord should not describe it as final cash until the processor reports settlement and the applicable return risk is understood.
Debit, credit, and return are separate events
A debit depends on valid authorization and can return for reasons such as insufficient funds, a closed account, or an authorization dispute. A credit is initiated by the sender. Neither direction should be represented as complete from an internal queue alone.
Operational boundary
ACH rules, bank cutoffs, weekends, processor holds, and account-specific risk controls affect timing. Use the provider’s current status and terms for a real transaction; a generic “one to three days” promise is not universal.