What Is a Night Cycle?
A night cycle, created in 1979, is used to process Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers (debits and credits) at night—generally between 10:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The ACH is a nationwide system for transferring money electronically that is sometimes referred to as the "nighttime window."
Key Takeaways
- The night cycle processes ACH transfers, which are electronic money transfers made at night.
- While the day cycle for processing ACH transfers is 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST, the night cycle usually runs from 10:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
- The network is set up to process a large number of payments, from payroll and vendor payments to utility bills.
The Basics of Night Cycles
Corporations use night-cycle processing to move funds into concentration accounts, which are centralized deposit accounts used by institutions to aggregate funds, process and settle internal bank transactions. It stands in contrast to the day cycle, which allows processing of ACH transfers between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. EST.
Compared to a wire transfer, ACH payments take longer but are less expensive and more secure.
The Automated Clearing House specializes in processing high-volume, low-value payments. The relatively low fees charged encourage businesses to use the service. Its infrastructure was created to facilitate large payment batches so that large numbers of payments may be made simultaneously.
$100,000
This is the new same-day ACH per-transaction dollar limit as of March 25, 2020. The past limit was $25,000.
Examples of Night Cycles
The credit transfers that the ACH facilitates vary widely in nature and may include payroll, direct deposit, vendor payments, and retail payments. It also accommodates direct debit collections, which include consumer payments such as insurance premiums, utility bills, and mortgage loans. Because ACHs are net settlement systems, any given settlement may experience a delay of up to several days, which can trigger a degree of settlement risk.
FAQs
A night cycle, created in 1979, is used to process Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers (debits and credits) at night—generally between 10:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The ACH is a nationwide system for transferring money electronically that is sometimes referred to as the "nighttime window."
What is nightly processing? ›
Definition. The “nightly process” (as CircuiTree refers to it) is shorthand for a set of automated processes run for a particular company. These processes typically begin around 12:30 am Central US time and usually operate over the next two to three hour period.
What time do ACH transfers go through? ›
For regular ACH payments, ODFIs generally settle at 8:30 AM the following business day for debit requests, and 8:30 AM the second business day for credits.
What time do bank transfers go through? ›
8:00 p.m. ET for next-business-day or 3-business-day transfer. Funds will be received by the recipient's bank either the next business day or within 3 business days. 5:00 p.m. ET for same-business-day (wire) transfer. Funds will be received by the recipient's bank on the same business day.
What is the cycle of day and night answer? ›
Day and night are the results of Earth's rotation on its axis and its position in relation to the Sun. This phenomenon is one of the fundamental aspects of our mother earth's movement in space. Earth's Rotation: The Earth rotates on an imaginary line called its axis, which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.
What does 3 days processing mean? ›
The 3-day processing time typically associated with certain types of payments, such as ACH or Direct Debit transactions in the US, is due to the batching system used. The ACH network gathers daily transactions, batches them together, and then processes them in a scheduled window.
How does a night deposit work? ›
A night depository is an overnight drop box service provided by banks that allows account holders to make money deposits after regular banking hours. A night depository service is always available for making deposits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The deposits can be made up of checks, cash, coins, or credit slips.
What is a nightly batch? ›
Nightly Cycle
This Batch Cycle contains the set of Jobs that are executed at end of the business day. All of these Processes and Jobs belong to the default Nightly Flow of this Cycle. Once the Nightly Flow has started, all the loaded Flows and Processes on the Hourly Cycles are marked complete.
What time do banks update overnight? ›
What Time Do Direct Deposits Hit Your Bank Account? Each bank has different rules, but you can expect most direct deposits to hit your bank account at midnight. This is because some financial institutions update their accounts a few hours after midnight.
What time do banks start processing transactions? ›
What are business days for banks? Business days for banks are typically Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding federal holidays. Transactions received outside of these hours are typically posted on the next business day.
The ACH network submits transactions at 6 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 10 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The receiving bank's policies and schedule determine when transactions post to the receiving account.
Do banks transfer at night? ›
Single payments to other banks are sent every hour between 9am and midnight every day. Payments made after midnight will be sent after 9am. Bulk payments to other banks marked 'Send now' are processed hourly between 9am and 11:30pm.
Do bank transfers happen over night? ›
Firstly, most bank transfers are processed immediately. However, some bank transfers can take up to two hours, overnight or even the next business day. The time it takes for a bank transfer to be successful depends on a number of factors, and some of these factors could cause a delay.
What time will a pending deposit go through? ›
How Long Does it Take to Get the Money with a Pending Direct Deposit? Depending on the kind of payment, a pending direct deposit status can last for just a few hours or up to several days. Usually, the direct deposit process is fast and efficient.
Which are the three periods of night time? ›
Astronomical Twilight, Dawn, and Dusk
Astronomical dawn is the time when the center of the Sun is at 18 degrees below the horizon. Astronomical dusk is the instant when the center of the Sun is at 18 degrees below the horizon. During astronomical twilight, most celestial objects can be observed in the sky.
How long is a day-night cycle on the Moon? ›
In fact, the Moon rotates on its axis once for every orbit it makes around Earth. So one day on the Moon is about 29.5 Earth days. The dark, or night, lasts for about half that time. However, because the Moon's rotation and revolution are equal, the same side of the Moon always faces Earth.
How often does the day and night cycle occur? ›
At the same time that the Earth orbits around the sun, it also rotates around itself once every 24 hours! This rotation is what causes Earth to have day and night. “One day' is actually equal to the time the Earth takes to rotate once around its axis and includes both daytime and night time!
Does the Moon have a day and night cycle? ›
Throughout the month, as the Moon rotates and orbits, day and night occur on different parts of its surface, just like on Earth. Unlike our planet, though, the Moon takes a whole month to complete one rotation. This means that lunar day and night are each about two Earth weeks long.
