Effective March 20, 2026

Nacha has issued new requirements for ACH Company Entry Descriptions. As an ACH Originator, you are required to follow these rules and update your processes no later than March 20, 2026.

These changes are intended to reduce fraud and help financial institutions more easily identify transaction types if recovery efforts are needed.

What’s Changing

Payroll Description Requirement

All ACH payments for wages, salaries, or similar forms of compensation must include PAYROLL in the Company Entry Description field.

Use PAYROLL when:

• You are paying employees or individuals compensation, and
• The payment represents wages, salary, or similar earnings

Purchase Description Requirement

All consumer e commerce debit entries must include PURCHASE in the Company Entry Description field. This requirement applies specifically to WEB ACH Originators.

When Is “PURCHASE” Required?
Use PURCHASE when all of the following are true:

• The ACH Originator is debiting a consumer account, and
• The consumer authorized the purchase of goods (tangible items), and
• The consumer authorized the purchase online

NOTE: If any of these conditions are not met, the PURCHASE description may not apply.

What Qualifies as an E‑Commerce Purchase?

Nacha defines an e‑commerce purchase as: A debit entry authorized by a consumer for the online purchase of goods, including recurring purchases that were first authorized online.

SEC Code Requirement (Important)

• E‑commerce purchases must be submitted using the WEB debit SEC Code
• The TEL SEC Code may only be used when permitted under the Standing Authorization rule

When the New Rules Apply

These requirements become mandatory March 20, 2026.
We encourage originators to begin using the new descriptions as soon as possible.

Learn More

For complete details, visit Nacha’s resources at nacha.org/newrules.