ACH Payment Processing

Abstract

Efficiently processing ACH payments by processing batches of ACH payments in parallel. A processing system of an ACH operator receives an ACH file including multiple batches of ACH items. Each batch includes at least one ACH item. A control module of the processing system organizes data in the ACH file into multiple partitions according to a selected strategy. Each partition includes at least one of the batches. A processing module of the processing system separately processes each partition in parallel, validating the batches and ACH items and creating at least one output batch for each partition. If the control module determines that the ACH file is acceptable, based on this parallel processing, then the processing module settles the ACH items in the output batches and creates at least one new ACH file for transmitting the settled ACH items to one or more corresponding receiving depository financial institutions.

1 . A computer-implemented method for processing automated clearinghouse (“ACH”) payments, comprising the steps of:
 receiving an ACH file comprising a plurality of batches of ACH items, each of the batches comprising at least one of the ACH items;   organizing data in the ACH file into a plurality of partitions, each partition comprising at least one of the batches; and   separately processing each partition in parallel to generate at least one new batch.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of organizing data in the ACH file comprises the steps of:
 selecting a strategy for organizing data in the ACH file; and   organizing data in the ACH file into the plurality of partitions according to the selected strategy.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of organizing data in the ACH file comprises the step of assigning a fixed number of the batches to each of the partitions. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of organizing data in the ACH file comprises the step of assigning a substantially equal number of batches to each of the partitions. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of organizing data in the ACH file comprises the step of assigning a substantially equal number of ACH items to each of the partitions. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the step of storing at least one new batch for each partition, each new batch comprising information regarding at least one ACH item from the new batch's partition. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the step of storing settlement information for each partition. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the steps of:
 for each partition,
 determining whether each ACH item of the partition is suitable for processing; and 
 creating at least one new batch in response to determining that any ACH item of the partition is suitable for processing, each new batch comprising at least one ACH item. 
   
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining whether the ACH file is suitable for processing based on whether the ACH items of the partitions were determined to be suitable for processing; and   creating at least one new ACH file in response to determining that the ACH file is suitable for processing, each new ACH file comprising information regarding at least one of the at least one new batch.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of transmitting each new ACH file to a corresponding receiving depository financial institution. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method for processing automated clearinghouse (“ACH”) payments, comprising the steps of:
 receiving an ACH file comprising a plurality of batches of ACH items, each of the batches comprising at least one of the ACH items;   selecting a strategy for organizing data in the ACH file into a plurality of partitions, each partition comprising at least one of the batches, the strategy comprising one of assigning a fixed number of the batches to each of the partitions, assigning a substantially equal number of batches to each of the partitions, and assigning a substantially equal number of ACH items to each of the partitions;   organizing data in the ACH file into the plurality of partitions according to the selected strategy; and   separately processing each partition in parallel to generate at least one new batch.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the step of storing at least one new batch for each partition, each new batch comprising information regarding at least one ACH item from the new batch's partition. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the step of storing settlement information for each partition. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel comprises the steps of:
 for each partition,
 determining whether each ACH item of the partition is suitable for processing; and 
 creating at least new batch in response to determining that any ACH item of the partition is suitable for processing, each new batch comprising at least one ACH item. 
   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 14 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining whether the ACH file is suitable for processing based on whether the ACH items of the partitions were determined to be suitable for processing; and   creating at least one new ACH file in response to determining that the ACH file is suitable for processing, each new ACH file comprising information regarding at least one of the at least one new batch.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of transmitting each new ACH file to a corresponding receiving depository financial institution. 
     
     
         17 . A computer-implemented method for processing automated clearinghouse (“ACH”) payments, comprising the steps of:
 receiving an ACH file comprising a plurality of batches of ACH items, each of the batches comprising at least one of the ACH items;   organizing data in the ACH file into a plurality of partitions, each partition comprising at least one of the batches;   separately processing each partition in parallel by storing at least one new batch for each partition, each new batch comprising information regarding at least one successfully validated ACH item from the new batch's partition; and   determining whether the ACH file is suitable for processing based on validation information associated with each partition; and   creating at least one new ACH file in response to determining that the ACH file is suitable for processing, each new ACH file comprising information regarding at least one of the at least one new batches.   
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of organizing data in the ACH file comprises the steps of:
 selecting a strategy for organizing data in the ACH file into the plurality of partitions, each partition comprising at least one of the batches, the strategy comprising one of assigning a fixed number of the batches to each of the partitions, assigning a substantially equal number of batches to each of the partitions, and assigning a substantially equal number of ACH items to each of the partitions; and   organizing data in the ACH file into the plurality of partitions according to the selected strategy.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 17 , wherein the step of separately processing each partition in parallel further comprises the step of storing settlement information for each partition, the stored settlement information for each of the partitions comprising information regarding at least one successfully validated ACH item from the partition. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 17 , further comprising the step of transmitting each new ACH file to a corresponding receiving depository financial institution.