ACH (automated clearing house) transfers are how most online bank transactions in the U.S. are facilitated. They're also sometimes called direct deposit, direct pay, or electronic check.
With Melio you can pay how you want—including credit card (2.9%) and debit card (2.9%)—and your vendor will get an ACH bank transfer directly to their account. If you pay using a credit or debit card, your payment (done before 2:00 pm ET) will be delivered via ACH the same business day for no additional fee.
ACH bank transfer is free, takes up to 3 business days, and is trackable. There’s also an option for fast ACH (1% fee for eligible payment). Learn more about our delivery times.
Here’s how to pay your vendor with ACH bank transfer:
You can make two types of payment:
Making a payment without a bill:
1. Go to the Vendors tab.
2. Add a vendor or select one from the list.
- Paying a vendor without saved bills? Click New Payment.
- Paying a vendor with saved bills? You can pay any amount you want in addition to the saved bills without paying them. To do that:
a. Click the three dots.
b. Select New payment from the dropdown list.
3. In Bill amount, fill in the amount you want to pay. Click Continue to pay.
Note: Adding the bill's details.
Adding the bill’s details isn’t mandatory. But if you have the invoice number and due date it can be useful for reconciliation purposes. You can also add a note to self and line items to break down the invoice total into various items. To add further details click +Advance bill details and follow directions here.
4. Select how you want to pay. Click Continue.
5. When asked to select a delivery method, click Bank transfer (ACH).
6. Fill in the vendor’s routing number and bank account number. Click Save bank details. The vendor’s details will be saved for future payments.
7. Select a date for your payment to be deducted. Click Continue.
Note: What do the different markings mean?
- The payment due date is automatically set to match the deduction date.
- A suggested deduction date is highlighted in purple but you can select another if you want.
- The estimated payment delivery date is based on the payment and delivery methods, and deduction date you select.
- Federal holiday dates will be blocked on the Melio calendar. When you try to select the date, it’ll display Federal Bank Holiday.
8. (Optional) Leave a memo for your vendor. The default is the invoice number. Click Continue.
9. Carefully review the details in the Review & confirm page. Click Confirm and schedule payment to complete the process.
10. If this is your first time making a payment with Melio, enter your business’s legal details. This needs to be done only once. Click Save and pay.
Note: How to enter your legal business info?
If this is your first payment or if we’re missing some details, we’ll ask you to add some or all of your legal details. We do that to ensure compliance and security. It’s impossible to process your payment without it.
See here how to enter your details.
That’s it! You’ll get an email summarizing the details of this payment. We’ll notify your vendor that their payment is on the way.
Making a payment with a bill
1. Go to the Bills tab.
2. Create a bill or select one from the list and click Pay.
3. Select how you want to pay. Click Continue.
4. When asked to select a delivery method, click Bank transfer (ACH).
5. Fill in the vendor’s routing number and bank account number. Click Save bank details. The vendor’s details will be saved for future payments.
6. Select a date for your payment to be deducted. Click Continue.
NOTE: What do the different markings mean?
- The payment due date is automatically set to match the deduction date.
- A suggested deduction date is highlighted in purple but you can select another if you want.
- The estimated payment delivery date is based on the payment and delivery methods, and deduction date you select.
- Federal holiday dates will be blocked on the Melio calendar. When you try to select the date, it’ll display Federal Bank Holiday.
7. (Optional) Leave a memo for your vendor. The default is the invoice number. Click Continue.
8. Carefully review the details in the Review & confirm page. Click Confirm and schedule payment to complete the process.
9. If this is your first time making a payment with Melio, enter your business’s legal details. This needs to be done only once. Click Save and pay.
Note: How to enter your legal business info?
If this is your first payment or if we’re missing some details, we’ll ask you to add some or all of your legal details. We do that to ensure compliance and security. It’s impossible to process your payment without it.
See here how to enter your details.
That’s it! You’ll get an email summarizing the details of this payment. We’ll notify your vendor that their payment is on the way.