In a recent letter, the American Bankers Association expressed support for a Nacha proposal to formalize the definition of “banking day” in its rules.
“Banking day” in the U.S. has generally been understood to refer to Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, according to Nacha. The organization recently proposed formally defining banking day as “a calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday or federal banking holiday in the United States.” It would also clarify the definition of “settlement date” by replacing references to “date” with “banking day.” Additionally, the term “business day” would be eliminated from this section.
ABA said the proposal appropriately recognizes that the rules should measure Automated Clearing House obligations by an objective network-operating standard rather than by increasingly outdated concepts of whether a financial institution is physically open to the public. “ABA believes this change will provide greater certainty, consistency, and operational fairness across the ACH Network, and we urge Nacha to adopt the proposal,” the association added.
