ACH Standard Entry Class codes
SEC codes: which one, and why it matters.
Every ACH batch carries a three-letter Standard Entry Class code saying what kind of payment it holds and how it was authorized. The code decides the authorization the Rules require, the addenda allowed and the return codes and timeframes that apply. Here are all 23.
Which SEC code to use
| When you are | Use |
|---|---|
| Paying or collecting from a consumer, with a signed (or similarly authenticated) authorization | PPD |
| Collecting from a consumer who authorized online or in an app | WEB |
| Collecting from a consumer who authorized in a phone call | TEL |
| Paying or collecting from a business, with at most one line of remittance | CCD |
| Paying a business with full EDI remittance (many invoices in one payment) | CTX |
| Any of these when a bank outside the United States is part of the payment | IAT |
The Receiver’s account decides consumer or business, not who sends the payment: payroll to employees’ personal accounts is PPD even though a company sends it. A business debit that reaches a consumer account without the consumer’s authorization can be returned R05 within 60 days; an unauthorized debit to a business account comes back as R29 within 2 banking days.
The everyday codes
Consumer · debits and credits
PPD — Prearranged Payment and Deposit Entry
Credits to consumers: payroll direct deposit, pensions, benefits, refunds.
Business · debits and credits
CCD — Corporate Credit or Debit Entry
Business-to-business payments: paying suppliers, collecting from business customers, moving cash between a company’s own accounts (cash concentration and disbursement).
Business · debits and credits
CTX — Corporate Trade Exchange
Business-to-business payments with remittance data: up to 9,999 addenda records carrying ANSI ASC X12 data (such as an 820 payment order/remittance advice) or UN/EDIFACT syntax.
Consumer · debits and credits
WEB — Internet-Initiated/Mobile Entry
Consumer debits authorized online or in a mobile app, single or recurring. The Payment Type Code that used to mark which (entry detail positions 77–78) has been optional since September 17, 2021: the ODFI decides whether to fill it, so an RDFI can’t rely on it.
Consumer · debits only
TEL — Telephone-Initiated Entry
Single or recurring consumer debits authorized orally during a telephone call.
Consumer or business · debits and credits
IAT — International ACH Transaction
Any ACH debit or credit that is part of a payment transaction involving a financial agency’s office outside the US — a payroll credit funded from abroad, for example.
All 23 SEC codes
| Code | Name | Accounts | Direction | Addenda |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACK | ACH Payment AcknowledgmentZero-dollar acknowledgment of a CCD credit, sent by the RDFI. | Business | Zero-dollar entries only | Type 05, up to 1 per entry |
| ADV | Automated Accounting AdviceAccounting advices an ACH Operator sends to a DFI (Service Class Code 280). | Between financial institutions | Debits and credits | None on the forward entry |
| ARC | Accounts ReceivableCheck received by mail or at a drop box, converted to a one-time debit. | Consumer or business | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| ATX | Financial EDI AcknowledgmentZero-dollar acknowledgment of a CTX credit, sent by the RDFI. | Business | Zero-dollar entries only | Type 05, up to 9,999 per entry |
| BOC | Back Office ConversionCheck presented in person and converted to a debit in the back office. | Consumer or business | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| CCD | Corporate Credit or DebitCredit or debit between business accounts. | Business | Debits and credits | Type 05, up to 1 per entry |
| CIE | Customer InitiatedCredit initiated by a consumer, such as an online bill payment. | Consumer | Credits only | Type 05, up to 1 per entry |
| COR | Notification of ChangeZero-dollar entry correcting information in an earlier entry. | Between financial institutions | Zero-dollar entries only | Type 98, exactly 1 per entry |
| CTX | Corporate Trade ExchangeBusiness-to-business payment with up to 9,999 addenda of EDI remittance data. | Business | Debits and credits | Type 05, up to 9,999 per entry |
| DNE | Death NotificationZero-dollar notice from a Federal Government agency that a benefit recipient has died. | Federal Government | Zero-dollar entries only | Type 05, exactly 1 per entry |
| ENR | Automated EnrollmentZero-dollar entry enrolling a beneficiary in Federal Government direct deposit. | Federal Government | Zero-dollar entries only | Type 05, 1 to 9,999 per entry |
| IAT | International ACH TransactionEntry involving a financial agency outside the United States. | Consumer or business | Debits and credits | Type 10–18, 7 to 14 per entry |
| MTE | Machine TransferEntry initiated at an ATM or other electronic terminal. | Consumer | Debits and credits | Type 02, exactly 1 per entry |
| POP | Point-of-PurchaseCheck converted to a debit at the point of purchase. | Consumer or business | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| POS | Point-of-SaleDebit card purchase at an electronic terminal. | Consumer | Debits and credits | Type 02, exactly 1 per entry |
| PPD | Prearranged Payment and DepositConsumer credit or debit under a standing authorization, e.g. payroll direct deposit. | Consumer | Debits and credits | Type 05, up to 1 per entry |
| RCK | Re-presented CheckReturned check re-presented as a debit. | Consumer | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| SHR | Shared Network TransactionPoint-of-sale entry through a shared network. | Consumer | Debits and credits | Type 02, exactly 1 per entry |
| TEL | Telephone-InitiatedConsumer debit authorized orally over the telephone. | Consumer | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| TRC | TruncatedDebit for a check truncated under a check truncation program. | Consumer or business | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
| TRX | Truncated Entries ExchangeBatched debit for truncated checks listed in addenda records. | Consumer or business | Debits only | Type 05, up to 9,999 per entry |
| WEB | Internet-Initiated/MobileConsumer debit authorized online or on a mobile device, or a person-to-person credit. | Consumer | Debits and credits | Type 05, up to 1 per entry |
| XCK | Destroyed CheckDebit collecting a check lost or destroyed in transit. | Consumer or business | Debits only | None on the forward entry |
Where the SEC code sits in a NACHA file
In positions 51–53 of the Company/Batch Header record (type 5), so it applies to every entry in the batch. Returns keep the original entry’s SEC code; Notifications of Change travel in their own batches under COR (see the NOC codes).
To read the batches of a file record by record, open the file in NACHA Navigator, a free sister site that parses NACHA files in your browser without uploading them.
Source: Nacha Operating Rules, Appendix Three. Names are the Rules’ own; uses, authorization summaries and mix-ups are this site’s plain-language reading. Informational only, not a substitute for the Rules, Regulation E or your ODFI agreement.