ACH Standard Entry Class code

PPD SEC code: Prearranged Payment and Deposit Entry

Consumer credit or debit under a standing authorization, e.g. payroll direct deposit.

What PPD is for

Credits to consumers: payroll direct deposit, pensions, benefits, refunds.
Debits from consumers under a standing authorization (monthly bills, loan and insurance payments) or a single one.

Consumer accounts.

Authorization

Debits need an authorization in writing, signed or similarly authenticated, that is clear and readily identifiable as an ACH debit authorization and says how to revoke it; the consumer gets a copy. Credits such as payroll need the consumer’s authorization too, with fewer formalities.

A summary in general terms: the Nacha Operating Rules set the exact requirements, and Regulation E adds its own for consumer accounts.

Debits, credits and addenda

Debits and credits.

Addenda on a forward entry: type 05, up to 1 per entry. Returns (addenda type 99) and Notifications of Change (type 98) follow their own layouts whatever the SEC code.

Returns

A consumer who says a debit was unauthorized can have it returned within 60 calendar days (R10, or R11 when the debit doesn’t match the authorization), with a Written Statement of Unauthorized Debit; R07 when the authorization was revoked.

Common mix-ups

PPD or CCD? The Receiver’s account decides: a personal account takes PPD, even when a business pays it (payroll); a business account takes CCD.
PPD or WEB? A debit authorized online or in a mobile app is WEB; PPD is for authorizations given in writing (a signed form, for example).
PPD or TEL? A debit authorized orally in a phone call is TEL.

Where PPD sits in a NACHA file

The SEC code is a batch-level field: positions 51–53 of the Company/Batch Header record (type 5), so every entry in the batch shares it, and a file that mixes SEC codes puts them in separate batches. The batch header also carries the Company Name, Company Identification and Company Entry Description that Receivers see on their statements.

To read a PPD batch record by record, open the file in NACHA Navigator, a free sister site that parses NACHA files in your browser without uploading them.

Look up PPD from code or an AI agent

REST · GET · no key

curl -s 'https://payopskit.com/api/v1/codes/PPD?set=ach-sec'

MCP · tools/call · lookup_payment_code

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "lookup_payment_code",
    "arguments": {
      "code": "PPD",
      "set": "ach-sec"
    }
  }
}

Response (JSON)

{
  "code": "PPD",
  "set": "ach-sec",
  "found": true,
  "matches": [
    {
      "set": "ach-sec",
      "code": "PPD",
      "name": "Prearranged Payment and Deposit Entry",
      "description": "Consumer credit or debit under a standing authorization, e.g. payroll direct deposit.",
      "details": {
        "direction": "both",
        "addendaTypes": "05",
        "minAddenda": 0,
        "maxAddenda": 1
      }
    }
  ]
}

The MCP server is at /mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key); the API and MCP docs show how to connect Claude, Cursor or VS Code.

Source: Nacha Operating Rules, Appendix Three (Standard Entry Class codes). The code’s name is the Rules’ own; the rest is this site’s plain-language summary, informational and not a substitute for the Rules or your ODFI agreement.