ACH Payments (Bank Pull)

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the primary payment method on Play Money. When an investor invests via ACH, the platform automatically pulls money from the investor's linked bank account -- the investor doesn't need to take any action after committing to the investment.

How ACH Payments Work

From the Investor's Perspective

1. The investor links their bank account through Plaid during onboarding or before investing.
2. They commit to an investment and confirm the amount.
3. That's it -- the platform handles the rest. They'll see the payment deducted from their bank account within 1-3 business days.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

1. Investment committed -- the investor submits their investment.
2. Readiness evaluated -- the system checks if everything is in order (identity verified, SPV open, bank account registered with the payment provider). See Verification & Readiness.
3. ACH debit initiated -- once ready, the system submits an ACH debit instruction to the payment provider. This creates a Payment Order with method "ACH Debit".
4. Payment submitted -- the payment provider accepts the instruction and begins processing.
5. Payment processing -- the ACH network processes the transfer. This typically takes 1-3 business days.
6. Payment completed -- the money arrives in the SPV's virtual account. The payment order status moves to "completed" and the investment becomes "funded."

Timeline

Note: ACH timing depends on banking hours and the specific banks involved. Weekends and bank holidays can add time.

ACH Payment Order Details

An ACH payment order has:

• Direction: Inbound (money coming into the platform)
• Payment Method: "ACH Debit" (platform pulls from investor's bank)
• Source: The investor's bank account
• Destination: The SPV's virtual account
• Purpose: Usually "initial" (first payment) or "supplemental" (for investment increases)

What Can Go Wrong

ACH payments can fail for several reasons:

• Insufficient funds (NSF) -- the investor's bank account doesn't have enough money. The system will automatically retry. See Failed Payments & Retries.
• Account closed -- the investor's bank account has been closed.
• Authorization revoked -- the investor revoked the ACH authorization with their bank.
• Provider errors -- technical issues with the payment provider. The system will automatically retry.

What Admins Should Know

• ACH is automatic -- you don't need to initiate ACH payments manually. The system handles everything once the investment is committed and readiness checks pass.
• Failures are handled automatically -- the retry system handles most failures without admin intervention. You'll only be notified when retries are exhausted.
• ACH returns can happen days later -- even after a payment appears to complete, the investor's bank can return the ACH debit (typically within 2-3 business days). This is handled as a "returned" payment. See Payment Statuses.
• The investor does nothing -- unlike wire transfers, ACH requires no action from the investor after they commit. This is the preferred payment method for simplicity.