ACH Transfers: What It Costs to Send Yourself Money Between Banks Online

If you have accounts at two different banks and you want to move money between them online, you’ll first want to know whether this kind of Automated Clearing House transfer will cost you a fee.

ACH transfers refer to various money transfers, including direct deposits of your paycheck and person-to-person payments. While banks generally don’t charge for those, when you want to send money to yourself through what’s often called an external funds transfer, fees sometimes come into play.

Here’s a look at the fees and processing times for these online ACH transfers at some big U.S. banks and credit unions.

External funds transfer fees by financial institution

Financial institution	Cost (in both directions unless specified)	Approximate processing times*
Alliant Credit Union	$0	1-2 business days
Ally Bank	$0	3 business days
Bank of America	From external account: $0 To external account: $3 To external account (next day): $10	3 business days; option for next-day delivery
Bank5Connect	From external account: $0 To external account: $3	3 business days
BB&T	To/from external account: $3 To/from external account (next day): $10	3 business days; option for next-day delivery
BBVA Compass Bank	From external account: $0 To external account: $3	Up to 3 business days
Capital One 360 Bank	$0	2 business days
Chase	$0	1-2 business days
Citibank	$0	1-3 business days
Connexus Credit Union	$0	Up to 3 business days
Discover Bank	$0	3 business days
First Internet Bank of Indiana	From external account: $0 To external account: $5	Up to 3 business days
HSBC Bank	$0	3 business days
Nationwide	$0	2-3 business days
Navy Federal Credit Union	$0	1-2 business days
Pentagon Federal Credit Union	From external account: $0 To external account: $5	1-2 business days
PNC Bank	$0	3 business days
Simple Bank	$0	From Simple: 1-2 business days To Simple: 3-4 business days
SunTrust Bank	From external account: $0 To external account: $3 To external account (next day): $6	Up to 3 business days; option for next-day delivery
TD Bank	From external account: $0 To external account: $3 To/from external account (next day): $7	3 business days; option for next-day delivery
Union Bank	$0	3 business days (but if it's to an account you don't own, 2 business days)
U.S. Bank	From external account: $0 To external account: Up to $3 From external account (next day): $5	2-3 business days; option for next-day delivery
Wells Fargo	From external account: $0 To external account: $3 To external account (next day): $10	3 business days; option for next-day delivery

*These are the total outgoing and incoming transfer times when initiated through online banking, according to each financial institution’s disclosures and general policies. Longer delays can still occur because of holding periods and other reasons.

» MORE: See our guide to ACH transfers to learn more about the basics

ACH transfer vs. wire transfer

Using an ACH transfer between your bank accounts is either free or costs a few bucks, making it cheaper than a wire transfer. That service has fees of about $25 to $40 for sending (“outgoing”) and $10 for receiving (“incoming”). Although ACH transfers usually don’t have incoming fees, they can take several days to deliver as opposed to the minutes that wire transfers take.

Free service at many online-only banks

There’s a trend of online-only banks such as Ally Bank and Capital One 360 not charging for these types of ACH transfers. These banks have an incentive to make them free since paper checks and cash deposits can be difficult for online banks to deal with.

“If you couldn’t move money in and out easily, you wouldn’t use” their service, says Lee Kyriacou, managing director at the banking analytics and advisory firm Novantas in New York City.

Cost of assisted transfers

Another aspect of pricing is the cost of getting help to make one of these ACH transfers. Some banks, such as PNC Bank, charge a few dollars for transfers that involve assistance from a customer service representative.

In general, knowing the cost of ACH transfers between your bank accounts — and which banks don’t charge for them — might help you save money. Although the typical fee is only $3, you’ll want to avoid having this or any bank fee add up over time.

Spencer Tierney is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: spencer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SpencerNerd.

This article was updated. It was originally published Sept. 9, 2015.

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METHODOLOGY

We looked at the 15 largest banks by assets and eliminated those without a significant retail banking presence. We also included financial institutions in the country’s five largest metro areas and several of the largest online-only banks that offer a full suite of checking and savings products. We rounded out the list with some of the country’s biggest credit unions with broad-based memberships.