How to make ACH transfers faster

Quick answer:

The fastest way to move money by ACH is to push the funds from the account where the money is currently held.

Example

Instead of using the Envelope app to pull money in from Chase, you'd use the Chase app/website to push the money to Envelope.

Why pushing is faster than pulling

ACH pushes are usually faster because the sending bank can directly confirm the funds exist and the transfer is authorized. They often take 1–2 business days, and may arrive even sooner depending on the bank’s ACH processing windows.

What's the fastest possible ACH push?

2 hours into Envelope was the fastest ACH push we've seen. This was initiated early in the morning (before ACH windows closed) from an institution that had same-day ACH transfers enabled.

How long do pulls take?

ACH pulls are slower and can take up to 5 business days. A pull means Envelope is requesting money from another bank account, which carries more return and fraud risk. Because of that, ACH pulls are subject to a $1,000 ACH pull limit for new users.

For the fastest transfer, use the bank or app where the money is already held and send the funds to Envelope from there.