My Richmond Fed: Making an Online Payment
When you make an online payment, whether on your phone or computer, you’re interacting with our work at the Richmond Fed and, more broadly, the Federal Reserve System. We make sure your payment gets to its intended destination reliably, securely and safely.
The Richmond Fed and other Reserve Banks are collectively the largest operator of the automated clearinghouse network, or ACH, which processes payments electronically. If you’ve ever had your payment direct deposited, received a Social Security payment or set up electronic payments for your mortgage or electric bill, you’ve used the ACH. Nearly 23 billion transactions totaling more than $51 trillion went through the ACH network last year.
We’re also responsible for moving money through wire transfers. We have a team that processes millions of wire transfers per year via a sophisticated telecommunications networking system called FedWire, which connects all Reserve Banks electronically.
Making an Online Payment is part of our My Richmond Fed video series, which demonstrates how the Fed’s work affects everyday people, every day.
