ACH Direct Debit

ACH Direct Debit lets customers in the United States pay directly from their bank account instead of using a card. It runs on the Automated Clearing House network and is offered on USD checkouts for one-time payments.

Why Offer ACH Direct Debit?

Lower Processing Cost

Bank debits typically cost less to process than card payments, especially on high-value orders.

No Card Required

Reach US customers who prefer paying from a bank account or who don’t want to use a card for large purchases.

Higher Value Orders

The cost advantage over cards grows with order value, making ACH well suited to large one-time purchases.

Overview

Detail	Value
Billing Currency	USD
Supported Countries	United States
Subscriptions	No
Min Amount	$0.50
Settlement	4 business days

ACH Direct Debit is not instant. A payment takes 4 business days to confirm, so do not treat authorization as settlement — fulfill only once the payment reaches a succeeded state.

How It Works

Customer Experience

Customer selects ACH Direct Debit at checkout
Customer authorizes the debit against their US bank account
The payment is submitted to the ACH network and enters a processing state
Clearing completes over the following business days
The payment moves to a succeeded state, or fails if the bank returns it

Because clearing is asynchronous, rely on webhooks to learn the final outcome rather than the checkout redirect. A successful redirect only means the customer authorized the debit.The payment emits payment.processing once the debit is submitted, then payment.succeeded or payment.failed when clearing completes. Only payment.succeeded is safe to fulfill on.

Availability

ACH Direct Debit appears at checkout when all of the following are true:

Billing currency is USD
Billing country is US
The transaction is a one-time payment

ACH Direct Debit is not available for subscriptions. Its multi-day clearing window makes it unsuitable for recurring billing cycles. For recurring payments, use cards or another method that supports subscriptions — see the Payment Methods overview.

Configuration

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [{ product_id: 'pdt_123', quantity: 1 }],
  allowed_payment_method_types: ['ach', 'credit', 'debit'],
  billing_currency: 'USD',
  billing_address: {
    country: 'US',
    zipcode: '94102'
  },
  return_url: 'https://example.com/success'
});

ACH Direct Debit requires a USD billing currency and a US billing address. If you quote your prices in another currency, enable Adaptive Currency so US customers are billed in USD and ACH becomes available.

API Method Type

Type	Method	Country
`ach`	ACH Direct Debit	United States

Refunds and Disputes

Refunds and disputes for ACH payments use the same APIs and dashboard flows as every other payment method — there is no ACH-specific handling to implement.

Because ACH payments can be returned by the customer’s bank after they appear to have gone through, avoid issuing refunds until the original payment has reached a succeeded state.

Testing

Enable test mode

Use your Dodo Payments test API keys.

Set currency and billing address

Set the billing currency to USD and the billing address country to US.

Include `ach` in allowed methods

Pass ach in allowed_payment_method_types, or omit the field entirely to show every eligible method.

Enter the test bank details

Enter one of the test routing and account number pairs below, then confirm your webhook handler receives the final payment status.

Test Bank Accounts

Customers enter their account and routing number directly at checkout. In test mode, use the routing number 110000000 with any of the account numbers below to force a specific outcome.

Account Number	Routing Number	Behavior
`000123456789`	`110000000`	The payment succeeds.
`000222222227`	`110000000`	The payment fails due to insufficient funds.
`000111111113`	`110000000`	The payment fails because the account is closed.
`000111111116`	`110000000`	The payment fails because no account is found.
`000333333335`	`110000000`	The payment fails because debits aren’t authorized on the account.
`000444444440`	`110000000`	The payment fails due to an invalid currency.
`000555555559`	`110000000`	The payment succeeds, then triggers a dispute.
`000000000009`	`110000000`	The payment stays in processing indefinitely, which is useful for exercising a pending-state UI.

Most test payments reach a final status far faster than the live clearing window, so you don’t need to wait days to verify your integration. The exception is 000000000009, which is designed to stay in processing.

Best Practices

Don't fulfill on authorization

ACH authorization is not payment. Wait for the payment to reach a succeeded state before granting access or shipping — a debit can still be returned by the customer’s bank.

Set customer expectations at checkout

Tell customers that bank payments don’t clear instantly. This reduces support tickets asking why an order is still pending.

Provide card fallbacks

Always include credit and debit alongside ach so customers who need instant access to your product can choose a faster method.

Use ACH for high-value one-time purchases

The cost advantage of ACH grows with order value, so it is most useful on large one-time purchases rather than small ones.

Troubleshooting

ACH not appearing at checkout

Check:

Billing currency set to USD?
Customer billing country is US?
ach included in allowed_payment_method_types?
Is this a one-time payment? ACH is not offered on subscriptions.

Solution: Remove allowed_payment_method_types temporarily to see all eligible methods, then verify the billing currency and address country in your API request.

ACH not appearing on a subscription checkout

Cause: ACH Direct Debit is only offered for one-time payments.Solution: Use cards or another subscription-capable method for recurring billing.

Payment stuck in processing

Cause: This is expected. ACH payments remain in a processing state for the full clearing window, far longer than card payments.Solution: Wait for the final webhook. Do not retry the payment — retrying can debit the customer twice.

Payment failed after initially succeeding at checkout

Cause: The customer’s bank returned the debit — most commonly for insufficient funds or a closed account.Solution: Treat the payment as failed and ask the customer to retry with another payment method. Always gate fulfillment on the succeeded state to avoid this.

Payment Methods Overview

See all supported payment methods.

Adaptive Currency

Currency support and automatic conversion.

Checkout Guide

Complete checkout implementation guide.

Webhooks

Handle delayed payment confirmations asynchronously.

Getting Started

Features

Integrate

Merchant of Record

Miscellaneous

Why Offer ACH Direct Debit?

Lower Processing Cost

No Card Required

Higher Value Orders

Overview

How It Works

Customer Experience

Availability

Configuration

API Method Type

Refunds and Disputes

Testing

Test Bank Accounts

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Payment Methods Overview

Adaptive Currency

Checkout Guide

Webhooks

​Why Offer ACH Direct Debit?

Lower Processing Cost

No Card Required

Higher Value Orders

​Overview

​How It Works

​Customer Experience

​Availability

​Configuration

​API Method Type

​Refunds and Disputes

​Testing

​Test Bank Accounts

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Related Pages

Payment Methods Overview

Adaptive Currency

Checkout Guide

Webhooks

Why Offer ACH Direct Debit?

Overview

How It Works

Customer Experience

Availability

Configuration

API Method Type

Refunds and Disputes

Testing

Test Bank Accounts

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Related Pages