# US payment methods for funding your financial account

Your US financial account can receive funds over two payment networks: ACH and Fedwire. Both use the same account details: the routing number and account number found in the Stripe Dashboard under **Financial account** > **Account details**.
## ACH
ACH (Automated Clearing House) is the network behind direct deposits, bill payments, and the majority of business-to-business fund movements. Virtually every US bank account can send and receive ACH.
ACH processes in batches throughout the business day rather than individually, which is why transfers can take up to three business days to settle. It operates on US business days only. There are no fees for ACH transfers.
There are two ways to move money via ACH:
- **ACH Credit (push):** You instruct your bank to push funds to your Stripe financial account. You control the timing and amount entirely. Depending on your bank, you may be able to send these as Same Day ACH for faster settlement.
- **ACH Debit (pull):** You authorize Stripe to pull funds from your external bank account. Useful for recurring or scheduled top-ups without involving your bank each time.
**Best for:** Regular, predictable top-ups where a 0-3 day window is acceptable.
## Fedwire
Fedwire is the Federal Reserve's settlement system for same-day, high-value wire transfers. Unlike ACH's batch processing, each Fedwire payment settles individually and immediately - funds arrive at Stripe within minutes of your bank submitting the transfer.
Fedwire operates on US business days during Federal Reserve hours. To receive same-day credit, your bank must submit the wire before **5pm ET** - and your bank's own internal cutoff is typically earlier, often 4-4:30pm ET. There is no upper limit on Fedwire transfer amounts.
A 2 USD fee applies per incoming Fedwire, deducted from the transferred amount or billed separately depending on your account configuration.
**Best for:** Large or time-sensitive transfers where same-day settlement is required.
## Which method should I use?
- Situation
- Recommended method
---
- Regular recurring top-ups
- ACH Debit (pull) — set up once, repeat easily
---
- One-off large transfer
- ACH Credit or Fedwire
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- Funds needed same day
- Fedwire (before 5 pm ET)
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- Minimize fees
- ACH Debit or ACH Credit (both have no fee)
## Comparison
|             | ACH               | Fedwire       |
| ----------- | ----------------- | ------------- |
| Speed       | 0-3 business days | Same day      |
| Availablity | Business days     | Business days |
| Amount cap  | Bank-dependent    | None          |
| Fee         | None              | 2 USD         |