What is the ACH Return Rates Report?

What is the ACH Return Rates Report?

• Nov 18, 2025
• Knowledge

Information

Understanding ACH Return Rates
ACH return rates are a measure of how often payments initiated through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network are rejected or returned to the sender. This can happen for various reasons, such as insufficient funds, closed accounts or incorrect account information. You can learn more about ACH returns in our ACH Operational Guide.

Why is it important to keep return rates low?

• Financial Impact: High return rates can lead to increased fees, penalties and operational costs.
• Reputation Damage: Returns can tarnish your business's reputation and erode customer trust.
• Regulatory Compliance: Many industries have specific regulations regarding ACH return rates, and non-compliance can result in fines or other penalties.

The ACH Return Rates Report
In the Dwolla Dashboard, the ACH Return Rates Report provides you with detailed information about the performance of your ACH payments. This report includes data on three key return rates:

1. Unauthorized Return Rate: This measures the percentage of returns due to unauthorized transactions. Return Reason Codes for Unauthorized include R05, R07, R10, R11, R29 and R51. Nacha's threshold rate for these returns is 0.5%.

2. Administrative Return Rate: This measures the percentage of returns due to administrative errors, such as incorrect account information or routing numbers. Administrative Return Reason Codes include R02, R03 and R04. Nacha's threshold rate for these returns is 3.0%.

3. Overall Return Rate: This measures the total percentage of all ACH payments that were returned. Nacha's threshold rate for all returns is 15.0%.

How are these rates calculated?
The return rates are calculated as follows:

• Unauthorized Return Rate: (Number of unauthorized debits returned / Total number of debits originated) * 100
  Example: Over the past 60 days, you originated 100,000 debits and received 500 unauthorized debit returns. This would produce a 0.5% unauthorized return rate.
• Administrative Return Rate: (Number of administrative debits returned / Total number of debits originated) * 100
  Example: Over the past 60 days, you originated 100,000 debits and received 3,000 administrative debit returns. This would produce a 3% administrative return rate.
• Overall Return Rate: (Number of debits returned / Total number of debits originated) * 100
  Example: Over the past 60 days, you originated 100,000 debits and received 15,000 debit returns. This would produce a 15% overall return rate.

How can I access the ACH Return Reports?

• Via the Dwolla Dashboard, you can navigate to dashboard.dwolla.com/reports to access both the ACH Returns and Micro-deposit Returns reports.
• The reports default to the UTC/GMT time zone but can be adjusted via the selector in the top right corner of the page.

Using the Report to Optimize Your ACH Processes
By analyzing these return rates, you can identify potential areas for improvement in your ACH processing and customer management practices. For example, if you see high return rates for R01 (insufficient funds) or R02 (account closed), you might consider implementing open banking features to perform real-time balance checks before pulling funds. If you need to investigate individual returns, you can use the ACH Returns Report or Micro-deposit Returns Report for more detailed information.

By understanding and addressing the factors that contribute to ACH returns, you can reduce your costs, protect your reputation and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

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