Every ACH transaction carries a NACHA Standard Entry Class (SEC) code that describes how the payer authorized it. The authorization you collected (written, online, or over the phone) and whether the account holder is a consumer or a corporate entity together decide the SEC code and the addenda rules PCE applies when it builds the NACHA file.

Use this reference when you set the authorization type on a Collect via ACH or Pay via ACH request, so the transaction is classified correctly at the network.

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Authorization type to SEC code

The table maps each combination of movement direction, account holder type, and authorization type to its SEC code and addenda limit.

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Addenda rules

The addenda field carries remittance information alongside the ACH entry. The following rules apply to every SEC code:

• Only ASCII characters are supported in the addenda field.
• To send multiple addenda records, pass them as elements in an array in the API request.
• Each addenda record is limited to 80 characters.
• If an addenda record exceeds 80 characters, PCE automatically splits it after the 80th character and inserts a pipe (|) to mark the continuation.
• Both the pipe (|) and newline (\n) characters act as separators, so each addenda line starts on a new line.
• Any leading or trailing spaces in an addenda record are removed before the NACHA file is sent to the network.

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See also

• Collect via ACH: pull funds from a payer with authorization
• Pay via ACH: send funds to a third party by ACH
• Transaction lifecycle: statuses, tracking, and the good-funds period