ACH authorization
Your permission for a lender to pull payments from your bank account — which you can revoke.
What "ach authorization" means
ACH (Automated Clearing House) authorization is the consent you give a lender to automatically debit your checking account for payments. Tribal lenders rely on it, and complaints commonly describe debits hitting a day early or continuing after a loan is paid off.
You have the right to revoke ACH authorization at any time, in writing, even while you still owe the debt — and to instruct your bank to block the debits under Regulation E. Some lenders keep trying after a revocation, so do both.
ACH authorization — frequently asked
What is an ACH authorization?
It is the permission you give a lender to pull payments directly from your checking account on a schedule. It is a separate agreement from the loan itself — which matters, because you can withdraw the permission without cancelling the debt.
How do I revoke an ACH authorization?
Tell the lender in writing that you revoke it and keep a copy, then separately give your bank a stop-payment order. Under Regulation E a bank must honour a stop-payment request on a pre-authorised electronic transfer if you give at least three business days' notice before the scheduled date. Ask for written confirmation.
Does revoking the ACH cancel the loan?
No, and lenders often blur the two. Revoking stops the automatic withdrawals; you still owe whatever is legally owed. What it buys you is control over when and how you pay — which matters when repeated debits are triggering overdraft fees that cost more than the payment.
Is ACH the same as a normal bank transfer?
It is the same network that carries direct deposits and most bill payments, but a pre-authorised ACH debit is a standing permission rather than a one-off transfer. That standing permission is what you can revoke, and it is why a revoked authorisation does not stop a lender trying a debit-card charge or a remotely created check instead.