How to Update Your ACH Direct Debit Settings for NACHA Compliance

Starting in 2026, NACHA (the organization that governs ACH payments in the U.S.) introduced new rules requiring ACH Direct Debit transactions to include a classification that identifies whether a payment is for goods, services, or other purposes.

If you accept ACH Direct Debit payments through WP Simple Pay, you may have received an email from Stripe about this change. The good news is that no changes are needed in WP Simple Pay. You just need to configure a single setting in your Stripe Dashboard.

What Changed

NACHA now requires that ACH Direct Debit transactions include a classification in the Company Entry Description field. Stripe handles this automatically based on a setting in your Stripe Dashboard.

What You Need to Do

1. Log in to your Stripe Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Settings > Payment Methods > ACH Direct Debit.
3. Find the ACH Classification setting.
4. Choose the option that best describes your business:

• Auto-classify – Stripe will automatically determine the classification based on your business type and transaction details. This is the recommended option for most users.
• All goods – Select this if all of your payments are for physical or digital products.
• No goods – Select this if your payments are for services, donations, or other non-goods transactions.

That’s it! This is a one-time configuration that applies to all ACH Direct Debit transactions on your Stripe account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to update WP Simple Pay?

No. WP Simple Pay already uses Stripe’s current Payment Intents API for ACH Direct Debit payments. No plugin update or configuration change is needed.

Do I need to edit my payment forms?

No. Your existing payment forms will continue to work as they do today. The ACH classification is handled at the Stripe account level, not at the individual form level.

What happens if I don’t configure this setting?

If you don’t explicitly choose a classification, Stripe will attempt to auto-classify your transactions based on available signals about your business. However, we recommend setting it manually to make sure your transactions are classified correctly.

Which option should I choose?

• Nonprofits and charities collecting donations should select No goods or Auto-classify.
• Service providers (consultants, agencies, freelancers) should select No goods or Auto-classify.
• Online stores selling physical or digital products should select All goods.
• Businesses that sell both goods and services should select Auto-classify and let Stripe determine the classification.

I received an email from Stripe about migrating to the Payment Intents API. Is that related?

Stripe sometimes sends these emails in connection with the NACHA compliance changes. If you are running a current version of WP Simple Pay (v4.10 or later), your plugin already uses the Payment Intents API. Simply configure the ACH Classification setting in your Stripe Dashboard as described above, and you are all set.

Where can I learn more about accepting ACH payments with WP Simple Pay?

See our guide on Accepting ACH Debit Payments for full setup instructions.