Move money externally

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Idempotency-Key: <idempotency-key>' \
  --data '
{
  "source_account_id": "<string>",
  "destination_account_id": "<string>",
  "amount": 123,
  "description": "<string>"
}
'

import requests

url = "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer"

payload = {
    "source_account_id": "<string>",
    "destination_account_id": "<string>",
    "amount": 123,
    "description": "<string>"
}
headers = {
    "Idempotency-Key": "<idempotency-key>",
    "Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Idempotency-Key': '<idempotency-key>',
    Authorization: 'Bearer <token>',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    source_account_id: '<string>',
    destination_account_id: '<string>',
    amount: 123,
    description: '<string>'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'source_account_id' => '<string>',
    'destination_account_id' => '<string>',
    'amount' => 123,
    'description' => '<string>'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json",
    "Idempotency-Key: <idempotency-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer"

	payload := strings.NewReader("{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("Idempotency-Key", "<idempotency-key>")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer")
  .header("Idempotency-Key", "<idempotency-key>")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Idempotency-Key"] = '<idempotency-key>'
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "id": "ach_transfer_Lk7nQx4mVp9bRt3d",
  "account_id": "account_Rv4nBt8xKw2pMh6s",
  "external_account_id": "external_account_Bx5nTm8hKw3pVd7c",
  "amount": 150000,
  "status": "submitted",
  "statement_descriptor": "Acme payroll",
  "transaction_id": null,
  "settled_at": null,
  "submission": {
    "submitted_at": "2026-03-15T14:30:00Z",
    "expected_funds_settlement_at": "2026-03-17T14:30:00Z"
  },
  "return": null
}

POST

ach-transfer

Move money externally

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Idempotency-Key: <idempotency-key>' \
  --data '
{
  "source_account_id": "<string>",
  "destination_account_id": "<string>",
  "amount": 123,
  "description": "<string>"
}
'

import requests

url = "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer"

payload = {
    "source_account_id": "<string>",
    "destination_account_id": "<string>",
    "amount": 123,
    "description": "<string>"
}
headers = {
    "Idempotency-Key": "<idempotency-key>",
    "Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Idempotency-Key': '<idempotency-key>',
    Authorization: 'Bearer <token>',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    source_account_id: '<string>',
    destination_account_id: '<string>',
    amount: 123,
    description: '<string>'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'source_account_id' => '<string>',
    'destination_account_id' => '<string>',
    'amount' => 123,
    'description' => '<string>'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json",
    "Idempotency-Key: <idempotency-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer"

	payload := strings.NewReader("{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("Idempotency-Key", "<idempotency-key>")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer")
  .header("Idempotency-Key", "<idempotency-key>")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.getlemma.com/v0/ach-transfer")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Idempotency-Key"] = '<idempotency-key>'
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"source_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"destination_account_id\": \"<string>\",\n  \"amount\": 123,\n  \"description\": \"<string>\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "id": "ach_transfer_Lk7nQx4mVp9bRt3d",
  "account_id": "account_Rv4nBt8xKw2pMh6s",
  "external_account_id": "external_account_Bx5nTm8hKw3pVd7c",
  "amount": 150000,
  "status": "submitted",
  "statement_descriptor": "Acme payroll",
  "transaction_id": null,
  "settled_at": null,
  "submission": {
    "submitted_at": "2026-03-15T14:30:00Z",
    "expected_funds_settlement_at": "2026-03-17T14:30:00Z"
  },
  "return": null
}

Creates a transfer from a Lemma account to a saved recipient — an external bank account registered in Lemma. External transfers are sent via ACH and typically settle within 1-2 business days.

Transfers over $100,000 are held for manual review by the Lemma team as a security measure to protect your accounts in the event of a compromised API key. Need higher limits? Contact us.

Headers

Idempotency-Key

string

required

A key that lets you safely retry the request without sending the same ACH transfer more than once. See Idempotency.

Request body

source_account_id

string

required

The ID of the Lemma account to send money from.

destination_account_id

string

required

The ID of a saved recipient. You cannot send money to an arbitrary bank account — it must be a pre-registered recipient belonging to your provider.

amount

integer

required

The amount to transfer in cents. Must be greater than zero.

description

string

A description for the transfer. Appears on the sender’s transaction history.

Response

Returns the created ACH transfer object.

string

Unique identifier for the ACH transfer.

account_id

string

The Lemma account the transfer moves money from or to.

external_account_id

string | null

The external account on the other side of the transfer.

amount

integer

The transfer amount in cents. A positive amount indicates a credit transfer pushing funds to the receiving account. A negative amount indicates a debit transfer pulling funds from the receiving account (an ACH pull).

status

string

Current status of the ACH transfer.

Show possible values

pending — in flight.
submitted — sent to the ACH network. When the Federal Reserve settles the transfer, the status stays submitted and settled_at is populated.
canceled — we canceled the transfer after holding it for manual review.
rejected — the ACH network rejected the transfer.
returned — the transfer was returned.

statement_descriptor

string

The statement descriptor shown to the counterparty.

transaction_id

string | null

The settled transaction, once the transfer posts.

settled_at

string | null

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the transfer settled.

submission

object | null

Submission details, once the transfer reaches the ACH network.

Show Submission object

submitted_at

string

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the transfer was submitted to the ACH network.

expected_funds_settlement_at

string | null

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the funds are expected to settle.

return

object | null

Return details, if the transfer was returned.

Show Return object

raw_return_reason_code

string

The raw ACH return reason code.

return_transaction_id

string | null

The transaction created when the transfer was returned.

{
  "id": "ach_transfer_Lk7nQx4mVp9bRt3d",
  "account_id": "account_Rv4nBt8xKw2pMh6s",
  "external_account_id": "external_account_Bx5nTm8hKw3pVd7c",
  "amount": 150000,
  "status": "submitted",
  "statement_descriptor": "Acme payroll",
  "transaction_id": null,
  "settled_at": null,
  "submission": {
    "submitted_at": "2026-03-15T14:30:00Z",
    "expected_funds_settlement_at": "2026-03-17T14:30:00Z"
  },
  "return": null
}

Get ACH transfer

Getting started

Concepts

Entities

Bank Accounts

Lockbox

Check deposits

Reconciliation

Transactions

External accounts

Book transfers

ACH transfers

Move money externally

Headers

Request body

Response

​Headers

​Request body

​Response

Headers

Request body

Response