Why do ACH transfers wait until the "next business day" to process?

Short answer: ACH is an antiquated system started in 1974 that has not been updated to modern technology.

Does your bank do Zelle payments? You can do a transfer in a matter of minutes between accounts.

Zelle is directly supported by most major national banks. If your bank doesn’t support it directly, you can download the Zelle app, link your debit card, and make near instant transfers.