EBICS contacts
Info
Direct link: konfipay (DE) | konfipay (CH)
Navigation path: Master data > EBICS contacts
Quick navigation: EBICS-Kontakte/EBICS-Kontakte anlegen
User groups: Admin, Full access, User
Required permissions: Display/enter/edit/delete EBICS contacts
General information
This menu item lists all owned EBICS contacts of a client. If the bank communication for an account is not done via SRZ, these contacts are necessary from a technical perspective for konfipay to submit payments and direct debits as well as to retrieve transactions.
EBICS contact overview with option to retrieve transactions (1), to add
contacts (2), and other options (3)
Add EBICS contact
If a client’s accounts are intended to be connected via SRZ, it is not necessary to set up a separate EBICS contact. In that case, the bank account creation in konfipay is sufficient.
Connection information
To set up an EBICS contact in konfipay, some connection information from the bank is needed first. Most important are the host ID, server address, partner ID and user ID. It should be noted that the customer access via EBICS must first be created by the bank before it can be set up in konfipay.
If host ID and server address are not available, they can also be looked up in konfipay using the business identifier code (BIC).
EBICS contact setup with option to look up
host ID (1) and restrict permissions (2).
Permissions of the EBICS contact
When setting up, the permissions for the EBICS contact must be defined. It is possible to differentiate between transmission, retrieval and bank account synchronization. These settings can be modified later for an EBICS contact via Edit.
Transmission means the sending of files, typically payment orders, to the bank by means of the EBICS contact. Retrieval includes the retrieval of files such as transaction files from the bank. Bank account synchronization means the transfer of the account list, which is provided by the bank, to konfipay. This way, bank accounts do not need to be created manually after setting up the EBICS connection.
Initialization with the bank
After the initial creation of an EBICS contact, it is usually necessary to carry out further setup steps for initialization with the bank. These steps may in some cases be omitted if the EBICS contact has already been set up at the bank via konfipay.
The setup window can be found when selecting an EBICS contact in the overview under the other options (three dots).
Options for initializing an EBICS contact
Initialization step | Description | |
|---|---|---|
1 | Initialize | In this step, konfipay contacts the bank's EBICS server for the first time. konfipay creates a key with which it identifies itself to the bank. |
2 | Download initialization letters | The so-called ini letters are created during the initialization and can be downloaded here. They contain the key with which konfipay identifies itself to the bank. The letters must be signed and given to the bank so that they can unlock the key of konfipay on their side. |
3 | Retrieve bank key | After the bank has received the ini-letters and activated the keys, the last step is to retrieve the bank key here. When this has been done, the bank and konfipay can communicate and the setup of the EBICS contact is completed. |
Reset contact | If necessary, the EBICS contact can be reset in konfipay. Then the initialization can be performed again. |
Order types of the EBICS contact
The order types set up for the contact are automatically retrieved during initialization and set up in konfipay. If changes have to be made here, this can be done under order types.
In some cases, the automatic download of order types (HTD file) is not available on the part of the bank. In this case, konfipay uses a set of predefined order types. These can be modified under Available if required.
A distinction is made between order types for transmission, retrieval, and retrieval (miscellaneous). Each category can be edited under its own tab. Under the tab Available you will find a list of the order types provided by the bank during initialization.
Exemplary overview of the order types for transfer
Assigned bank accounts
Under the further options (three dots), the assigned bank accounts for an EBICS contact can be displayed. Generally, bank accounts are also automatically assigned to the appropriate EBICS contact via the retrieval of the account list via EBICS.
The assignment of a bank account is relevant for the sending of files. An assignment of a bank account to an EBICS contact has the consequence that files for this account are sent via the assigned EBICS contact. For the file retrieval (i.e. account transactions), the assignment does not play a role, since the bank delivers those turnovers that are stored for the corresponding EBICS contact.
The assignment of a bank account to an EBICS contact can manually be undone via Resolve assignment.
Overview of the bank accounts assigned to an EBICS contact with the option to add a bank account (1)
and further options (2)
Assign bank account to EBICS contact
If a bank account is to be assigned to an EBICS contact, this can be done via manual creation of an account. The steps for manual account creation are described under bank accounts.
Also, a bank account can be selected for assignment from existing bank accounts. By default, the list then only shows those bank accounts that are not assigned to an EBICS or SRZ access. When a bank account is selected, this is then assigned to the corresponding EBICS contact. If required, the bank accounts that are already assigned to another EBICS contact can also be displayed.
Another option for assigning bank accounts is the automatic synchronization with the list of accounts of the bank. This account list is retrieved and missing bank accounts are automatically assigned to the corresponding EBICS access.
Fixing bank accounts
Fixing a bank account to an EBICS contact prevents automatic assignment of a bank account to another EBICS contact based on the account list provided by the credit institution. This automatic assignment takes place every night.
The automatic synchronization of bank accounts can also be deactivated for EBICS contacts. However, this has the consequence that new bank accounts are no longer automatically created in konfipay - in this case, new accounts must always be entered and assigned manually.
So if a bank account could be accessed via different EBICS contacts, and is included in the automatically retrieved account list of various EBICS contacts, the automatic reassignment to another contact can be prevented via the fixation. Via the button Fix respectively Undo fixation this setting can be made.
Communication
Under communication, all upload as well as download operations of an EBICS contact are documented. These are differentiated by the order type. The search field allows a further limitation according to e.g. order type, code or meaning. Via the three dots, the original EBICS requests and EBICS responses can be displayed or downloaded.
Overview of the communication of an EBICS contact
Protocols
The Protocols menu item lists all received HAC logs of an EBICS contact. The HAC log contains information on the processing status of a payment and is necessary for the payment status to be displayed under payment transactions.
The protocols overview shows whether the payment associated with a HAC log was accepted or rejected. The original HAC log can be viewed or downloaded for analysis purposes. It can also be viewed via Entries to be displayed in konfipay, breaking down the individual transfer steps of a payment.
The assignment of a HAC log to the payment works by using the order number, which is a four-digit combination of letters and numbers. If required, the HAC logs can also be filtered to this order number.
Log overview with job number filter (1) and further options (2)
Import and export EBICS contact
Provided that a user has the required permissions, an EBICS contact can be created via the further options exports can be used. For this purpose, note the permissions of the individual user groups. This is helpful if the same contact is to be used for another konfipay client.
When exporting an EBICS contact, a transport password and an EBICS password must be assigned. Both passwords are necessary to import and use the contact in a different client.
EBICS contacts are sensitive files, which must be protected from unauthorized access. Whoever has the contact file as well as the export passwords, can potentially transmit unauthorized payments via EBICS!
An EBICS-contact exported from konfipay cannot be imported into the VEU portal if an EBICS-contact has already been created there for the same user.
For the import into windata professional / windata as a Service, a new EBICS participant has to be created in order to import the EBICS contact.
However, an EBICS contact exported from windata professional 9 SQL, windata as a Service or VEU portal can be imported into konfipay without any problems.