Account information service and payment initiation service
In 365 business Banking, every bank account has two separate connections: one that retrieves transactions and one that makes payments. Each connection can use a different route.
This separation determines where your bank statements come from and where your payments are sent. It also lets you process both over different bank connections.
Two fields on the bank account card
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Account Information Service | Source of bank statements, balances and account details (AIS) |
| Payment Initiation Service | Destination of credit transfers, direct debits and standing orders (PIS) |
You do not fill in these fields manually. They are set when you connect the bank account with the Connect Bank Account wizard. You can change them later under Banking Provider > Change Banking Services.
No changes for your users
The payment suggestion, Carry Out Payment, Retrieve Bank Transactions and applying entries in the payment reconciliation journal are the same regardless of the service used. These two fields alone determine which service processes the operations.
How the services interact
| Bank connection | As account information service | As payment initiation service | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSD2/XS2A via finAPI | SEPA Bank Account: transactions are retrieved | SEPA Bank Account: approval by TAN in the web form | Company bank access, online banking credentials |
| EBICS | SEPA Bank Account (EBICS): statements are retrieved | SEPA Bank Account (EBICS): electronic signature with your key; in addition to SEPA orders, also foreign and Euro urgent credit transfers if your EBICS contract includes them | EBICS participant, EBICS contract, EBICS Connection license |
| camt / pain File | Bank Account (camt File Import): you import the file | Bank Account (pain File Export): you upload the file to your bank | only the IBAN of the bank account |
| Payment service providers | PayPal, Stripe, Adyen, Mollie, Klarna, Shopify, Unzer, Amazon Pay | PayPal, Stripe, Adyen: collection from the customer | the provider's credentials |
| Universal (CSV transaction file) | Universal: you import the CSV file | not available | a description of the file |
This results in three rules on which the rest of this documentation is based:
- Retrieving and paying are two separate routes. In most cases, both lead to the same service. This is not mandatory, see Combine banking services.
- An access belongs to the route, not to the bank account. finAPI requires a bank access, EBICS an EBICS participant, and the file route no access. Therefore, set up the access once before you connect the first bank account.
- Verification of payee is tied to the company bank access, not to your bank accounts. It runs via finAPI even when your own accounts are kept via EBICS or by file. Therefore, always set up the company bank access.
Which services can be combined
The account information service and the payment initiation service can differ, as long as both follow the same scheme:
| Scheme | Account information service | Payment initiation service |
|---|---|---|
| SEPA | SEPA Bank Account, SEPA Bank Account (EBICS), Bank Account (camt File Import) | SEPA Bank Account, SEPA Bank Account (EBICS), Bank Account (pain File Export) |
| International | Bank Account (camt File Import) | Bank Account (pain File Export) |
| Payment service provider | exactly one service per provider | the same provider or none |
SWIFT via Cobase from version 18.5
From version 18.5, 365 business Banking also connects bank accounts via SWIFT. The provider is Cobase; bank statements and payments outside the SEPA area are supported. For more information, see SWIFT payments via Cobase.
An EBICS account follows the SEPA scheme. It also submits foreign credit transfers if your bank offers the corresponding order (AXZ/XCT). Business Central decides per payment whether it is sent as a SEPA or a foreign credit transfer. See Payments via EBICS.
For a file account, the Payment Scheme field in the ISO 20022 File Setup determines which scheme it follows: SEPA or International.
A bank account at a payment service provider is always retrieved by that provider. If the provider supports collections, payments are also processed through it. Therefore, the Change Banking Services action is not available for such accounts.
If two services cannot be combined, Business Central rejects the combination with the following message: "The … account information service cannot be combined with the … payment initiation service on the same bank account."
Where you see and change the services
On the Bank Account Card:
- Account Information Service and Payment Initiation Service: the two services.
- Connection: a summary of where statements come from and where payments are sent.
- FastTab Banking Interfaces: the technical routes to the bank, Statements read over and Payments sent over (for example XS2A or EBICS).
- Banking Provider > Change Banking Services: change one of the two services.
All fields are described on Bank account card.