What is EBICS?

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We read an interesting overview of EBICS, which the author on SEPA for Corporates calls “the most boring article on EBICS” – we’ll let you decide for yourselves. Here is the brief on these topics:

  1. EBICS is the Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard and is widely used in Germany;
  2. EBICS History:
    – 2003 EBICS deployments start in Germany;
    – 2008 EBICS is mandatory for banks in Germany;
    – 2011 French banks are required to complete their standard to EBICS;
    – 2015 Switzerland joins EBICS;
    – 2020 Austria joins EBICS;
  3. EBICS is a solution that offers a single, common, and open standard for corporates to connect with ALL of their banks in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland;
  4. How is EBICS set up? Your bank guides and supports you with your EBICS implementation;
  5. What File Formats does EBICS Support? SWIFT MT messages (MT101 and MT940) and ISO20022 XML.

Source SEPA for Corporates

Sometimes, I want to make sure I totally understand an article in a foreign langurs, so I simply copy paste the text into deepl.com, the best translation tool I know.

Success Story: Webshop with Fully Automated Reconciled Payment Flows

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Tomato’s client Airport Casino Basel has been owner of a casino near the Basel Airport for more than 20 years. The Swiss Federal vote in 2018 allowed online casinos in Switzerland for Swiss inhabitants. Most of the already built online casino platforms have hundreds (later thousands) of bank payments daily, in and out, with manual imports and exports of the payment files with Mastercard, Visa, Twint (Swiss peer-to-peer-tool), and vouchers such as Paysafecard and Aplauz.

Casino Basel CFO has known about Tomato’s high reputation in process optimization and fully automated processes, as well as the staff’s in-depth expertise in handling credit card payments for more than 20 years. 
A hands-on approach and many test transactions at other casinos by Tomato staff are a part of our experience.

After the 1,5-year greenfield approach, Online Casino Basel with its brand www.goldengrand.ch has been live since mid-December 2021. This after November 2021, the Swiss ESBK (the Federal Commission of Gaming) checked all the processes and granted the green light.

Now, ONE HOUR after midnight, Casino Basel has all daily transactions booked in its ERP and is able to balance the gross-game earnings, daily!

All transactions are reconciled by a pre-system which first collects all the payment data via EBICS from Mastercard, Visa, Twint, Paysafecard and Aplauz, and then credit card commissions, counterchecks via API. Next is the reconciliation of every transaction of each client with the CMS (Client Management System) and booking the daily totals of each segment into the accounting system.

What perfect work, what a super team with internal and external staff and what a success we’ve all celebrated! We congratulate Airport Casino Basel for all the achievements in this endeavor!

We are proud and happy. Check out www.goldengrand.ch and enjoy.

Schweizer ZV: Upgrade auf EBICS 3.0 für Nov-2022

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Seit November 2021 empfiehlt die SIX Group den Upgrade von EBICS 2.5 auf EBICS 3.0. Was bringt EBICS 3.0? Bessere Verschlüsselung – mit der maximalen Verschlüsselung ist V2.5 noch genügend sicher.

Die Umsetzung kann wie geplant bis November 2022 erfolgen, wenn die Zahlungsverkehrssysteme, die Buchhaltungssysteme aber auch die Banken in 2022 gemeinsam diese Arbeiten realisieren.

Bis Ende 2024 werden EBICS 2.5 und 3.0 von den Banken simultan angeboten. Die Version 2.4 wird sicherlich aufgehoben. Corporates mit EBICS 2.4 sollten sich dem Projekt annehmen und auf EBICS 3.0 upgraden.

Aktuell ist EBICS 3.0 noch wenig auf dem Markt vertreten. Auch die ERPs haben oft noch keine Kompatibilität, vermutlich ist dies dem neuen BTF-Konzept geschuldet. Bisherige Auftragsarten entfallen.

Für weitere Details fragen Sie Esra Kummer von Tomato AG.

Das Bild unten ist eine Darstellung zu „Änderungen im Zahlungsverkehr“, welche auf tomato.ch seit 2014 kontinuierlich aktualisiert wird.

Supply Chain Finance via TMS-Module

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We first published this article a year ago. In response to interest from corporates, we have decided to present it to you once again.

Around the year 2000, a TMS was able to transact FX, interest rate transactions, outgoing single manual treasury payments such as Swift MT101, Banks reported back the daily account balance with Swift MT940 for a financial status and liquidity planning. Further transaction in a TMS where bank loans, netting, guarantees.

10 years later in 2010 some TMS in Germany where able to connect via the newly EBICS and SWIFT gateways to the partner banks. Thus, it was possible to transport the ERP account payable file via the TMS to some of the banks. Today is it usual at least in central Europe to transport all mass payments such as account payables and payrolls to the banks via SWIFT and EBICS gateways.

Will Vendor Finance themes be a module of a TMS In the near future? Or also fraud detection?

I do believe so. Over the last year, I’ve been researching various vendor finance tools and have come to the conclusion that the one I analyzed a year ago still looks excellent.

Each local unit of the company has the ability to negotiate with its local suppliers and banks in this vendor finance system. After the pre-negotiation with the vendors and banks, the basic data is set up by the corporate treasury, then the local vendors and banks can use their data within their contract area and in a way that allows the vendor to choose his own payment date.

Would it make sense to integrate such a system into a TMS? Can this be the future?

Are you interested in finding out more about the Vendis tool? Ask for information via martin.schneider@tomato.ch or +41 44 814 2001, see all screens here.

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Treasury Management Infrastruktur

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Die HSBC Studie zur Treasury Management Infrastruktur stellten wir erstmals im September 2020 Tomato Catchup vor.

Mit Rückblick auf das Corona Jahr 2020 wurde die Studie erweitert:

Für die Corporates in Deutschland sind alle grossen deutschen Bankinstitute wichtig. Bei kleineren Unternehmen unter 1 Mrd. Umsatz ist die Commerzbank leicht führend, wie aus dem Bild hier hervorgeht.

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Bei grösseren Konzernen sind die Deutsche Bank und die HSBC die wichtigeren Banken.

Hier geht’s zur HSBC Studie Teil 2. Des Weiteren erfahren Sie in der Infrastruktur-Studie, welche Bank-Kanäle respektive Gateways zu den Banken am meisten genutzt werden.

Es ist dies vor allem der EBICS Kanal. Der Zahlungsverkehrs – Kanal (vor allem DACH Raum) ist einfach zu installieren, hat aber diese Handicaps:

  • Lokale Format Dialekte wie DK-Format (DE) und Stuzza-Format (AT) verwendet werden. Das Format DT Ausland ist noch nicht in XML/ISO.
  • Im selben EBICS-Gateway sind deshalb Länder in Süd- Ost- und Nord-Europa oder im fernen Asien kaum zu erreichen bzw. es wird komplex und setzt grösseres technisches Verständnis in der Treasury voraus. „Global EBICS“ könnte Abhilfe bieten.
  • Im EBICS werden meist in jedem Zahl File die persönlichen Namen von leitenden Finanzmitarbeiter mitgegeben (wie z.B. CFO und Treasurer)
  • Hin und wieder vernehme ich, dass der EBICS Kanal in der Europäischen Nacht unter Maintenance stehen kann, gerade wenn asiatische Töchter (der Europäischen Zeitzone voraus) den Kanal für ihre Zahlungen benötigen.

Der Vorteil vom Swift Kanal:

  • Neben dem Zahlungsverkehr können weitere Daten wie FX-Geschäfte, Garantien etc. übermittelt werden;
  • Ein einziges weltweites Zahlformat mit dem CGI Standard 001.001.03 vom ERP bis zur Bank.
    Beachten Sie, SWIFT entschied nach umfangreicher Beratung um 2018 allen Crossborder Zahlungsverkehr bis 2025 auf ISO 20022 zu migrieren (Bericht engl. von Stephen Lindsay im TMI, mit Login). Das Thema werden wir im nächsten Newsletter besprechen;
  • Die Firmentransport-Unterschrift, auch Corporate Seal genannt;
  • Blättern Sie wieder einmal in unseren Tomato-Slides „De-Zentrale Payment Factory“ oder bevorzugen Sie einen unverbindlichen kurzen Workshop zur Klärung Ihrer Fragen?

Four Possibilities for Cross-border Payments

tomatoagNews 'n Views, Tomato

Almost 50% of companies consider a bank’s B2B payables offering to be a very important part of the bank selection process, the Strategic Treasurer data shows. The 2017 B2B Payments & Working Capital Management Survey also found that as many as 67% of companies operate in more than one country and 33% in more than 20 countries, reports Victoria Beckett, editor of GTNews.

Technology offers more and more methods of payment and globalization is ongoing, so it is not surprising that treasurers are considering to upgrade their cross-border payment processes.

The article 4 ways to make cross-border payments in theglobaltreasurer.com explains four of the major cross-border payment methods and explores the advantages and disadvantages for businesses.

  • SWIFT for companies
  • EBICS
  • Host-to-host (H2H)
  • Block chain

Martin Schneider’s comment:
Please read above “A Day in the Life of Martin Schneider” . Bank Gateways have been our daily business solutions for 10 years.