Bank Communication in Continia Banking

  • 01/10/2024
  • 4 minutes to read

Continia Banking supports both manual and direct communication between banking systems and Business Central. Direct bank communication automates the data exchange between Business Central and your bank by using web services, eliminating the need for manual file imports and exports. Direct communication capabilities depend on your bank.

Direct communication

Direct communication is the preferred method as it automates the entire data exchange process between Business Central and the bank. To use direct communication, you must include the Direct Communication module in your Continia Banking subscription. For example, this could be how direct communication works when sending payments to the bank:

  1. Payment suggestions are created and prepared in the Payment Journal and sent to the bank.
  2. The bank receives the payments.
  3. A payment status update, indicating whether the payment is sent, received, paid, or rejected, is automatically imported into the Payment Journal.
  4. You correct any errors on the payment lines and repeat the process. This automation also applies to importing payment, status, or statement files from the bank into Business Central.

Direct communication through open banking providers

For enhanced support, Continia Banking partners with open banking providers to facilitate direct communication between your bank and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Additional steps, such as payment approval, may be required.

Manual communication

Manual communication is the traditional method for exchanging banking files between Business Central and your bank. It involves manually saving and importing files.

For example, this could be the manual process for sending payments:

  1. Payment suggestions are created in the Payment Journal and exported to the bank.
  2. The payment file is saved locally on your desktop.
  3. You log in to your online banking portal.
  4. Manually import the payment file into the banking system from your desktop.
  5. Follow up in the bank system to ensure payments are processed correctly.
  6. Correct any errors manually on the payment lines in Business Central, then repeat the steps as needed.

Cloud storage with Azure Blob Storage

For banks using systems outside Business Central, Continia Banking integrates with Azure Blob Storage to manage and access files across applications. This provides a secure cloud storage solution for bank communication files. To set up Azure Blob Storage, you must provide the Storage Account Name, Storage Account Key, Container Name. These details will allow Continia Banking to interact with your cloud storage, ensuring secure and efficient file management. For more information on setting up the connection, refer to the Setting up Azure Blob Storage for Continia Banking article.