Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard (EBICS) is an Internet-based communication and security standard that is primarily used for remote data transfer between your organization and a bank for corporate payment transactions.
EBICS allows data file exchange independent of message standards and formats. EBICS uses established digital signature and encryption procedures. Its features are based on international standards for internet communication and improved security, for example, XML, HTTPS, TLS, and SSL. EBICS also has multibank capability wherein the corporate clients in the countries that have adopted EBICS can transact with any bank in those countries using the same software.
A range of prerequisites must be fulfilled by a user (associated with a partner) to be able to implement bank-technical EBICS transactions with a particular bank. The basic prerequisite to implement EBICS transactions is the signing of a contract between the partner and the bank. The following details are agreed upon in this contract:
- The nature of business transactions (bank-technical order types) the partner will conduct with the bank
- Information about the user’s bank accounts
- The partner’s users working with the banks system
- The authorizations and permissions the user’s possess
The partner receives the banks access data (bank parameters) after the contract is signed. The bank sets up the partner and user master data in the bank system in accordance with the contractual agreements.
Other prerequisites are successful subscriber initialization, downloading of the bank’s public certificates by the user, and successful verification of the user’s public certificates by the bank.
TheSterling B2B IntegratorEBICS Banking Server is a complete EBICS solution involving a bank, a partner, and user management, certificate management, secure file transactions, error recovery, and reporting. Use Sterling B2B Integratorto send and receive EBICS transactions.
TheSterling B2B IntegratorEBICS Banking Server supports EBICS Specification V2.5 for both French and German implementations.
Sterling File Gatewayoperates on the Sterling B2B Integratorplatform, enabling secure file transfer between internal and external partners using either the same or different communication protocols, file naming conventions, and file formats. Sterling File Gatewaysupports the movement of large and high-volume file transfers, with visibility of file movement in a process-oriented and highly-scalable framework that alleviates file transfer challenges, such as protocol and file brokering, automation, and data security.
File System Space Requirements for FDL Requests
Because the FDL order type uses the file system to store the payload, it is important to plan file system storage accordingly. A large FDL payload requires about 6 times as much file space as the payload size itself. For example, a 5 GB payload requires over 30 GB of file space inSterling B2B Integratorto process the request.
When using EBICS Banking Server in a cluster environment, you must configure the shared file system as document storage between nodes, even if the default document storage type is set to “Database”. See the appropriateInstallationdocumentation for instructions.
EBICS Banking Server enables you to transact with partners and users using EBICS.
You can create and manage profiles in the system database and offers, assign order types and file formats to an offer, and assign permissions to users.
Transaction Manager in the EBICS Server is responsible for maintaining the transaction states. It determines the segment that is required to generate the XML response message.
You can insert, update, and retrieve certificates present in theSterling B2B Integratorrepository.
Use the EBICS Reporting service to generate a payment status report (PSR) with every upload order (FUL) request. The .PSR report is in an XML format and follows the pain.002.001.02 schema. After the .PSR report is generated successfully, it is placed in the EBICS user’s download mailbox.
The EBICS Server is implemented as a service inSterling B2B Integrator. The EBICS Server service is responsible for handling incoming EBICS requests (through HTTP and HTTPS) according to the EBICS protocol specifications, and generating and sending the appropriate response back to users.
System Order Manager works closely with Transaction Manager and Subscription Manager to update and query a user’s key certificates and referential information, as well as to download bank parameters and bank certificates. It generates and retrieves XML order data based on the profile information.
The Order Data Processor is responsible for packing and unpacking the order data. It interfaces with the Subscription Manager and Transaction Manager to retrieve the relevant information that is required for packing and unpacking the order data.
Sterling File Gatewayenables secure file transfer between internal and external partners using the same or different communication protocols, file naming conventions, and file formats.Sterling File Gatewaysupports EBICS for movement of large and high-volume file transfers, with end-to-end visibility of file movement in a process-oriented and highly-scalable framework that alleviates file transfer challenges, such as protocol and file brokering, automation, and data security.