Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland: Custom XML handling for clearing files

Under the Professional Service label, XMLdation provides its expertise to customers looking for simple solutions to complex XML challenges. Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland commissioned a dedicated software solution to prepare for the potentially time-critical need to split XML payment files and auto-create EBA Clearing cancellation messages.

Today, the bank can rely on a smart desktop tool based on the powerful algorithm underlying XMLdation’s SaaS applications.

“After submitting transactions to EBA Clearing, we have a certain cancellation window in case the necessity arises”, explains Mervi Hammarberg when asked to describe why XMLdation’s expertise was needed in a recent software project. Hammarberg, CFO at Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland, explicates how the bank prepared itself for an urgent situation: “Once we face the need to cancel certain part of the payments already submitted to EBA Clearing, we have to trust in having the tools to get it done immediately. The files we are dealing with are massive, and the cancellation files have to be 100% precise. This is why we chose to work with the most experienced provider of XML services and consulting available.”

The software solution XMLdation tailored for the bank is a specialized desktop application for splitting XML files in a customer specific way. The use case is that a subset of transactions contained in a FItoFICustomerCreditTransfer file (pacs.008) for some reason will require cancellation after it has been submitted to the clearing center. The software extracts the transactions bank defines from the original XML file and creates a FIToFIPaymentCancellationRequest cancellation file (camt.056) for submission to EBA Clearing, rebuilding the internal structure of the XML files. Simultaneously, new pacs.008 files are created for the cancelled payments, for possible resubmission in a later stage.

While it may sound trivial at first, the complexity of ISO 20022 message files and the multi-layered requirements for their internal validity make such file transformation a complex undertaking. Time stamp attributes need to be updated, message IDs regenerated, and so on. Even the sheer size of SEPA credit transfer messages renders common XML manipulation tools useless for the task; support for big files up to 50 MB and more can be required.

“The project proceeded right on schedule, the delivered software works just as specified  – and it has truly been a joy to work with these specialists.”

“We knew that XMLdation has the experience and technological know-how required for this job,” Hammarberg says, “and since having this functionality is critical to our business, we choose the most agile partner possible for this task.” After a specification workshop and the subsequent software development phase, Central Bank of Saving Banks Finland soon took delivery of the software.

Both sides have been extremely pleased with the cooperation. “This project is a great demonstration how our Professional Services offering utilizes the expertise acquired during the development of our service products,” XMLdation COO Juha Keski-Nisula comments. And continues: “In this instance, we applied the test file generation engine from our XML management service myXML; running software capable to understand applicable schemas and business rules, we are able to create large batches of XML messages, be it for testing or  production material as in the case of Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland.”

And Hammarberg does not leave any doubt that tapping in on XMLdation’s expertise for this project was a great decision: “The project proceeded right on schedule, the delivered software works just as specified  – and it has truly been a joy to work with these specialists.”

About Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland Plc

Central Bank of Savings Bank Finland is a depository bank owned by Finnish Savings Banks and belongs to the Savings Banks Amalgamation. Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland Plc provides the Savings Banks with various central credit institution services, such as those related to payment services, funding of Savings Banks belonging to Savings Bank Group, and in the near future also issuing of payment cards for Saving Banks’ customers.