EBICS (short for Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard) is a secure communication protocol used primarily in Europe for exchanging financial transactions between banks and their corporate customers. It originated in Germany and is now also widely used in France, Switzerland, and other European countries.
Key Features of EBICS:
Secure Data Transmission:
Uses strong encryption and digital signatures.
Ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data.
Based on XML over HTTPS.
Standardized Protocol:
Designed to replace older national protocols (like FTAM in Germany and ETEBAC in France).
Enables standardized communication regardless of the bank.
Multi-Bank Capability:
One EBICS client can connect to multiple banks.
Simplifies multi-bank transaction processing for companies.
Wide Use Cases:
Payments (SEPA, SWIFT)
Direct debits
Account statements
Other financial data exchanges
Roles & Permissions:
Users are assigned roles (like signer, authorizer, viewer).
Supports distributed electronic signatures (EDS) – transactions can require approval from multiple users.
EBICS supports several important standards in payment transactions, including:
ISO 20022: An international standard for electronic data exchange in the financial sector. EBICS enables the transmission of messages in ISO 20022 format, such as pain.001 for credit transfers or camt.053 for account statements.
SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area): EBICS supports SEPA payment formats for credit transfers (SEPA Credit Transfer) and direct debits (SEPA Direct Debit), which are based on ISO 20022.
X.509 Certificates: For authentication and encryption, EBICS uses X.509 certificates according to international standards.
XML: EBICS is based on XML structures for structured and standardized data transmission.
This support for standards makes EBICS interoperable, future-proof, and particularly well-suited for use in professional payment transactions.