3.5.8 Open Banking Bank Accounts

3.5.8 Open Banking Bank Accounts

The Open Banking function allows you to establish a link from your live bank accounts to the system which in turn automatically imports receipts (payments in).
This then creates the import batches for you to process within the Import Receipts screen (more info on this KB article: 3.4.5 Import Receipts). 
This function does come with a charge when you add the bank accounts. Please contact support (support@blocksonline.co.uk) for the price breakdown.
Accessed via the Workbench -> Settings -> Open Banking Bank Accounts
You will have to turn on the function to begin with: 


Adding Bank Accounts
Once you have enabled the function, you can add bank accounts via Open Banking. In doing so, you will establish a connection to GoCardless (https://gocardless.com/ who is the third party company providing the link of the bank accounts to our system. 


When you click on 'Add using Open Banking', you will be redirected to the GoCardless website. You can then pick the relevant bank account that you use:


For this example, I will be choosing Monzo. It will give you some generic information on how GoCardless will be using your data: 


You will then be prompted to enter the bank account details: 


Different banks use different methods of establishing the connection between GoCardless and Blocks Online. 
Monzo will allow you to confirm the link on the Monzo app. Below is a screenshot of my phone within the app: 

If you then click Continue, a link is established in Blocks Online. 

Here you can set the Import From Date and then add the bank into Blocks Online. 
Import From Date: The date from when receipts will be imported and created as batches to be processed in the Import Receipts screen. NOTE: Any receipts prior to this date will not be automatically imported.


If you click on 'View', then you are able to edit the bank account details but also 'Delete' if no longer required.


Renew/Refresh Accounts
Once accounts are linked in, they have a token attached to them. The token lasts for maximum of 90 days. The user will have to renew the bank accounts using the Renew using Open Banking button in order to re-establish the link between the accounts and Blocks Online. Due to security legislations, bank accounts do need to be renewed after 90 days and another connection needs to be established. 
You can also choose to turn off the Bank Feed manually for each bank account. 

When the token expiry date is within 14 days, then the system will give you a warning.
This is shown in the settings screen:


It is also in the Import Receipts screen: 


If you pass the token expiry date then a red warning is displayed on both screens:


If the account has been revoked due to errors within Open Banking , then an error is displayed on both screens:


The list is also updated to indicate which accounts are expired or revoked. 
Revoked status can be due to various reasons:
  1. GoCardless API has a rate limit of 100 calls per minute and it can cause transactions from failing to be downloaded
  2. Missed transactions errors and then after 10 errors by GoCardless, they mark the accounts as 'Suspended'
  3. It can also happen if the link between Open Banking and the bank account was closed/cancelled outside of the system (deleted the bank account connection to GoCardless etc)
You will need to reconnect the revoked accounts in order to clear the errors. 

To refresh the token, simply click on the 'Renew using Open Banking'. This will then take you to the same page as the 'Add using Open Banking'.
Once you re-establish the link, you will have the option to Renew which will refresh the token:


NOTE: The number of tokens you can refresh in one go is determined by the bank. Some may let you do 50 at a time and some 20 etc. 

You will also notice that the Batch Loaded By in the Import Receipts screen is shown as Open Banking on this screen. These are batches created from the Open Banking link which can be processed. 

Please see this article for more info relating to terms and conditions: 3.4.13 Bank Feeds Terms

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