Affiliate runs, supplier runs, month-end payroll: anything with more than a handful of payments belongs in a batch file. One upload, up to 1,000 payments, validated line by line and sent together. The only frustrating part is a file that fails validation, so this guide is about getting it right first time.
Before you start
Batch payments are switched on per account by the Xace operations team. Ask support to enable it. Once on, it appears under Payments for that account.
The one rule that matters
Each file uses one validation mode, for example IBAN + BIC. It applies to every line. If some payees need a different mode, they go in a separate file. Most failed uploads are a mixed file.
Build the file from the template
Download the template from Templates and Guides in your account rather than building a spreadsheet from scratch. The columns, order and headings have to match. Save as .csv, .xls or .xlsx.
The fields that catch people out:
- AccountHolderName. The legal name on the bank account, not the trading name.
- IsBusiness. Required for international payments. "yes" or "no".
- Address fields. Line 1, line 2, town, county or state, post code and country code are all required for the payee. Leave nothing blank; if there is no second address line, check the template for what to enter.
- CountryCode. Two letters, ISO format: GB, MT, DE.
- Amount. Numbers only, two decimal places, no currency symbol.
- Reference. What the payee sees on their statement. Keep it short and meaningful.
Intermediary banks
For SWIFT payments intermediary details are optional. But if you fill in any of them, all of them become required: intermediary bank name, BIC, ABA for USD, and the full address. Half-filled intermediary details fail validation. Either provide the full set or none.
Upload, fix, submit
- Upload the file. Every line is checked automatically.
- Read the errors. They point to the line and the field.
- Fix the file and upload again. Nothing is sent until every line passes.
- Submit. All payments process together.
Put an approval on it
A batch is approved as one request. Set a Per Batch Payment policy requiring two approvers, whatever the total, because the approver sees a summary rather than every line. And note that file uploads skip Verification of Payee, so the controls on who prepares the file are doing the work the name check would otherwise do.
A weekly batch routine
- Build the file from the ledger export, not by hand.
- One person prepares, a different person reviews the file before upload.
- Upload mid-morning, mid-week, so any fix and resubmit still lands the same day.
- Keep the submitted file with the batch reference for the audit trail.
