The ABO format is used to import bank statements into accounting systems. It can also be used to import payment transaction data at payment gateways or terminals to facilitate accounting.
This article explains how to post payments to a payment gateway or terminal, including instructions for each accounting system.
The technical structure of the ABO file is described in this article for those who want to program the processing of the file in their own economic system.
An ABO file is a text file that is broken down into individual lines. The first line contains the header, the following lines contain the individual records of the statement. There are two types of lines in the file generated by Comgate. The first is always a header, line type 074. This is followed by the lines for the individual listing entries (type 075). Each line contains fields that are fixed length, no separator is used. If the value is less than the full length of the field, numeric items are padded with zeros from the left, text items with spaces from the right.
The full specification of the ABO file can be found e.g. on the website of Česká spořitelna here.
Comgate offers two versions of the ABO file, which differ in the way they display payment fees. Version v1 lists the payment fee separately for each payment. That is, one payment will always generate two lines - one for the payment itself and one for the fee for that payment. Version v2 contains the fee calculated in aggregate in one line. Thus, each payment is on a separate line, and the fees are then summed up in one line. You will receive both versions via email and you can request a specific version via the API protocol using the type parameter.
sample ABO file v1 with individual fees
sample ABO file v2 with aggregate fees
Description of line type 074 (header)
No. | Characters | Format | Sample | Description |
1 | 3 | number | 074 | Line type |
2 | 16 | number | 8881181234000008 | Client's unique number. This is a so-called fictitious account in ABO 888118-1234000008/0800 (visible in the client portal). The slash is always followed by 0800. This bank account number must be set up in the accounting software. |
3 | 20 | text | Merchant. Ltd. | Company name (followed by spaces) |
4 | 6 | number | 180119 | Bank transfer date (ddmmrr) |
5 | 14 | number | 00000000000000 | All zeroes |
6 | 1 | text | + | Always + |
7 | 14 | number | 00000000000000 | All zeroes |
8 | 1 | text | + | Always + |
9 | 14 | number | 00000000153549 | Transfer amount in cents |
10 | 1 | text | + | Always + |
11 | 14 | number | 00000000153549 | Transfer amount in cents |
12 | 1 | text | + | Always + |
13 | 3 | number | 018 | Serial number of the statement
|
14 | 6 | number | 180119 | Bank transfer date (ddmmrr) |
15 | 14 | text | | Empty filling (14 spaces) |
Description of line type 075 (data)
No. | Characters | Format | Sample | Description |
1 | 3 | number | 075 | Line type |
2 | 16 | number | 8881181234000008 | Client's unique number. This is a so-called fictitious account in ABO 888118-1234000008/0800 (visible in the client portal). The slash is always followed by 0800. This bank account number must be set up in the accounting software. |
3 | 16 | number | 0000000000000000 | Unless it is a 'CG Billing' or 'CG Loan' (see item 11), always zeroes. |
4 | 13 | text | 11223344 | If it is not a 'CG Billing' or 'CG Loan' (see item 11), the ID from the client (completed with spaces). |
5 | 12 | number | 000000153549 | Amount in cents |
6 | 1 | number | 2 | 1 - debit, 2 - credit |
7 | 10 | number | 0011223344 | If it is a payment ('CG ABCD-EFGH-IJKL' in item 11) or a refund ('CG refund' in item 11), there is an ID from the client. In the case of a business loan ('CG Loan' in item 11), it contains the loan agreement number. If it contains anything other than numbers, 'VS platby' will be displayed here. |
8 | 10 | number | 0000000000 | All zeroes |
9 | 10 | number | 0000000000 | All zeroes |
10 | 6 | number | 180119 | Transfer date (ddmmrr) |
11 | 20 | text | CG ABCD-EFGH-IJKL | A description of the values is given in the table below. (followed by spaces) |
12 | 1 | number | 0 | All zeroes |
13 | 4 | number | 1102 | The first digit is always 1. The second digit is 1 for operations in CZK and 0 for other currencies. The remaining two digits are 01 for debit operations and 02 for credit operations. |
14 | 6 | number | 180119 | Transfer date (ddmmrr) |
Values in item 11
Value in item 11 | Description |
CG ABCD-EFGH-IJKL | This line contains information about the payment. |
CG refund | This line contains information about the refund. |
CG billing | This line contains information about the transfer to the merchant's bank account. In item No. 3 is the customer's account number without the bank code. Items 4 and 7 contain the variable symbol of the transfer. |
CG fee payment | The line contains the quantification of the fee for the payment(s). The value in item 7 is 0000099999. |
CG monthly fee | The line contains the monthly fee calculation. The value in item 7 is 0000088888. |
CG other | It occurs only in specific cases, e.g. some extraordinary non-system item. In item 7, the value is 0000077777. |
CG loan | This line contains information on the amount of business loan repayments charged off. Item 3 contains the customer's account number without the bank code. Items 4 and 7 contain the credit agreement number. |
Values in item 2
The currency code is also included in the so-called fictitious client account.
Currency code | For clients launched by 3 February 2022 the currency code is included in the account number. E.g. 001234-0000999117/0800 | For clients starting from 3 February 2022 the currency code is included in the account prefix. E.g. 888118-1234000008/0800 |
CZK | 999117 | 888118 |
EUR | 999125 | 888126 |
PLN | 999133 | 888134 |
HUF | 999141 | 888142 |
RON | 999149 | 888150 |
HRK | 999157 | 888169 |
NOK | 999165 | 888177 |
SEK | 999173 | 888185 |
GBP | 999168 | 888193 |
USD | 999176 | 888206 |