1. Executive Summary
This document sets out how ERPNext can be integrated directly with a corporate bank through the bank's Host-to-Host (H2H) / B2B banking API. The result is straight-through processing of payments and real time visibility of accounts and statements, without staff manually uploading files to a bank portal or re keying data between systems.
The integration is built natively on ERPNext by ERPGulf, the specialist ERPNext provider for the Gulf region. It connects your existing ERPNext accounts payable, receivable, and payroll data to the bank's secure API gateway, so payments are initiated, authorised, and reconciled from within the ERP you already use.
This document is written to be bank-agnostic. Most leading Saudi banks now offer an equivalent corporate API / H2H platform (for example SAB Connect, ANB, Riyad Bank and others). The capabilities and integration model described here apply broadly across these platforms; the exact message formats and onboarding steps are confirmed with the chosen bank during implementation.
2. What a Corporate Banking API Delivers
A corporate banking API (also marketed as B2B or Host-to-Host) gives a business programmatic, secure, 24x7 control over its accounts and payments. In practical terms it turns the bank into a service your ERP can call directly, rather than a separate portal your team logs into.
3. Core Banking Services Available Through the API
A typical corporate banking API exposes the following services, all of which can be surfaced inside ERPNext:
• Account management — view and manage the establishment's bank accounts directly from the ERP.
• Statement services — retrieve account statements and transaction history on demand for reconciliation.
• Fund transfers (local & overseas) — initiate domestic and international payments, single or in bulk.
• Government & utility payments — make SADAD and MOI (government) bill payments, and pay prepaid/postpaid utility bills, in real time.
• Payroll services — transfer salaries in bulk, supporting WPS-compliant payroll runs originated from ERPNext.
• Virtual account services — use virtual accounts to segregate and automatically reconcile incoming collections.
• Enquiry services — check balances, funds position, and payment/transaction status in real time.
Both single and bulk payments are supported across payment types — internal transfers, local and international transactions, SADAD, MOI, and payroll.
4. How It Will Work Inside ERPNext
The banking functions are surfaced through ERPNext's accounting and payroll modules, so the finance team works in one system:
• Payments — a payment or payment batch approved in ERPNext is transmitted to the bank's API gateway, executed, and its status written back automatically.
• Payroll — an approved salary batch is sent to the bank for bulk transfer, supporting WPS submission where applicable.
• Statements & reconciliation — statements are pulled from the bank on demand and matched against ERPNext records, reducing manual reconciliation.
• Real-time position — balances and funds position are available inside ERPNext without logging into the bank portal.
Because processing is straight-through, there is no manual file download/upload for routine payments, and no re-keying between the ERP and the bank.
5. Technical Integration
5.1 Message formats
Corporate banking APIs typically support standard financial message formats. Commonly these include SWIFT MT (customised), JSON, and ISO 20022 XML. ERPGulf builds the ERPNext connector to produce and consume the format required by the chosen bank.
5.2 Connectivity & security
Connectivity is over secure HTTPS only. Payment data and instructions are protected using industry security standards, giving the client full, security-rich control over accounts and payments.
5.3 Integration approach
Banks that offer these platforms provide a dedicated integration team that coordinates with the customer throughout the onboarding lifecycle to ensure a timely and secure connection. On the ERPNext side, ERPGulf builds and configures the connector, maps ERPNext documents to the bank's API messages, and runs end-to-end testing before go-live. The platforms are designed to support large, medium, and small corporates connecting via ERP, in-house, third-party, or cloud financial systems.
6. Key Benefits
• End-to-end automation of the payment process, around the clock (24x7).
• Straight-through processing (STP) of transactions with fewer manual steps and errors.
• Instant access to funds position and account statements inside ERPNext.
• Easier management of accounts payable and receivable, with faster reconciliation.
• Real-time government (SADAD/MOI) and utility bill payments.
• Data security and confidentiality through industry security standards.
7. Prerequisites & Next Steps
To proceed, the following will be required:
• A corporate account with a bank that offers an H2H / B2B banking API, and enrolment in that service.
• The bank's API specification, message format, and credentials, provided through the bank's integration team.
• Authorised signatories and payment approval limits agreed with the bank.
• Clean payee and employee master data in ERPNext (IBANs, beneficiary details).
On confirmation, ERPGulf will scope the connector against the chosen bank's specification, build and configure it in ERPNext, run joint testing with the bank's integration team, and complete a controlled pilot before go-live. A detailed implementation plan, timeline, and commercials will follow this proposal.
