The needs
The regionalisation of the finance function of the local chambers of Grand Hainaut, Grand Lille, Artois and Côte d’Opale was the trigger to review and overhaul our cash management. To define our needs clearly, we started by listing the existing banking arrangements: banking communication over EBICS and online banking websites.
We wanted to harmonise banking practices as part of setting up a single model. We wanted the banking system to be simple and, above all, usable from remote sites.
The implementation
The banking protocol was set up for each chamber in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. When the regional CCI Hauts-de-France was created a year later, this protocol was revised. Ten people are concerned by the access rights and TOKEN keys: the elected treasurers and deputy treasurers of each chamber.
A request was made to every bank of every chamber. The goal? To obtain the EBICS TS contracts containing the data needed to configure the E-Finances solutions. The final step was assigning each treasurer to the corresponding bank accounts. Overall, the implementation went well.
The benefits
We identified two key strengths:
- Centralisation. All cash transfers are centralised.
- Security. All our financial flows are secured.
The follow-up
We have a very good relationship with E-Finances. The team is very available and very responsive in solving any issues (mainly related to faulty keys or files not compliant with SEPA standards).
In conclusion
The project went very well and we encountered no particular difficulty. There is one area for improvement: we could have anticipated the protocol set-up more to avoid back-and-forth with the banks.
“All our cash transfers are now centralised.”
