What is the ABA file format?
Issued by the Australian Bankers Association (ABA) the ABA or Cemtext file format is a format used by banks to allow for batch transactions.
Whilst not a "standard" most Australian Banks have adopted this format by default. Blue Chilli Technology has built ABA exports for clients who use banks such as Bank of Queensland, NAB and Westpac.
An ABA file format is also known as a Direct Entry file, a Cemtext file format or simply as an ABA file. An ABA file has the extension ".aba" and is (usualy) a standard ASCII format with Windows style new line characters.
Try our free ABA file generator!
How does a batch transaction work?
Once you've created an ABA file using our script or our free ABA file generator, you can upload it to your bank through their online login.
Your bank will then process each entry in the ABA file automatically.
ABA file example
The following is an ABA file example. To create a live ABA file from your data, visit our free ABA file generator.
0 01BQL MY NAME 1111111004231633 230410
1123-456157108231 530000001234S R SMITH TEST BATCH 062-000 12223123MY ACCOUNT 00001200
1123-783 12312312 530000002200J K MATTHEWS TEST BATCH 062-000 12223123MY ACCOUNT 00000030
1456-789 125123 530003123513P R JONES TEST BATCH 062-000 12223123MY ACCOUNT 00000000
1121-232 11422 530000002300S MASLIN TEST BATCH 062-000 12223123MY ACCOUNT 00000000
7999-999 000312924700031292470000000000 000004
ABA File Format
What does an ABA file look like?
Each line in an ABA file is a "record". An ABA file has three main records, the "descriptive" record, a "detail" record for each transaction and the "file total record" at the end. The first character position of each new record indicates what type of record it is. An ABA record is exactly 120 characters long (excluding new line characters).
Descriptive record (type 0)
| Char Pos | Field Size | Field Description | Specification |
| 1 | 1 | Record Type 0 | Must be '0' |
| 2-18 | 17 | Blank | Must be filled. |
| 19-20 | 2 | Reel Sequence Number | Must be numeric commencing at 01. Right justified. Zero filled. |
| 21-23 | 3 | Name of User's Financial Institution | Must be approved Financial Institution abbreviation. Bank of Queensland's abbreviation is BQL, Westpac's abbreviation is "WBC". Consult your Bank for correct abbreviation. |
| 24-30 | 7 | Blank | Must be blank filled. |
| 31-56 | 26 | Name of Use supplying file | Must be User Preferred Specification as advised by User's FI. Left justified, blank filled. All coded character set valid. Must not be all blanks. |
| 57-62 | 6 | Name of Use supplying file | Must be User Identification Number which is allocated by APCA. Must be numeric, right justified, zero filled. |
| 63-74 | 12 | Description of entries on file e.g. "PAYROLL" | All coded character set valid. Must not be all blanks. Left justified, blank filled. |
| 75-80 | 6 | Date to be processed (i,e. the date transactions are released to all Financial Institutions) | Must be numeric in the formal of DDMMYY. Must be a valid date. Zero filled. |
| 81-120 | 40 | Blank | Must be blank filled. |
| Note: all unused fields must be blank filled | |||
Detail Record (type 1)
| Char Pos | Field Size | Field Description | Specification |
| 1 | 1 | Record Type 1 | Must be '1' |
| 2-8 | 7 | Bank/State/Branch Number | Must be numeric with hyphen in character position 5. Character positions 2 and 3 must equal valid Financial Institution number. Character position 4 must equal a valid state number (0-9). For credits to Employee Benefits Card accounts, field must always contain BSB 032-898 |
| 9-17 | 9 | Account number to be credited/debited | Numeric, hyphens and blanks only are valid. Must not contain all blanks (unless a credit card transaction) or zeros. Leading zeros which are part of a valid account number must be shown, e.g. 00-1234. Where account number exceeds nine characters, edit out hyphens. Right justified, blank filled. For credits to Employee Benefits Card accounts, Account Number field must always be 999999 |
| 18 | 1 | Indicator | "N" – for new or varied Bank/State/Branch number or name details, otherwise blank filled. Withholding Tax Indicators: "W" – dividend paid to a resident of a country where a double tax agreement is in force. "X" – dividend paid to a resident of any other country. "Y" – interest paid to all non-residents. The amount of withholding tax is to appear in character positions 113-120. Note: Where withholding tax has been deducted the appropriate Indicator as shown above is to be used and will override the normal indicator. |
| 19-20 | 2 | Transaction Code | For most transactions this will be 53. A full list of compatible transaction codes are listed below. |
| 21-30 | 10 | Amount | Only numeric valid. Must be greater than zero. Shown in cents without punctuations. Right justified, zero filled. Unsigned. |
| 31-62 | 32 | Title of Account to be credited/debited | All coded character set valid. Must not be all blanks. Left justified, blank filled. Desirable Format for Transaction Account credits: - Surname (period) Blank - given name with blanks between each name |
| 63-80 | 18 | Lodgement Reference | All coded character set valid. Field must be left justified, and contain only the 16 character Employee Benefits Card number; for example 5550033890123456. No leading spaces, zeroes, hyphens or other characters can be included. |
| 81-87 | 7 | Trace Record (BSB Number in format XXX-XXX) |
Bank (FI)/State/Branch and account number of User to enable retracing of the entry to its source if necessary. Only numeric and hyphens valid. Character positions 81 & 82 must equal a valid Financial Institution number. Character position 83 must equal a valid State number (0-9). Character position 84 must be a hyphen. |
| 88-96 | 9 | (Account number) | Right justified, blank filled. |
| 97-112 | 16 | Name of Remitter | Name of originator of the entry. This may vary from Name of the User. All coded character set valid. Must not contain all blanks. Left justified, blank filled. |
| 113-120 | 8 | Amount of Withholding Tax | Numeric only valid. Show in cents without punctuation. Right justified, zero filled. Unsigned. |
| Note: all fields must be completed | |||
File Total Record (type 7)
| Char Pos | Field Size | Field Description | Specification |
| 1 | 1 | Record Type 7 | Must be '7' |
| 2-8 | 7 | BSB Format Filler | Must be '999-999' |
| 9-20 | 12 | Blank | Must be blank filled. |
| 21-30 | 10 | File (User) Net Total Amount | Numeric only valid. Must equal the difference between File Credit & File Debit Total Amounts. Show in cents without punctuation. Right justified, zero filled. Unsigned. |
| 31-40 | 10 | File (User) Credit Total Amount | Numeric only valid. Must equal the accumulated total of credit Detail Record amounts. Show in cents without punctuation. Right justified, zero filled. Unsigned. |
| 41-50 | 10 | File (User) Debit Total Amount | Numeric only valid. Must equal the accumulated total of debit Detail Record amounts. Show in cents without punctuation. Right justified, zero filled. Unsigned. |
| 51-74 | 24 | Blank | Must be blank filled. |
| 75-80 | 6 | File (user) count of Records Type 1 | Numeric only valid. Must equal accumulated number of Record Type 1 items on the file. Right justified, zero filled. |
| 81-120 | 40 | Blank | Must be blank filled. |
| Note: all unused fields must be blank filled | |||
Transaction codes
Generally you only need to use the transaction code "53 - Pay" in your ABA file, however valid codes are as follows. Note that some transaction codes are debits and others are credits, and some require withholding tax column to be filled.
| Code | Transaction Description |
| 13 | Externally initiated debit items |
| 50 | Externally initiated credit items with the exception of those bearing Transaction Codes |
| 51 | Australian Government Security Interest |
| 52 | Family Allowance |
| 53 | Pay |
| 54 | Pension |
| 55 | Allotment |
| 56 | Dividend |
| 57 | Debenture/Note Interest |
Integrate an ABA file export in your application
There are many accounting packages which can export an ABA file - but what if you have your own custom application? Blue Chilli Technology can develop an integrated solution for your application which will save you time and money - no more needless data entry!
Contact us today to find out how we can help you.