Connect your bank account directly
You no longer need to download and upload statements. Every night the new credits and debits arrive by themselves, and they are matched to members, invoices and activities just like a statement.
How it works
Ledenboek fetches the transactions via open-banking.io, a service that gets read-only access to your account under the European payment services directive PSD2. You give the consent yourself, at your own bank. open-banking.io does not see your login details and cannot transfer anything.
At open-banking.io your data is stored encrypted, with a key that only you have. That key is in the file you upload to Ledenboek, where it is also stored encrypted.
What it costs
The association takes out the open-banking.io account itself. It costs €3 per month for the first account and €1 for each additional account, including VAT, and you pay in advance through a credit balance. The connection costs nothing extra in Ledenboek.
Step by step
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1
An account at open-banking.io
On open-banking.io you log in with a code you receive by email. You also choose a passphrase; it protects the key that encrypts your data. open-banking.io cannot recover that passphrase, so keep it safe.
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2
Connect your bank
You choose your bank and log in as you would for online banking. Your bank asks whether open-banking.io may read your account details, and you give your consent. If the association has more accounts, such as a savings account, they all come along at once.
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3
Download the credentials file
In the developer section of open-banking.io you create an API key and download the credentials file (credentials.json). It contains the key Ledenboek uses to fetch and read your transactions. It is as sensitive as a password: do not email it, and after uploading it can be removed from your computer.
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4
Upload in Ledenboek
Under Finance, Bank Accounts you will find the block Connected directly via open-banking.io. Choose the file there and click Connect. Ledenboek fetches the transactions straight away. If you previously kept the account up to date with statements, it continues after the last statement, without duplicate lines.
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5
After that it runs by itself
The new transactions arrive every night. The account shows when they were last fetched, and with Fetch now you can refresh in between.
Renewing consent
A bank gives this consent for a limited time, usually a few months. The account in Ledenboek shows until when, and open-banking.io sends a message beforehand. Renewing is done at open-banking.io, by logging in to your bank again. If fetching no longer works afterwards, Replace file lets you upload a new file in a moment.
What it does not do
- •It is read-only. Ledenboek and open-banking.io cannot transfer or collect anything; a direct debit still goes through the file for your bank or through Mollie.
- •A transaction arrives once your bank has booked it definitively, not earlier.
- •Not every bank takes part. ASN Bank and RegioBank were not on the open-banking.io list when this guide was written; for those banks you keep uploading statements.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone take money from our account through this connection?
No. The consent you give your bank is only for reading the balance and transactions. It cannot be used to pay or transfer.
What if I step down as treasurer?
Then your successor takes out their own account at open-banking.io, connects the bank again and uploads the new file with Replace file. Everything already in Ledenboek stays.
Do I still have to upload statements?
Not for an account that is connected directly. If the association also has an account at a bank that does not take part, that one account stays as it is.