Symptom
You've created a custom Payment File Structure and a custom Payment Medium Format based on it. When generating a payment file from this payment format you notice that when certain field doesn't reach the maximum length defined (i.e.real data getting populated in the field is less than maximum length defined) the system fills the remaining characters with blank spaces.
Reproducing the Issue
- Go to Liquidity Management work center
- Go to File Management > Outbound Files view
- Open the respective File ID created based on the concerned payment format
- Click View All and download the file
- Open the respective file in a text editor or Web browser
Notice that for a specific field (or more) the system entered blank spaces to complete the field length specified.
For example:
Field :50K has a maximum length of 46 characters. The field's data source is the IBAN (which has 22 characters in this case). The system then adds 24 blank spaces to complete the 46 characters of field length.
Cause
You've configured your Payment File Structure as follows:
Field Length Type: Specific Length for each Field
Field Length in: Characters
For this Field Length Type, fields have fixed positions in a Record (Header, Transaction, Trailer), which are also valid even if other fields do not have any values.
Therefore, in case some field doesn't have enough data to complete its length the system will always enter blank spaces to complete the length.
Resolution
Business ByDesign offers two possibilities for Field Length Types used for Custom Payment Structures:
- Specific Length for each Field: Fields have fixed positions in a Record (Header, Transaction, Trailer), which are also valid even if other fields do not have any values
- Delimited Fields: Fields are separated by means of special delimiters. In this case, the position of a certain field can depend on whether other fields are filled with values
If you choose the second option you have also the choice to NOT specify a delimiter (SPACE).
These are the options to generate the file as of your bank requirement.
ByDesign does not offer an option to remove spaces in a fixed length type defined structure.
Keywords
KBA , payment file , ustom payment medium format , custom payment structures , AP-PAY , Payment Processing , How To