How to Get a BAI2 or MT940 File from Your Bank

Short answer: You request a bank data file through your bank's treasury management or cash management group, not through retail online banking. Ask for balance reporting, name the format you want (BAI2, MT940, or camt.053), specify the accounts and the delivery method, and expect a setup process that takes days to weeks and may carry a monthly fee.

Last updated July 2026

Most people find their way to this question the hard way. They need transaction data for an ERP or a cash position, they look through online banking, and all they can find is a PDF statement and maybe a CSV of the last 90 days. The structured file exists, but it is a treasury product rather than a self-service download, and it is usually not visible anywhere in the retail interface.

Why you cannot just download it

Balance reporting files are part of a bank's commercial cash management offering. They are provisioned per customer, per account, and per format, because the bank has to configure what gets sent, when, and where. That configuration is why there is a request process at all. It is also why the answer to "can I get a BAI2 file" is almost always yes, but rarely today.

Who to ask at the bank

Ask your relationship manager or treasury management officer. If you do not know who that is, call the business or commercial banking line rather than the retail number and ask for treasury management or cash management services. The retail support team generally cannot see these products and will often tell you they do not exist, which is one of the more common ways this process stalls.

Useful vocabulary when you call: balance reporting, previous day reporting, intraday reporting, and data transmission. Those are the product names. Asking for "a BAI2 file" sometimes draws a blank, while asking for "previous day balance reporting in BAI2" usually lands.

What to specify in the request

Being precise up front removes a round trip or two. Come with answers to these:

• Format. BAI2, MT940, camt.053, or CSV. See below for choosing.
• Which accounts. List them. Files are provisioned per account, and it is common to discover later that one account was missed.
• Previous day or intraday. Previous day reporting is the closed, final picture. Intraday, delivered as MT942 or camt.052, updates during the day for cash positioning.
• Delivery method. Portal download, SFTP, or transmission direct to your ERP or treasury system. SFTP is standard for anything automated.
• Timing. What time the file is available each morning, and whether weekends and holidays produce an empty file or none at all.
• Who receives it. The technical contact and, if SFTP, the key exchange details.

Which format should you ask for?

If the destination is a spreadsheet or a smaller accounting package, ask for CSV or BAI2, because both are the least work to turn into rows. If the destination is an ERP with a real bank statement importer, camt.053 carries the most structured detail and needs the least mapping maintenance over time, since the remittance information, transaction code, and credit or debit direction each have their own named element. MT940 is the middle ground and is often all a European bank offers.

One practical note: take whatever the bank actually supports rather than holding out for the theoretically best format. A BAI2 file you can have next week beats a camt.053 file that needs a six month project. All of these convert to the same spreadsheet rows in the end, and the bank file format converter lays out how each one differs. If you want to understand what is inside the file before you request it, the BAI2 file format explained covers the record and type codes.

How long does it take and what does it cost?

Setup is typically measured in days to a few weeks, depending on the bank and whether SFTP is involved. There is often a monthly fee for balance reporting, and it varies widely by bank and by relationship, so treat any specific number you read online with suspicion and ask yours directly. Smaller banks and credit unions may not offer structured reporting at all, which is worth finding out early rather than after a month of waiting.

What if your bank will not provide one?

This is common for small business accounts, at community banks, and at most credit unions. You have three realistic options. First, ask whether a CSV export of transactions is available in online banking, even if the date window is short, and stitch the exports together. Second, check whether the bank supports a direct feed into your accounting software, which solves the same problem by a different route. Third, work from the PDF statements, which every bank provides and which are the official record anyway.

That third route is more workable than it sounds. A PDF bank statement to Excel converter turns the statement into the same dated rows with running balances that a BAI2 file would have given you, and unlike a short online-banking CSV window it reaches back as far as your statements do. For teams juggling several banks, that is often the pragmatic answer for the accounts where structured reporting is not on offer.

Can I get historical files?

Usually only for a limited window, and often not at all. Balance reporting is a forward-looking subscription: once it is switched on, you receive files going forward. Some banks can backfill a short period on request, but many cannot. If you need history, the PDF statements are the reliable source, since US banks commonly keep them available online for around seven years. Ask about backfill when you set up the service rather than assuming it later.

What to do once the files start arriving

Confirm the first few files against something you already trust. Check that the closing balance in the file matches the closing balance on the statement or in online banking, that every account you asked for is present, and that the transaction count looks right for the day. Format problems and missed accounts almost always surface in the first week, and they are much easier to fix while the setup ticket is still open.

After that it is ordinary processing. Depending on what you received, use the BAI to Excel converter, the MT940 to Excel converter, or the camt.053 to Excel converter to get the file into a spreadsheet, then reconcile it against your ledger. If the files feed an ERP, the NetSuite and SAP pages cover what those importers expect. Teams that also need to turn the resulting data into board-ready reporting can build that on top with an AI financial statement generator.