LloydsLink online and LloydsLink (dialup) test files

May 2014 update

We have updated a number of test files and the supporting documentation.

Please download the revised test file to review the latest information.

Report formats	May 2014 update
APACS	Sub-totals corrected on test file Text capitalisation applied
APACS-v6/DOS	Sub-totals corrected on test file Text capitalisation applied
Excel	Branch deposit transaction code amended Additional payment reference on CHAPS credit
SWIFT MT940	Branch deposit transaction code amended Additional payment reference on CHAPS credit
Text (CSV)	Additional payment reference on CHAPS credit

How to find the right test file

We have provided export test files for each of the different types and formats of report you can download from LloydsLink Online, as illustrated. Please note that the changes to statement narratives only affect the “Today’s statement” and “Yesterday’s statement” reports.

Test files and payment transaction types

For each report type we have provided a zip file which contains test files for different groups of transactions:

Page number	Examples of transaction
1	BACS Bank Charges Credit Interest
2	Debit cards Inter-Account Transfers International Payments
3	Sterling cheques Banker’s drafts
4	Branch Deposits CHAPS credit & debit (intra-day) CHAPS credit & debit (historic) Debit Interest Faster Payments Refund of charges Standing Orders

Each zip file also contains a detailed guide to explain which transaction narratives and codes are changing

How to run the test file

Save the file(s) into a suitable test environment.
Load the test file following your usual process.
If you do not have a test environment you should carry out a visual review to check the differences in the content of the test export file against your existing export file from LloydsLink Online.
See the “Frequently Asked Questions” section below if you have any questions about running the test files.

Test Files

Today's Balance

Today's Statement

Yesterday's Statement

Yesterday's Balance – Short

Yesterday's Balance – Long

What to do if this does not affect you

If you do not need to make any changes to your systems, please email us at LloydsBankTestFileSupport@lloydsbanking.com to confirm that you will not be affected.

Help

Please email us at LloydsBankTestFileSupport@lloydsbanking.com if you have any questions about running your test files, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Supporting documents

A detailed guide is available to explain how the transaction narratives and codes are changing – click to view the appropriate guide:

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What do you need to do if you don’t download statements?

You do not need to run a test file, but we recommend you see the detailed guide which shows what is changing to statement narratives on your account view: LloydsLink guide (PDF, 122KB)

Q2. How do you know if you need to run a test file?

If you import the transaction file you download from LloydsLink online or LloydsLink dial-up into another system (such as accounting or Treasury Management software) you may need to run a test file.

If you download and view the transaction file (e.g. in Excel) you may not need to run the test file.

Q3. How do you know which test file to download?

Select the test file which has the same file type (e.g. APACS, BAI, Excel) as the report you normally download. Please see the LloydsLink file download guide (PDF, 182KB) to help you select the right test file.

Note that most clients use the “Yesterday’s Statement” or “Historic Statement” reports rather than the intra-day reports to carry out reconciliations.

Q4. How are the transaction narratives going to change?

The format of the report file (e.g. the number of characters in each field, or the order of the fields) is not changing, but the content of some of the fields within the file may change. The “As-is/To-be” documents contained in the test files provide a full explanation. - see the “Supporting documents” section.

Transactions are downloaded as a string of characters. Each string is made up of a set of fields, which contain information such as the sort code, account number, amount, date, type of transaction and a transaction reference.

Below is an example of a transaction ‘character string’ (illustration only)

	As is / To be	Sort code	Account number	Amount	Transaction code	Transaction reference
Branch Deposit	As is	30-17-15	123xxx78	100.00	BGC	BANK GIRO CREDIT 500001
Branch Deposit	To be	30-17-15	123xxx78	100.00	CR	500001

In this example, the changes to the transaction narrative are:

a. The code which describes the type of transaction changes (e.g. ‘BGC’ for a branch deposit changes to ‘CR’)
b. The position of the transaction reference changes within the ‘Transaction reference’ field (e.g. the reference starts from position 1 in the field, instead of starting from position 20)

Q5. What happens if you have problems loading the file or running a report?

a.   Your system may only be able to run reports which use your own sort code and account number. In this case you will need to replace the dummy sort code and account number in the test file with your own sort code and account number.
b.   Your system may only be able to run reports with your real opening and closing balance. In this case, replace the dummy balances in the test file with the correct opening and closing balances.
c.   Your system may only be able to run reports with yesterday’s date. In this case, replace the dummy date in the test file with the correct date.
d.   You may need to use ‘Notepad’ to edit the test file as some systems are sensitive to the file format used.

Q6. Will the payment files you upload/import be changing?

No - there are no changes to the payment files you upload.

Q7. What happens if you do not have a test environment?

Please review the “As-is/To-be” documents contained in the test files to determine if there are any issues that you may experience once the changes come into effect - see the “Supporting documents” section.

Q8. What is the difference between the SWIFT standard and the SWIFT enhanced report?

The SWIFT enhanced report provides a broader range of transaction codes (e.g. an Internal Transfer appears as ‘MSC’ on standard report and ‘ADV’ on enhanced report).