You know the drill. Every time you need to process payments in NetSuite, you generate a payment file—but that’s just the beginning. Next, you have to log in to each bank portal separately, juggling different credentials and security tokens, just to upload the file. Every bank has its own format and specific requirements, so you need to make sure each template is correct and up to date. If something is wrong, payments get rejected, and often, you don’t even realize it until it’s too late.
Approvals add another layer of complexity. Each bank has a different workflow, meaning you’re managing multiple authorization setups. Since the process is manual, payment details could be changed before submission, creating a major fraud risk.
According to the 2023 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey
Then there’s reconciliation. You have to download bank statements from each bank and manually upload them into NetSuite. Because every bank uses a different statement format, the bank reconciliation process is time-consuming and prone to errors. You don’t have a central place to check if all payments went through successfully, leaving you scrambling to track down issues.
With no clear oversight, you’re constantly switching between portals, chasing down errors, and trying to keep everything in order. It’s inefficient, risky, and takes up far too much of your time—time that should be spent on more strategic financial tasks. Perhaps it can be managed now, but also ahead in growth of for example operations in other countries or maybe through acquisitions?
Sound familiar? That’s where the Cobase Bank Connector comes in. This guide will walk you through why it’s a game-changer for you as a NetSuite users and how it simplifies every step of your banking operations.
Finance teams often find themselves spending countless hours wrestling with different banking portals, verifying file formats, and trying to secure approvals from multiple stakeholders. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when each bank demands a different format for payment files, or when each user must manage multiple tokens just to log in.
The Cobase Bank Connector is designed to address and automate the processes. By centralizing your banking activities in one platform, it decreases the confusion, centralize the approvals, and ensures your entire payment process runs like a well-oiled machine in as secured way. In this article, we’ll explore exactly how this connector works within NetSuite, the benefits it brings, and tips on getting started.
Deloitte survey on finance digital transformation
If your company works with multiple banks or operates across different countries, keeping up with various payment templates in NetSuite can quickly become overwhelming. Each bank has its own format, forcing you to maintain and update multiple templates manually.
The real issue? Banks don’t always notify you when they change their formatting requirements. You only find out when payments start getting rejected unexpectedly, leaving you scrambling to identify errors, resubmit transactions, and manage delays.
Our Bank Connector SuiteApp simplifies this process by seamlessly integrating into NetSuite and providing payment templates that support all payment types. Instead of managing a complex web of bank-specific formats, Cobase will standardized templates—designed for flexible, generic use. Even better, it maintains these templates for you, ensuring they stay up to date with any bank changes. Payments are automatically converted into the correct format for each bank, eliminating manual template management, reducing errors, and streamlining payment execution.
Managing payments manually across multiple bank portals is a security nightmare. Different logins, scattered approvals, and no real-time visibility make it easy for things to slip through the cracks. Fraudsters thrive in this kind of setup—whether it’s unauthorized payment changes, phishing attacks, or unapproved transactions going unnoticed.
With the bank connector, everything is streamlined and secure. Payments flow directly from NetSuite to the banks through encrypted connections, ensuring straight-through processing (STP). No one can modify transactions once they leave NetSuite—users can only approve or reject payments, nothing more.
You also get a centralized audit trail, so you always know who approved what, when, and under which authorization settings. Plus, before payments are sent to the bank, Cobase automatically screens transactions against sanction lists, adding an extra layer of security and compliance.
With all approvals and controls in one place, you gain full oversight, prevent fraud, and ensure that only the right payments go through—without the guesswork.
Once payments are sent, you need to confirm they’ve been processed correctly—but reconciling bank statements can be a major and time-consuming challenge. Banks provide statements in different formats—MT940, CAMT.053, BAI2, or CSV—making automated reconciliation in NetSuite difficult or even impossible. If your team is manually matching transactions due to inconsistent formats, it’s a time-consuming process prone to errors and delays.
The Cobase Bank Connector solves this by automating and standardizing all incoming bank statements and seamlessly syncing them with NetSuite. This ensures smooth, automated reconciliation, reduces manual workload, and helps your finance team stay efficient and in control.
Cobase takes care of connecting your banks, so you don’t have to. With bank connectivity as a service, the Cobase Bank Implementation Team handles all the technical complexities—setting up connections, ensuring compatibility with different bank formats, and keeping everything running smoothly.
No need for IT involvement or manual setup on your end. Cobase manages the entire process, so your payments and bank statements flow seamlessly between NetSuite and your banks—securely, reliably, and hassle-free.
Cobase streamlines all payments generated from NetSuite, whether processed individually or in batches. It supports domestic, international, SEPA, non-SEPA, and any other specific payment types, ensuring smooth and secure transactions across all banks.
Acting as a universal translator, Cobase automatically converts payment instructions from NetSuite into the exact format required by your bank, whether it’s ISO 20022 XML, SEPA, or a country-specific format.
By eliminating manual adjustments, Cobase reduces errors, prevents failed transactions, and ensures payments are processed accurately. This automation saves time, accelerates payment cycles, and strengthens supplier relationships, giving you full confidence in every transaction.
Sending payments is just one side of the story—you also need to see what’s coming in without second-guessing if something is missing. Without automation, that means logging into multiple bank portals, downloading statements, and manually entering or importing them into NetSuite. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and easy to make mistakes.
Cobase eliminates that hassle by automatically retrieving bank statements and transaction confirmations, converting them into a standardized Cobase Generic Statement, and pushing them daily to the File Cabinet in NetSuite. No matter which bank you use, all statements arrive in a consistent format, ensuring seamless integration.
From there, these statements/ bank feeds can be connected to NetSuite’s Native Bank Reconciliation/Feeds solution or used with other SuiteApps like ZoneReconcile for fully automated bank reconciliation. Think of it like having an automated assistant that collects all your incoming financial data, organizes it, and delivers it exactly where you need it—so you always have a clear, complete picture of your cash flow without the manual work.
Managing payments across multiple systems can be overwhelming. Cobase’s centralized payment dashboard—also known as a worklist—lets you view, validate, and approve or reject all payment files from one place. Easily filter by due date, status, or currency to prioritize what needs attention.
With a single, structured view, you can see who initiated each payment, who approved it, and which transactions are still pending authorization. No more logging into multiple portals—everything is managed centrally in Cobase.
Access your dashboard anytime, from your phone or laptop, using a single token via the Cobase App. For even greater convenience, Single Sign-On (SSO) is supported through Microsoft Entra ID or Okta, ensuring fast and secure authentication. With Cobase, payment management becomes simpler, more efficient, and fully under your control.
Managing user rights and payment approvals across multiple bank portals is time-consuming and inefficient. Each bank has its own permission structure, and adding new users often involves lengthy KYC processes. Without a standardized approval workflow, teams rely on scattered emails and phone calls.
Cobase simplifies this by centralizing user management and automating approvals in one secure platform. Users can be added, modified, or deactivated in minutes, independent of bank portals. A 4-eye principle ensures secure user changes, while Super Users can define rights by entity, bank, account, payment type, or amount. Approval workflows are fully automated, with up to six levels of authorization for high-value or international payments.
With Cobase enforcing these rules automatically, businesses gain full visibility, stronger internal controls, and a faster, more secure approval process.
NetSuite is more than just an accounting system—it’s the backbone of your finance and operations. The Cobase Bank Connector SuiteApp integrates directly into NetSuite, enabling a straight-through processing (STP) workflow via a certified and secured API connection. This ensures that payment files, bank statements, and other financial data flow seamlessly between NetSuite and your banks without manual intervention.
Instead of switching between multiple bank portals or worrying about incomplete data synchronization, everything is managed within one centralized platform. Payments are securely transmitted, bank statements are automatically retrieved, and reconciliation data is always up to date. By eliminating manual file handling and reducing the risk of mismatches, Cobase streamlines financial operations, enhances security, and ensures a fully automated banking process within NetSuite.
Audits can be overwhelming when transaction histories are scattered across bank portals, emails, and spreadsheets. Cobase simplifies the process by automatically logging every step of each transaction—from initiation in NetSuite to final bank confirmation—creating a complete, centralized audit trail.
Beyond tracking, Cobase enhances security by screening all outgoing payments against sanction lists before funds leave your account, helping prevent fraud and ensuring compliance.
Real-time insight is crucial in finance. If your cash position is outdated by even a few days, you could make suboptimal decisions. Cobase’s dashboard gives you a live window into both outgoing and incoming transactions, enabling you to forecast cash flow more accurately.
With this at-your-fingertips information, you can quickly spot any unauthorized activity, reconcile your NetSuite records faster, and confidently plan for upcoming expenses.
Implementing the Cobase Bank Connector SuiteApp in NetSuite is straightforward, following these key steps:
According to a McKinsey & Company study
We have been using Cobase with NetSuite for quite some time now, and our experience has been very positive. The integration process was smooth and straightforward with the Cobase team. They have been providing excellent support every step of the way. We didn’t encounter any significant challenges during the setup phase, which made the transition seamless.
As an international company with bank accounts across different continents, Cobase has been invaluable in consolidating all our bank connectivity and approvals into a single platform. This eliminates the need to manage multiple banking platforms across various countries, streamlining the approval process and automating payments directly from NetSuite. Additionally, the automation of bank statement imports has greatly facilitated our day-to-day financial operations.
From a user experience standpoint, Cobase has proven to be highly intuitive and easy to use. Even our C-level executives, who are responsible for approving payments, have expressed satisfaction with how straightforward the platform is to navigate.
The support from Cobase has been personal and helpful whenever we’ve needed it. Their team is always responsive to inquiries, which we greatly appreciate.
In conclusion, Cobase has been a reliable and user-friendly solution that has made our international banking processes more streamlined and efficient. We would highly recommend it to other companies looking for an integrated banking solution within NetSuite.
Cobase helps us to combine the different banks on one platform. Further, the connection between Cobase and NetSuite is fully automated, which helps us in our automated finance processes. As such, I am fully satisfied with the use of Cobase.
Before we started using Cobase, we still did a lot of payments manually and our processes were not as efficient. Payment files were created in NetSuite, then downloaded and manually uploaded into the bank. Also, on the front end, bank statements were downloaded and then manually uploaded into NetSuite.
Since Cobase was implemented and a connection was made between NetSuite and our various banks, our financial processes have become a lot more efficient. Bank statements are automatically retrieved from the banks every day and communicated to NetSuite. When payment batches are created in NetSuite, they are automatically transferred to Cobase, where it goes through the approval flow.
The connection with NetSuite is reliable and fast. Ultimately, the implementation of Cobase has ensured less financial risk, less manual work, and a faster efficient process. We look forward to further collaboration between SendCloud and Cobase.
In a world where data breaches can cost millions, encryption is non-negotiable. The Cobase platform employs bank-level encryption standards so that payment files, statement data, and other sensitive information remain secure at every step of transmission.
Think of it like sealing important documents in a tamper-proof envelope. Even if someone intercepts the data in transit, they won’t be able to read it without the proper keys.
It’s one thing to secure your data in transit, but what about inside your organization? If every user had full access, you’d be wide open to accidental or malicious changes. Cobase mitigates this risk by offering granular role-based permissions and multi-layer access control.
For instance, a junior accountant might only initiate payments but not authorize them. A manager might authorize up to a certain threshold, and an executive might handle high-value transfers. Splitting these roles prevents a single individual from controlling the entire process, drastically reducing fraud risk.
Time savings matter today, but what about tomorrow? If your company is poised for rapid growth—whether through entering new markets or making acquisitions—juggling multiple bank portals will quickly become unmanageable. The more you scale, the more hours you’ll burn toggling between portals, fighting with inconsistent file formats, and chasing down errors. This chaos not only drags down productivity but also amplifies your exposure to fraud, as mismatched templates and disjointed approvals create new vulnerabilities.
Let’s talk numbers. Every minute employees spend manually preparing and uploading payment files is time not spent on strategic tasks that drive your business forward. Checking payment statuses, along with the significant costs of correcting payment errors. Now, consider the even greater price of fraud—both the direct financial hit and the reputational damage. How much is fraud prevention worth to you?
This is where Cobase comes in. By centralizing all your bank connections into a secured and encrypted platform, Cobase offers one-click or fully automated payments, standardizes workflows, and minimizes manual touchpoints. The result? Reduced risk of errors and fraud, and a smoother, scalable process that can handle increasing transaction volumes. Over time, these efficiencies translate into real cost savings—funds you can reinvest in growth, product innovation, or other high-value initiatives that keep your company ahead of the curve.
If you’ve ever tried to add or remove a user across multiple bank portals, you know it can be an administrative nightmare. Some banks even require the user to physically present themselves with a passport to complete the process—a major headache if you’re managing international operations. Each portal has its own rules, KYC steps, and token configurations, turning what should be a simple task into a logistical mess.
With Cobase, user management is entirely centralized and independent of individual bank processes. Need to onboard a new controller? Add them once in a few minutes, define their role or permission level, and you’re done—no more navigating separate bank systems or coordinating face-to-face verifications. This drastically reduces the time it takes to grant, modify, or revoke user access across all your bank accounts.
Plus, Cobase handles the connectivity with the banks under a “corporate seal,” meaning payments are recognized as originating from your organization without further individual bank approvals. Those who authorize payments don’t need to be on each bank’s radar; Cobase vouches for them. Think of it like a universal key card that instantly manages rights and permissions across every account—streamlining your operations, minimizing admin work, and eliminating the need to hop from one bank portal to another.
Whether you’re a fast-growing startup, a scale-up on the brink of international expansion, or an established global enterprise, Cobase offers a single, centralized solution to streamline your banking relationships. Our platform supports finance professionals at every scale, from companies with just a CFO and a bookkeeper to those with fully staffed treasury teams. No matter the size or complexity of your operations, Cobase helps you manage payments, cash, liquidity, and reconciliation with ease.
Smaller teams often need to move quickly—especially right after a funding round or during rapid growth. Opening new accounts in different countries and managing various bank portals can eat up precious time and add unnecessary risk. By consolidating everything into Cobase, you can:
Big organizations frequently juggle multiple banking relationships around the globe. Whether you have a dedicated treasury department or a diverse finance function, Cobase unifies your processes:
Companies that handle large transaction volumes—especially online businesses—often grapple with complex settlement processes. Cobase simplifies this by:
No matter how lean or layered your organization is, Cobase adapts to your needs. By reducing manual tasks, standardizing workflows, and offering real-time oversight, our platform ensures you remain in control—regardless of how many bank accounts or countries you operate in.
Rolling out a new system can sometimes meet resistance, especially if people are accustomed to multiple portals or manual processes. Offering thorough training and hands-on demos helps your team feel comfortable with the new workflow. Show them how quickly they can initiate a payment or onboard a new user—versus jumping through hoops at different bank branches.
Once they see how easy and time-saving Cobase really is, your employees will be eager adopters who champion the solution internally.
Executives, managers, and even external partners (like auditors) may all be affected by your shift to an automated process. Outline the key benefits they’ll see:
Better Visibility: A single interface for multiple bank accounts, making reporting and monitoring straightforward.
Reduced Fraud Risk: Centralized permissions and corporate sealed payments mean less chance of unauthorized transactions.
Streamlined Auditing: Consistent, digital records eliminate the guesswork that comes with scattered banking portals.
Keeping everyone informed ensures buy-in and paves the way for smoother adoption.
Define and track KPIs that matter to your organization—such as the decrease in payment processing time, fewer payment errors, or a higher on-time vendor payout rate. Sharing these metrics with your team and stakeholders validates the investment in Cobase and helps identify areas for further optimization.
Transitioning from manual to automated processes can feel intimidating. Some team members might be skeptical, believing that the old, familiar way is “good enough.” Combat this by demonstrating quick wins—like reducing a multi-step, hour-long task to a few minutes. Real-life proof of time savings and error reduction goes a long way toward turning skeptics into supporters.
Even a robust platform like Cobase requires periodic attention, whether that’s software updates, security patches, or configurations for newly opened bank accounts in different countries. Assign a dedicated team member or administrator to coordinate with Cobase for these updates. Regular reviews ensure your connector remains secure, compliant, and aligned with your evolving business needs.
The Cobase Bank Connector offers a seamless, fully managed solution to a problem that has long vexed finance departments: juggling multiple bank portals, formats, and security protocols. By consolidating everything—payment initiation, statement retrieval, user management, and fraud prevention—into a single, user-friendly platform, Cobase allows NetSuite users to reclaim the time and energy once lost to manual processes.
Whether you’re a treasury manager in a global corporation or a fast-scaling e-commerce firm, Cobase reduces complexity, cuts costs, and safeguards your transactions from fraud. Adopting a bank connector isn’t just about modernizing for the sake of innovation; it’s about giving your finance team the tools they need to thrive in a competitive landscape. With Cobase, you gain control, visibility, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing your banking operations are secure and fully optimized.
By centralizing all your banking activities under one easy-to-use platform, Cobase helps you say goodbye to tangled payment processes and compliance headaches. Imagine automating file formats, reconciling multiple accounts with a click, and drastically cutting down manual tasks—all while integrating seamlessly with NetSuite. Cobase’s fully managed connectivity, sophisticated payment dashboards, and secure authorization workflows empower your finance team to stay focused on strategic tasks instead of chasing spreadsheets. Ready to see how Cobase can transform your financial operations? Let’s unlock that potential together.
1. How quickly can I integrate bank with NetSuite via Cobase?
In most cases, basic integration can be completed within a few weeks. The timeline varies depending on the number of banks, complexity of payment workflows, and any custom configurations you require.
2. Do I need special IT skills to maintain the Cobase Bank Connector?
Not necessarily. Cobase manages the connectivity on your behalf. While you’ll need someone to oversee user roles and address minor administrative tasks, Cobase provides support and handles most technical updates in the background.
3. Can Cobase handle both domestic and international payments?
Absolutely. Cobase supports multiple payment types and formats, making it easy to process local payroll runs alongside international vendor payments, all from a single platform.
4. What if my company works with multiple ERPs, not just NetSuite?
Cobase can integrate with various systems, but its direct connector for NetSuite is particularly robust and user-friendly. If you run multiple ERPs, consult with Cobase about establishing connectivity across all relevant platforms.
5. Is Cobase suitable for smaller businesses, or only large enterprises?
Cobase scales to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. Smaller organizations benefit from streamlined banking operations, while larger enterprises gain maximum security and oversight for complex, high-volume transactions.