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BAI2 file format explained — records, control totals and type codes

How a BAI2 balance report is built: the eight record types field by field, continuation lines, implied decimals, funds availability, the arithmetic behind the control totals in the 49, 98 and 99 records, and the full list of 469 uniform type codes.

• A complete BAI2 file
• The eight record types
• 01 and 02: file and group header
• 03: account, status and summary
• 16: transaction detail
• 88: continuation
• Amounts and implied decimals
• Funds type
• Control totals and record counts
• Type codes
• BAI2, BTRS and camt.053
• FAQ

A complete BAI2 file

01,EXAMPLEBANK,EXAMPLECORP,261111,0530,1,80,,2/
02,EXAMPLECORP,EXAMPLEBANK,1,261110,2359,USD,2/
03,4520001234,USD,010,+125043210,,,015,+133618210,,/
88,100,9825000,2,,400,1250000,1,/
16,165,8450000,0,ACH26314000123,INV-20261104,NORTHWIND RETAIL INC
88,ENTRY DESCR:PAYMENT
16,301,1375000,S,875000,300000,200000,DEP0001177,,BRANCH DEPOSIT 0417
16,475,1250000,0,CHK0010482,10482,CHECK PAID
49,+280811420,7/
98,+280811420,1,9/
99,+280811420,1,11/

Read from the top: Example Bank sends a file created on 11 November 2026 at 05:30. It holds one group — final previous-day data for 10 November, in US dollars — and one account, 4520001234. The account opened with a ledger balance of 1,250,432.10 (type 010) and closed at 1,336,182.10 (type 015). The continuation line adds two summaries: total credits 98,250.00 in 2 items (type 100) and total debits 12,500.00 in 1 item (type 400). Three transactions follow: an ACH credit of 84,500.00, a deposit of 13,750.00 of which 8,750.00 is available at once, 3,000.00 after one day and 2,000.00 later, and check 10482 for 12,500.00. 1,250,432.10 + 98,250.00 − 12,500.00 = 1,336,182.10, so the account reconciles.

The eight record types

Every line starts with a two-digit record code. Fields are separated by commas, and a slash ends the record. An empty field keeps its comma: ,, means “not given”.

The nesting is strict: a file contains groups, a group contains accounts, an account contains its transactions. A 49 always closes the last 03, a 98 the last 02, and the 99 the 01.

01 and 02: file and group header

01,EXAMPLEBANK,EXAMPLECORP,261111,0530,1,80,,2/

02,EXAMPLECORP,EXAMPLEBANK,1,261110,2359,USD,2/

03: account identifier, status and summary

03,4520001234,USD,010,+125043210,,,015,+133618210,,/

After the account number and currency, the record repeats the same four fields — type code, amount, item count, funds type — once for every balance or total the bank reports. In the example, 010,+125043210,, is the opening ledger with its two empty fields, and 015,+133618210,, the closing ledger. An account that only identifies itself is written 03,4520001234,,,,,/.

16: transaction detail

16,475,1250000,0,CHK0010482,10482,CHECK PAID

Whether a 16 record is a credit or a debit is not written anywhere in the record — it follows from the type code. That is why a parser needs the type code table.

88: continuation

An 88 record continues the record directly above it, in the same format. There are two cases:

• More fields. The line above ends with a slash after a complete field, and the 88 goes on with the next field: 88,100,9825000,2,,400,1250000,1,/ adds two more type codes to the 03 record.
• More text. The line above ends inside the text of a 16 record, without a slash, and the 88 carries on the text: 88,ENTRY DESCR:PAYMENT.

A field other than text is never split across two lines. Continuation lines count as records in the 49, 98 and 99 counts.

Amounts and implied decimals

Amounts have no decimal point. The currency decides how many of the digits are decimals: 1250000 is 12,500.00 in USD, 1,250,000 in JPY and 1,250.000 in KWD. The currency is the one in the 03 record; if that is empty, the one in the 02 record; if that is empty too, USD.

Only status amounts (types 001–099) may carry a sign — an overdrawn ledger balance is written 010,-2500000. Summary and detail amounts are always unsigned.

Funds type

The funds type says when the money is available. It is a single character, and three of the values are followed by extra fields:

Examples: …,S,875000,300000,200000,… splits 13,750.00 into 8,750.00 immediate, 3,000.00 one-day and 2,000.00 later. …,V,261112,,… is value dated 12 November 2026 with no time. …,D,2,0,875000,3,500000,… gives two distributions: 8,750.00 immediate and 5,000.00 after three days. Because S, V and D add fields, the bank reference of a 16 record is not always the fifth field — count from the funds type.

Control totals and record counts

Each trailer lets the receiver prove that nothing was lost or changed:

In the example the account control total is 280811420 = 125043210 + 133618210 (the two balances) + 9825000 + 1250000 (the two summaries) + 8450000 + 1375000 + 1250000 (the three transactions). Three things trip people up:

• The total is a plain sum of the digits as written — a hash, not a balance. Credits and debits are both added, and so are balances.
• The availability amounts after a funds type S or D (875000, 300000 and 200000 above) are not part of the total. Item counts are not either.
• Record counts include the 88 lines. The example account has 7 records: one 03, two 88, three 16 and the 49.

Delete or add a single line by hand and the 49, 98 and 99 records are all wrong. SafeCAMT checks every total and count and can write a copy of the file with them recalculated.

Type codes

A three-digit type code names every amount. The number range tells you what kind of amount it is:

Codes 900–999 are not standardised: each bank assigns its own, so ask your bank for its list. The ones you will meet in almost every file:

The full uniform list — 469 codes — follows. “Level” says where a code belongs: status and summary codes in the 03 record, detail codes in 16 records.

• Account status codes (001–099)
• Credit codes (100–399)
• Debit codes (400–699)
• Loan codes (700–799)
• Non-monetary information (890)

Account status codes (001–099)

Balances and float. Used only in 03 records (and their 88 continuations); the amount may carry a sign.

Credit codes (100–399)

Summary codes report a total and go in the 03 record; detail codes report one transaction and go in a 16 record.

Debit codes (400–699)

The same split as for credits. Detail amounts are unsigned: the type code alone says that the entry is a debit.

Loan codes (700–799)

Loan balances, payments and disbursements.

Non-monetary information (890)

A 16 record that carries only a text message.

BAI2, BTRS and camt.053

BAI2 dates from 1987 and was handed over to the standards committee ASC X9, which published its successor as ANSI X9.121, the Balance and Transaction Reporting Standard (BTRS, sometimes called BAI3). BTRS keeps the same records and adds more type codes; its files carry version 3 in the 01 record. Many banks still deliver plain BAI2.

The ISO 20022 counterpart is camt.053 for end-of-day statements and camt.052 for intraday reports. The data maps across directly — opening and closing ledger (010, 015) become the OPBD and CLBD balances, each 16 record becomes an entry — but camt.053 gives the counterparty, account and remittance their own elements where BAI2 has one text field. SafeCAMT converts a BAI2 file to camt.053; the correspondences are in the BAI2 to camt.053 table.

Where this comes from

The record layouts and type codes follow the Cash Management Balance Reporting Specifications, Version 2 technical reference manual published by BAI (Bank Administration Institute); the standard is now maintained by ASC X9. The code names are those of the uniform type code list, with a few misprints corrected; the explanations are our own. Banks implement subsets and add their own codes and conventions, so your bank’s BAI2 guide has the last word for its files.

FAQ

Last updated 2026-11-11. Something wrong or missing? Email support@biteapps.cc.