Automating bank feeds with NetSuite

Introduction

If your finance team uses NetSuite but still manually logs into multiple bank portals to retrieve bank feeds—or bank statements—you’re not just wasting time; you’re compromising control, visibility, and efficiency.

Reconciling bank statements against invoices is an especially tedious and inconsistent process. Different banks use different formats, and gaining access often involves lengthy KYC procedures, token management, and user permissions. As a result, many companies resort to doing reconciliations weekly or even monthly, leading to outdated insights and a lack of timely cash flow visibility in NetSuite.

To address this, some finance teams turn to aggregators like Saltedge or attempt direct integrations with individual banks. But these solutions come with their own issues—duplicates, delays, frequent re-authentication requirements, and limited geographic or institutional coverage. Even when statement retrieval is automated, payments often remain manual. And while connecting one bank may be manageable, scaling across multiple banks introduces significant complexity in managing formats, connections, and long-term maintainability.

That’s where Cobase comes in.

Cobase provides a centralized banking connectivity layer between your global banks and NetSuite. It unifies and standardizes data flows, removes the fragmentation of multi-bank environments, and supports both statement imports and payment processing—eliminating manual tasks and future-proofing your financial operations in a rapidly evolving banking landscape.

In this article, we’ll explore how Cobase integrates with NetSuite to automate bank feeds, streamline reconciliation, and enhance control—so your team can move from crisis management to forward-planning.

Why automating bank feeds in NetSuite matters

NetSuite is a powerful ERP, but its native bank connectivity is often limited, leading finance teams to rely on manual downloads and uploads. This slows down reconciliation, delays visibility, and ultimately weakens your organization’s financial control.

The real challenge

If you’re manually pulling bank statements and importing them into NetSuite, you're not just wasting time—you’re losing control. Different bank portals, inconsistent file formats, and user permission hurdles introduce daily inefficiencies. Even worse, this often results in reconciliation being done weekly—or even monthly—leaving finance teams with outdated cash positions and inaccurate forecasting.

Without timely visibility, you can’t optimize surplus cash, mitigate FX exposure, or make confident investment decisions within the group. The true cost of manual workflows isn’t just time—it’s missed opportunities.

PwC Finance Effectiveness Benchmarking Report

What are bank feeds—really?

A bank feed is a scheduled, structured flow of transactional data from your bank to NetSuite. But what truly matters isn’t how the data is transferred—it’s how actionable and consistent that data is. Cobase redefines bank feeds by ensuring the data is timely, enriched, normalized, and ready for reconciliation and strategic use.

Common methods of bank connectivity include:

• Corporate APIs – Modern and efficient, but often limited in transaction types or cross-border capabilities

• SWIFT messaging – Available via the Cobase BIC or your own BIC, offering global reach

• File-based connections – Formats like CAMT.053, MT940, and CSV over SFTP or host-to-host (H2H)

• Manual processes – Error-prone, delayed, and increasingly unscalable

Cobase intelligently determines the best connection method for each bank—whether it's API, SWIFT, SFTP, or H2H—so you don’t have to. Our experts handle the complexity, choose the optimal route, and maintain the integration over time.

We also maintain Cobase-owned H2H connections and standard setups with many major banks, enabling rapid onboarding and long-term stability.

Common challenges for NetSuite users—and how Cobase solves them

1. Delayed cash visibility from manual bank portal access

Multiple logins and manual downloads delay cash positioning and forecasting.

Cobase advantage: Aggregates bank balances and transactions from your global accounts into one dashboard, feeding them into NetSuite automatically.

2. Inconsistent formats and data structure

Banks speak different data languages, and NetSuite can’t process all of them natively.

Cobase advantage: Normalizes file types (e.g., CAMT.053, MT940, BAI2) into a NetSuite-ready format, eliminating manual conversion and scripting.

3. Unstable integrations and API limitations

Direct integrations often break when banks change protocols—and most APIs don’t cover cross-currency, salary, or batch payments.

Cobase advantage: We maintain and monitor all connections—choosing and updating the best method (API, H2H, SWIFT, or SFTP) so your team never has to worry. Our experts decide the best route for each bank and ensure continuity.

4. Poor data quality, harder reconciliation

Basic transaction data isn’t enough to reconcile intercompany payments, AP/AR, or payroll.

Cobase advantage: Enriches transactions with metadata—counterparties, references, timestamps—for smarter, automated reconciliation inside NetSuite.

Cobase: from bank feed automation to strategic cash optimization

Cobase isn’t just a tool for automating bank feeds. It’s a cash control platform that empowers your finance and treasury teams to take action:

• Improve forecasting accuracy through timely cash visibility

• Mitigate FX risks with up-to-date flow insights

• Maximize returns by automatically redistributing excess cash to interest-bearing or strategic accounts

• Simplify intercompany cash flow with support for in-house banking and internal interest calculations

We help you unlock liquidity, manage currency risk, and turn your ERP into a cash command center—not just a system of record.

Case study: How S4 integrated its acquisitions with Cobase and Netsuite

S4 Capital, a global leader in digital advertising and technology services, faced the daunting task of unifying treasury operations across 96 entities, 29 banks, and 450 bank accounts—challenges that emerged from its fast-paced growth through over 30 acquisitions. The lack of cash visibility and the burden of manual, error-prone processes posed significant operational risks. By implementing Cobase’s multi-banking platform and integrating it seamlessly with NetSuite and their TMS, S4 Capital achieved real-time cash visibility, automated payment workflows, and streamlined banking connectivity. As Group Treasurer Christof Nelischer explains, “Cobase has proved to be a game changer, because a lot of manual work has fallen away.” This transformation not only enhanced compliance and control but also empowered the company to scale efficiently, setting the foundation for even smoother future acquisitions.

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Global bank connectivity

With Cobase, you don’t need to choose how to connect with each bank. We do it for you. Whether it's SWIFT, corporate APIs, EBICS, or host-to-host (H2H), we select, implement, and maintain the best-fit method. If you already have a SWIFT BIC, we can connect via SWIFT Cloud. If not, you can use the Cobase SWIFT BIC to connect to global banks—without owning one yourself.

Our standard connections and Cobase-owned H2H integrations allow you to get up and running quickly, while ensuring scalability and stability as your business grows.

Cobase & NetSuite

With Cobase integrated into NetSuite, you gain:

• Centralized visibility: See all balances and transactions across all accounts and entities in one place.

• Frictionless reconciliation: Automatically match transactions with enriched, categorized data.

• Speed and accuracy: Close books faster, plan better, and act with confidence.

• Security and compliance: SOC2, ISO 27001, TLS encryption, 2FA, and full audit trails.

• Zero IT burden: Cobase handles everything—from onboarding to maintenance.

Implementation that works for you

Every NetSuite setup is unique. We adapt to your environment, not the other way around.

Implementation includes:

• Custom field mapping

• Multi-bank integration testing

• Guided onboarding and training

• Proactive monitoring and optimization

The result? Seamless integration, continuous support, and no disruptions.

Beyond automation

Automating bank statements is just the beginning. Cobase enables forward-looking cash management by:

• Automating payments directly from NetSuite or other systems

• Enabling centralized control of group-wide payments and liquidity

• Laying the groundwork for in-house banking, intercompany settlement, and interest management

The future of finance isn’t about faster transactions—it’s about smarter actions. Cobase puts that power in your hands.

Conclusion

Want to find out what Cobase can do for you?

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can Cobase integrate with all of my banks, even if they use different formats or protocols?
Yes. Cobase supports over 300 global banks using various protocols including SWIFT (MT940/MT942), CAMT.053, BAI2, CSV, SFTP, EBICS, and Open Banking APIs. Regardless of your banks’ format or geographic location, Cobase standardizes and delivers their data directly into NetSuite—fully normalized and automation-ready.

2. How does Cobase connect to NetSuite? Does it require custom development?
Cobase offers pre-configured, customizable integration workflows tailored to your NetSuite instance. Our team handles field mapping, formatting, and testing, ensuring a seamless connection without the need for custom scripts or IT-heavy deployments. We adapt to your ERP setup—not the other way around.

3. What kind of data enrichment does Cobase provide for reconciliation in NetSuite?
Cobase applies intelligent metadata enrichment to each transaction, including reference tagging, counterparty identification, value date alignment, and rule-based categorization. This enables automated reconciliation of payments, invoices, intercompany transactions, and payroll in NetSuite with fewer manual interventions.

4. How secure is Cobase for handling sensitive financial data?
Security is at the core of Cobase’s architecture. We’re fully compliant with SOC2, ISO 20002, and PSD2, and we implement best-in-class security features including TLS encryption, OAuth2, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and role-based access controls. You maintain full visibility and control over access and audit trails.

5. What’s the implementation process like, and how long does it take?
Cobase provides dedicated onboarding support, from initial consultation through testing and go-live. The typical implementation timeline varies depending on your number of banks and internal configurations, but most clients are operational within a few weeks. We work closely with your finance and IT teams to ensure a smooth, disruption-free rollout.