How to receive files from banks

Security isn't optional when doing business with banks. Because of the sensitive customer and financial data running through their systems, banks tend to have a strict, documented way of securely sending files to external parties. And since the data is frequently sensitive in nature, the external parties usually have to slot into the bank's ways of doing things, not the other way around. 

Fortunately, one of the most commonly used methods for banks to send files is via SFTP due to the security and safeguards of the protocol. In this guide, we'll show you how to use Couchdrop to receive files from banks via SFTP, as well as show you some other options that may be possible for banks to send you files. 

How do banks send files? 

There are a few ways that banks send files, and depending on the specific bank you're working with, you might have a single option or a choice between multiple methods. Some banks use tools like web portals; larger financial institutions may have something like this in place because they deal with a large number of vendors. 

Email is generally not used as a feasible option for receiving files from banks. While in rare cases, encrypted email is an option, emailing files comes with a number of restrictions, and those files will need to be transferred from the mail server to the storage endpoint anyway, so it's usually not the ideal method.  

Instead, one of the most common options banks use to send files is via SFTP.  Since SFTP is used the most and because the setup process for receiving files from banks via SFTP is generally the same, we'll focus on that use case for this guide. 

Why do banks use SFTP?

Since SFTP is one of the most widely used transfer protocols--and nearly universally available--it's frequently chosen by banks as the way to send files. A lot of organizations they work with already have access to an SFTP server, and getting the files can be as simple as adding a new connection to their existing server. 

But what about for organizations on the other end, especially ones that don't have a server ready to go, or have never even heard of SFTP? 

In many cases, the banks aren't flexible; they have an established way of doing things that is secure and refined, and other companies need to work with it, no questions asked. If you don't regularly use SFTP (or don't have access to a server), it can seem like a lot of complicated, technical work that requires both technical and physical resources. 

With Couchdrop, the process takes minutes instead of days and doesn't require you to spend time or resources setting up and managing your own servers. 

Setting up Couchdrop to receive files via SFTP 

Receiving files via SFTP is one of the core use cases of Couchdrop, and one that we've simplified and made incredibly easy. All you need to do is connect or configure storage (the place where files will be received) and then set up a connection to receive files from the bank via SFTP.

Depending on the bank, they may want to push files to you, or you can pull files that they make available on their SFTP endpoint. We'll cover both methods in this guide. 

Creating a storage connection 

Before setting up the transfer, you need to choose where the files will be stored. With Couchdrop, you have the option to use the included hosted storage or to connect your own storage account. 

For receiving files from banks, most organizations choose to bring their own storage because they have complete control over where files are stored. This option is also more secure, because the files can be transferred directly between the bank and your storage without being stored by Couchdrop

To create a storage connection, log in to Couchdrop and choose to connect to platforms, then choose your storage platform from the list. The specific process varies by platform, but most are authorized in seconds using OAuth. Once connected, you can optionally choose a directory in your storage account as the root.  

The configured storage account will now show in Couchdrop's virtual file browser. Next, you'll need to set up the connection for the bank. 

Configuring Couchdrop to receive files

After you have your storage connection, you need to set up the file transfers themselves. This will usually be one of two methods: you connect to the bank's SFTP endpoint (an SFTP pull), or you create an external user so the bank can send files directly to your storage (an SFTP push).

Most likely, the bank will have you pull files that they provide on their SFTP endpoint. This method is more likely to be used as the bank has the most control over security, users, and can update settings and revoke access to the endpoint at any time.

To set up this method of receiving files from banks, you'll need to add the details for their SFTP server/endpoint as a partner/provider connection. 

Configuring an SFTP push

While less likely, you may be able to receive files from banks by having the bank push the files to your endpoint. With the SFTP push method, you create the SFTP user and provide the credentials to the bank.

To do this, choose to create a new SFTP user in Couchdrop. Create a username and password or have Couchdrop generate them for you. Couchdrop also supports Public and Automatic RSA Key creation to authenticate with a private and public key pair.

Finally, select a home/root directory for the user. Remember, this can be a directory in any connected storage platform, and when you add your own storage, the files are never stored by Couchdrop.

After creating the user, send the user credentials to the bank as well as the details for your SFTP endpoint (this can be done directly from Couchdrop). You've now finished the configuration so that files that the bank pushes via SFTP using these credentials will land directly in your storage.

Configuring an SFTP pull

The most critical difference for this method is that the bank will need to set up credentials for your organization on their SFTP server. These same credentials will be used to integrate the server with your Couchdrop account, so make sure you have these ready before proceeding. 

Once you have these details, go to your Couchdrop account and choose to connect to a new partner/provider, and then pick the SFTP server. Fill out the fields with the information they've provided you and test the connection. 

And that's it! You can now browse the folder on the SFTP endpoint directly within the Couchdrop interface and download the files at any time. 

However, you can make the process much simpler by using automations. 

Enhancing with automations 

If you're on the Essentials plan or above, you have access to Couchdrop's visual automation builder that lets you create multi-step transfer workflows without code. Using automations is the easiest way to receive files directly into your storage account via SFTP, as everything can be done in Couchdrop with no external scripts or apps required. This is especially useful for SFTP pulls as you can automatically pull files directly to your storage. 

Creating an automation to receive files is simple and only takes a minute to set up. Go to Automations and choose to create a new workflow. For the trigger, we recommend using the Schedule trigger so that Couchdrop can open the connection and check the endpoint regularly for new files. You can create a single schedule (such as daily at 6:00 am) and also add as many secondary schedules as needed (so daily at 6:00 am + daily at 12:00 pm).

Then, simply choose the files the workflow applies to (such as a single file, files in the target folder, or the target folder and subfolders) and choose to copy or move the file to the storage you integrated. 

While you can move the files as is (with the existing filename etc), you can also add file processing steps to your workflow, such as making a copy to distribute to multiple endpoints or renaming the file in transit to meet your naming conventions. 

Working with encrypted files

Since banks work with highly sensitive data, it's not uncommon for the files they send to be encrypted before being sent as an added level of security. PGP or AES encryption are both frequently used, and fortunately, Couchdrop can help decrypt both of these automatically with no additional software needed. 

To decrypt files, simply add a decrypt action to your workflow, then select the encryption key(s) to use. If you haven't set these up in Couchdrop yet, you can do them in the Admin panel or directly within the workflow. Then, simply run the workflow as usual and the decrypt action will happen automatically as the files are retrieved. 

For a full breakdown of PGP encryption, see our article How to automate SFTP file transfers with PGP encryption and decryption. 

Use Couchdrop to easily receive files from banks

Couchdrop is a simple and secure way to receive files from banks. Not only can you receive the files directly in your cloud storage, but you can also rename and transform files on the way so they're ready for next steps as soon as they arrive.

To test how Couchdrop works for receiving files, simply register for an account. Every new account gets instant access to Couchdrop through a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.