Despite the autumn chill, our users can always expect a warm welcome from the team here at Pandle. We’ve recently added some upgrades, for an even more heart-warming experience.
We’ve switched to a new bank feeds provider, giving users of our accounting software a faster, more reliable experience. High-fives all round!
Straightforward efficiency
Connecting a bank account to Pandle using our Bank Feeds feature enables users to automatically import their bank transactions. It’s win-win, because reducing the amount of time users spend entering transactions manually also means less risk of data entry errors.
Direct bank feeds for simple business bookkeeping
Our new Bank Feeds work by connecting Pandle to the user’s bank account via a data link, supplied by our external provider, Plaid. We previously worked with a different provider, who used an indirect feed connection. The process is known as screen scraping, where transactions are copied out of the bank account and transmitted to our accounting software.
We’ve decided to make this switch due to the recent changes to Open Banking and PSD2, which you can read more about here. This update will future-proof our Bank Feeds, improving both their speed and reliability to ensure our users are experiencing the best possible service.
We’re dedicated to reducing bookkeeping errors with a straightforward, highly secure accounting platform.
Setting up a direct bank feed in Pandle
If this sounds complex, don’t worry – we’ve already taken care of all the technical stuff!
Currently our new feeds are still in beta. To all you technophobes (like myself), this just means it’s a version which we are still refining, behind the scenes. We usually run all our beta tests before any new feature is released. However, after the recent issues users have faced when importing transactions with our old provider, we were keen to get our feeds back and up and running as quickly as possible!
If you switch to our new feeds now, during the beta phase, you will then have to re-connect your feed again when the feature becomes fully functional. This will be within the next 3-4 weeks.
Re-connecting your feeds will be super straightforward, but we just wanted to make all users aware, in case they prefer to wait before switching over to our new provider.
Connecting your new bank feed
The next time users log in to their account, go to their check and confirm screen, or attempt to refresh an old bank feed, they will be presented with the following modal inviting them to trial our new bank feeds:
From the Enter Transactions screen, existing users will now see that the entry method for their bank account will display as Bank Feed (old). This indicates that our old feed provider is still connected to this account:
To connect their account to our new direct feeds, users will need to click the edit bank account button, change the entry method to ‘Bank Feed’ and then click ‘Connect Bank Account’, before following the on screen instructions to enter their banking credentials:
If users have any draft transactions, which are waiting to be checked and confirmed or any transactions sitting in their pending tab, then changing the entry method will automatically remove these from the current feed.
There is no cause for alarm though! After the new feed is connected, Pandle will prompt users to import transactions from the day after the last confirmed transaction, ensuring nothing is missed in the switchover.
For any new users, well, the process couldn’t be simpler! Just select Bank Feed, connect the account and away you go! Hakuna matata.
What direct bank feeds mean for Pandle
In real terms, this means our new provider connects Pandle directly to a user’s chosen bank account. Rather than an extra link in the chain, it’s the glue which holds the data together.
Our new direct bank feeds will also enable us to connect our users with online banks such as Revolut, Monzo and N26, keeping up with the growing demand for connectivity with these popular alternatives to high street banks.
”But what about Starling?”, we hear our users cry! We’ve checked with Plaid and this feed is currently in development, so these should be up and running soon. We’ll be sure to release more information as soon as we can.
Direct bank feeds and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
For accounts that use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), these new feeds will also make life a little easier!
Whilst users will still be required to refresh their feeds periodically, we’ve taken back control and taken out the guesswork. When it’s time to refresh that feed, Pandle will show the ‘Refresh Feed’ button. If it’s not there, then sit back and relax. Everything is working perfectly.
Future developments
The platform provided by our new feed partner will also enable further development in this area. Soon users will be able to import transactions older than 365 days, which was a limitation of the previous provider.
As transactions will now be imported into Pandle immediately, rather than every 3 hours, we’re also working on a notification feature for Pandle Mobile. Once implemented, users will be prompted to categorise their transactions as they happen. This will provide tremendous benefits to users, ensuring they are making decisions based on truly up-to-date financial information.
Real-time bookkeeping for the real-world. How do you like those uber efficient apples?
We also love hearing from our users – feedback is essential for our research and development! Contact us to have your say on this update.
