Account reconciliation software: What's the best option for payment companies?

As a fintech or payment company looking for account reconciliation software, you’ve probably experienced the following:

• You find manual reconciliation tedious and time-consuming. Manually pulling data from disparate systems, matching items and chasing down sign-offs takes longer than it should.  
• You’re noticing inaccuracies in your reconciliations. Manual reconciliation is prone to errors, leading to additional days of work and concerns around data integrity.
• You don’t feel prepared for audits. You’re worried that your existing processes lack auditability, risking audit failures and non-compliance.

You might be wondering what account reconciliation software is right for your business. What features should you look for? Is the software a good fit for fintechs and the payment industry? 

To help you decide, we’ll review four of the best account reconciliation software options, their key features and what to look out for. 

In this article: 

• Top four account reconciliation software for payment companies
• Kani: account reconciliation software specifically for payment companies
• Other account reconciliation software that works with payment companies 
• Five questions to ask yourself before deciding on account reconciliation software
• How Transact Payments improved regulatory reporting and saved time on manual reconciliation with the Kani platform

Looking for account reconciliation software designed specifically for fintechs and the payment industry? Try a demo of Kani 

Top four account reconciliation software for payment companies

Before we go into depth on your options, here are four account reconciliation software vendors and some of their features at a glance: 

 

Read on to find out more about each reconciliation platform. 

Kani: account reconciliation software specifically for payment companies

Since we’re the ones writing this article, we thought we’d start by explaining how Kani works.

Kani is the only payments reporting and reconciliation platform built by true payments experts. We specialise in empowering BIN sponsors, challenger banks, acquirers, and other fintechs to complete weeks’ worth of transaction reporting and reconciliation work in minutes – all by using our award-winning SaaS platform to simplify vast and complex datasets.

Our goal is to turn your data into an asset, working harder and smarter for your business. Since 2018, we’ve reconciled billions in processed payment volume for our clients.

So, as a fintech or payments company looking for account reconciliation software, why should you choose Kani over other platforms? 

Use a tailored account reconciliation and reporting solution optimised for the payments industry

Generic bank reconciliation software often lacks a nuanced understanding of the accounting processes required by the payments industry. For example, they may be unable to handle the specific reporting requirements for schemes like Mastercard QMR or Visa GOC. 

Kani is built by payment experts specifically for payment companies. With Kani, you’ll be able to integrate with all your payment processors and reconcile them with one tool. Kani automatically standardises your data, whether it comes from card transactions, processors, banks, internal general ledgers or third parties. The platform also handles various file formats, including XML, CSV and JSON, merging them into a unified format for seamless processing.

You can access ready-made templates and dashboards so you don’t have to set up each  reconciliation from scratch (although there is that option as well). These templates are an ideal foundation for assembling your reconciliations, so you don’t need to waste time wondering what to include. 

You can also choose to build your own dashboard with our self-serve reporting tool to put you in control of your data. Our friendly payment experts are always on hand to help you if you get stuck!

Automate reconciliations to save hours of time and manual effort 

Reconciliation is particularly challenging for a payment company, with transaction volumes rising each year and multiple payment processors adding to the complexity.   

If you’re a scheme member, you’re probably familiar with spending weeks each quarter completing a Mastercard QMR or a Visa GOC. Our research finds that the average payment company spends roughly 150 working hours on card scheme reporting annually.  

And that’s not even including time for daily safeguarding, which typically has to be done once a day.

We created Kani to alleviate the reconciliation burden for the payments industry. Our platform offers automated reconciliation, allowing you to reconcile large volumes of transactions in seconds with accuracy.  

There are various automations available in the Kani platform to save time and resources on reconciliation, such as:

• Set reconciliations to run at specific times of the day and send a snapshot to senior management such as your CFO.
• Send alerts for reconciliation variances requiring further investigation. 
• Generate specific reports and deliver them to the assigned team member. 

Automations are particularly useful when the regulator requests something that is typically done manually.

For example, we recently worked with an international client who had to reconcile twice daily because of the Spanish regulator’s requirements. Without Kani, someone would need to be in the office at 6 am and 6 pm.

But with Kani, they complete daily reconciliation and scheme reports automatically. Because Kani standardises all data and automatically runs reconciliations, no one has to be there to submit the data manually, saving their team hundreds of hours each year versus a manual account reconciliation process. 

Trust that your reconciliation is accurate, thanks to standardised data, real-time alerts and drill-down functionality 

Manual reconciliation isn’t just time-consuming; it’s also prone to errors, even with the most seasoned employees.. Not only is there a massive volume of data, but you’re probably receiving documents in various formats, making it tedious to reconcile in spreadsheets manually. 

Our advanced transaction matching and detailed reporting features ensure all data is accurate, resolving discrepancies promptly and minimising the risk of errors. If the platform spots a discrepancy, you’ll get a real-time alert via email, meaning you only have to access the platform when necessary. 

You can also quickly drill down into data to find the root cause issue in reconciliation discrepancies. Our dashboards give you a high-level view of your reconciliations, where you can click through each individual report for a detailed breakdown, even down to individual transactions.

Be prepared for external auditors with audit trails, version control and multi-user access

Preparing for external audits manually can be daunting: you may not know how the auditor wants to review the data and whether it meets the FCA’s requirements. If the auditor asks for more information, you want to be able to quickly access it and share it with them.

One significant downside of manual reconciliation is that anyone with access can manipulate your Excel documents. There is no version control, so keeping changes is difficult. You might spend hours working on a document, only to realise it’s the wrong version.

Similarly, Excel doesn’t have sign-off capabilities, making it difficult to tell if it’s the most up to date version. Your regulator might even ask you for supporting documentation, such as printing off your reconciliations with a wet signature to confirm the final version. You’ll need to manage this daily, adding unnecessary delays to your financial close process. 

Kani has a clear audit trail, so it’s easy to track changes. Our platform also has intercompany sign-off capabilities, so a key stakeholder can sign-off on the report with an electronic signature to confirm it’s the final document. If someone edits the document after that sign-off, the platform alerts you by email or Slack immediately. 

With our user group functions, you can also give an auditor read-only access to the platform, allowing them to conduct a thorough review.

By using Kani, you can be confident in the accuracy of your reports and be ready to handle external auditors at a moment’s notice. 

Who is Kani good for? 

We stand out from competitors because we’re built specifically for the payment industry. We understand your challenges because we’ve been there ourselves!

Our team of payment experts can advise you on best practices, ensuring you get the most out of our software. With our industry-leading reporting, we’ll tailor your dashboards to your specific needs so you can quickly see the data that’s important to you and your team.  

Kani isn’t a static platform: we’re constantly updating it to stay at the cutting edge of the industry.

However, we understand that you might want to shop around first to make sure you’re choosing the right account reconciliation software for your business. 

So here are some more details on three other account reconciliation software options that work with fintechs and payment companies.

Want to try Kani for yourself? Book a no-obligation demo today

Other account reconciliation software that work with payment companies

AutoRek

AutoRek (1) is an automated reconciliation and financial control platform for enterprise-level institutions across the financial sector. 

Key features:

• Comprehensive reconciliation: Handles matching, balancing and exception management across multiple data sources.
• Automated data management: Ingests financial statements, validates and reconciles financial data.
• Broad integration: Reconciles data in any format, allowing easy integration with existing systems.
• Regulatory compliance: Automates audit trails and regulatory reports for payment compliance.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Provides real-time insights, forecasting and granular reporting.
• Flexible: Offers both on-premises and cloud-based solutions.

Duco

Duco (2) offers a cloud-based data integrity and reconciliation platform, providing real-time data validation and exception management. It supports regulatory compliance by delivering comprehensive audit trails and automated report generation.

Key features:

• Cloud-based platform: Ensures flexibility and scalability for businesses of all sizes.
• Real-time data validation: Identifies and resolves discrepancies immediately.
• Customisable rules and workflows: Adapts to specific business needs with Natural Rule Language for easy control setup without coding.
• Regulatory compliance support: Provides comprehensive audit trails and automated report generation.
• AI-powered setup: Utilises AI for quick match field prediction, reducing setup time.
• Automated exception management: Uses AI and rule-based systems for efficient exception handling.

Aurum Solutions

Aurum Solutions (3) specialises in reconciliation software that automates and streamlines financial processes. Their software brings all your financial data together, enhancing team collaboration and efficiency.

Key features

• Automatic imports: Schedule automatic imports to ensure data is ready at the start of the day.
• Collaborate with your team: Assign transactions, add notes and collaborate seamlessly within the platform.
• Custom dashboards: Visualise data in an easy-to-digest format to quickly answer financial questions.
• Full audit trail: Track all changes and updates at a transactional level, ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Balance and fee checker: Confidently check balance sheets and get detailed reports on FX rates and transaction fees.
• Responsive support: 82% of support cases are solved within 24 hours, ensuring quick resolution of any issues.

 

Five questions to ask yourself before deciding on account reconciliation software

1. Does the software handle the file formats I need? 

Handling multiple data sources and formats can be challenging due to the variety of file types used in the payment industry and inconsistency in data structures. The right software should streamline this process, reducing manual intervention and mistakes.

Look for a tool that: 

• Automates data ingestion and cleansing to handle various file formats (e.g., XML, CSV and text files).
• Suitable for bank account reconciliation and programme managers, credit card processors and internal data systems.
• Standardises data and checks errors to ensure data integrity.

2. Can the software automate compliance reporting?

Manually preparing compliance reports like QMR and GOC can be extremely time-consuming. These scheme reports can cost your team hundreds of hours each year. You should choose an account reconciliation software that can process these reports quickly and accurately.

Look for a tool that: 

• Automatically generates payment reports like the Mastercard QMR and Visa GOC reports.
• Offers built-in reporting for safeguarding reconciliations and Average Outstanding E-Money (AOEM) calculations.
• Send real-time alerts for discrepancies or missing data to maintain compliance.
• Can automatically send emails and reports to the relevant people once the reports are complete.

Want to see how easy your scheme reports can be? Book a demo 

3. Does the software provide detailed audit trails and reporting tools?

Comprehensive audit trails and reporting tools are essential for regulatory compliance and internal audits. These tools help you avoid fines, maintain a clean audit history and ensure every transaction is transparent and traceable.

Look for a tool that: 

• Has audit trails that track changes and provide transparency.
• Allows you to drill down into transaction data.
• Offers pre-formatted reports for regulatory compliance.
• Allows you to grant read-only platform access to auditors. 

4. How user-friendly and flexible is the software for your team? Does the software offer customer support?

Your team might not be payment experts or experienced in reconciliation. If something goes wrong or if you have questions, you ought to be able to contact an expert who can help you. Or maybe you just want to talk to an expert who can help you design your reporting dashboard the way you want it.  

Look for a tool that:

• Allows you to talk to reconciliation consultants who specialise in payments and can advise on best practices.
• Offers intuitive, customisable dashboards and easy navigation.
• Has clear, easy-to-understand reports, pricing and visualisations.

5. Is the software compatible with your payment processors?

Some reconciliation software platforms like Kani will onboard any payment processor (if you don’t use one of our 25+ pre-integrated processors). However, other platforms might be more limited in terms of who they work with.  

Look for a tool that:

• Has integration capabilities with major payment processors like Mastercard, Visa, Thredd and Marqeta.
• Is compatible with multiple data sources and formats (as different providers and bank feeds use specific formats).
• Has APIs for custom integrations.

How Transact Payments improved regulatory reporting and saved time on manual reconciliation with the Kani platform

Transact Payments enables fintechs and financial institutions to launch their own card programs, serving both the UK and European markets. The company is fully passported across all EU member states and offers a processor-agnostic approach, allowing clients to utilise various processing solutions to create bespoke service offerings.

Transact Payments’ unique approach of working with multiple processors brought significant challenges. Data from multiple sources in differing formats complicated the reconciliation and reporting processes. Accurate daily reconciliations were crucial, but the process was costly, time-consuming, and placed a heavy demand on in-house accounting teams.

We started with a pilot project, integrating our platform with one of Transact Payments’ processors. We streamlined their data process, minimising manual intervention. This gave Transact Payments the confidence to move many key processes to our platform, resulting in faster, compliant reporting, efficient fund tracking and error-free reconciliations.

Kani’s platform made data from multiple processors easy to manage and gave the Transact Payments team important internal insights:

• Improved regulatory reporting: Kani’s platform ensured that all regulatory requirements were met with precision, reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential fines.
• Time savings and reduced costs: Our automated account reconciliation tool significantly reduced the time and resources required by Transact’s internal team, leading to considerable cost savings.
• Ability to focus on strategic tasks: With the burden of manual reconciliations lifted, the team could focus their efforts on strategic initiatives and business growth.

Bespoke reporting dashboards helped Transact Payments spend less time worrying about reconciliations and more energy on growing their business.

Here’s what Aaron Carpenter, the CEO of Transact Payments, had to say about Kani: 

“Not every challenge needs to be overcome in-house. If you can find a tried and tested partner to solve a problem that allows you to dedicate your time and resources to improving your own service offering, then take that option.”

“The Kani Payments platform is very easy to use, but it’s the people that sit behind it that give true value for us because of the very specific nature of what we’ve been asking them to produce. The responsiveness and the guidance have been invaluable.”

Read the full Transact Payment case study. 

Make reconciliation and fintech reporting simple with Kani 

Reconciliation doesn’t have to be painful. Choosing a quality account reconciliation software can save you and your team hundreds of hours each year.  

We designed Kani specifically to solve the needs of fintechs and payment companies, such as completing your QMR/GOC reports quickly and accurately.

To try Kani for yourself and see how it can help your business, book a demo today. 

Sources: 

(1) https://www.autorek.com/

(2) https://du.co/product/reconciliation/

(3) https://aurum.solutions