Coutts online
Coutts Online allows your business to manage all of your payments and transfers in a file.
This means that rather than having to key each payment or transfer individually you are able to upload files such as salaries or supplier payments, direct from your existing accounting software by exporting a .txt or .csv file. All files need to follow a set format which is outlined in this guide.
The first step is to export your file from your accounting software and save the file to your PC/Mac. If the file is in the Coutts Online format you can then upload it by logging into Coutts Online and follow these simple steps.
Coutts Online is compatible with two different file types when uploading:
TXT Files - these files are predominantly the output file given from accounting software packages. If your accounting package does not have a file that is already formatted to Coutts Online you can provide your support team with the example file below to help them create a payment or transfer file that can then be exported direct from your accounting software.
CSV (Comma-separated Values) Files - If you are not using an accounting software package and will be creating files manually using software such as Excel, the compatible file that you will need to use will be a CSV file. In order to help you create a compatible CSV file for Coutts Online there is a template file that has been provided under the Can I Download An Example Payment File? section of this guide.
If you already have the XML template file please click here to find out how to convert this into a compatable file type for Coutts Online.
Here is a list of the different types of payment files that you can upload:
Please refer to your accounting package support team for assistance in how to export files from your system and file format compatability with Coutts Online.
Examples of the payment and transfer file formats are available in Step 9 of this guide
Please see our example payment files under the section 9. Can I download an example payment or transfer file?
The uploaded payment descriptions show differently on a bank statement depending on the type of payment, see below for full details:
In order to upload a payment file into Coutts Online a user must have the payment entry permission or to upload a transfer file, they must have the account transfer entry permission.If you are a user and you do not have the Upload Payments and Transfers option under the Payments and Transfers tab please contact your Coutts Online administrator.
If you are an administrator and would like assistance with how to change a users permissions please contact the Coutts Digital Helpdesk on +44 (0) 20 7770 0000 or refer to the Administration Guide
As part of industry-wide changes to international payment messaging standards (ISO 20022), payment upload templates are being updated from 16 November 2026 to align.
Existing templates can continue to be used until 15 November 2026.
New templates for use from 16 November 2026 are available below to help you prepare and update any internal systems or third-party software that generate payment files.
Files created using older templates from 16 November 2026 may not upload successfully.
For more information, please visit our Changes to International Payments page.
.TXT files can be uploaded to Coutts Online. If your accounting software does not already have a Coutts Online format available, you can provide your software support team with the example file below to help them create a payment file that can be exported direct from your accounting software.
If you are not using an accounting package and will be creating payment files manually using software like Excel, the compatible file that you will need to create will be a .CSV file. The template below will help you format a Coutts Online compatible payment file.
Once you have completed the XML template file learn how to convert this into a .CSV file that will then be compatible with Coutts Online.
International payments with structured address.xls
International payments with structured address.txt
