What's New

We are pleased to announce that DDCMS Direct now supports EaziPay file format processing, extending our comprehensive file format compatibility to serve existing clients transitioning from legacy EaziPay workflows. This format option also has a broader compatibility with standard BACS Active file structures.

Additionally, the release includes an enhancement to the flow from approval of a file through to final submission, as well as improvements to the File Content Review interface and SmartDebit Direct file in-line editing.

Bacs Active (EaziPay) Files

Bacs Active (EaziPay) File Selection

As a ClientAdmin with “Can Upload” permissions within DDCMS Direct, you will now see Bacs Active (EaziPay) as an available file format option alongside existing BACS Standard 18 and SmartDebit Direct options. For this file type either .txt or .csv files are accepted. As per other file types, the maximum file size accepted is 1.2 million rows. Upon import the system automatically applies appropriate structural validation rules.

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Bacs Active (EaziPay) File Fields

The field specifications for Bacs Active (EaziPay) file format are detailed below, showing the column-by-column structure.

Column	Field	Description	Format
A	Transaction Code	BACS transaction code [0N, 0S, 0C, 01, 17, 18, 19, 99]	[0N, 0S, 0C, 01, 17, 18, 19, 99]
B	Originator Sort Code	Sort code for the originating bank account (ie SUN account)	[0-9]{6}
C	Originator Account Number	Account number for the originating bank account (ie SUN account)	[0-9]{8}
D	Destination Sort Code	Sort code for the destination bank account	[0-9]{6}
E	Destination Account Number	Account number for the destination bank account	[0-9]{8}
F	Account Holder Name	Name of the destination account holder	[A-Za-z0-9\-&\/]{1,18}
G	-	Fixed zero	0
H	Amount	Amount, in pence, to be collected. BACS Active- padded with leading zeroes: E.g. £9.99 would be 00000000999 EaziPay – accepted without leading zeroes	[0-9]{1,11}
I	Processing Date	BACS Processing Date BACS Active - ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD) e.g 2025-03-31 EaziPay – alternative formats accepted: DD-MMM(text)-YYYY e.g. 31-Mar-2025 DD/MM/YYYY e.g. 31/03/2025	ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD)
J	-	Blank
K	SUN Name	Service User BACS short name	[A-Za-z0-9]{1,18}
L	BACS Reference	The Direct Debit reference check we accept none for credits	[A-Za-z0-9\-&\/]{6,18} or {0,18} for credits
M	SUN Number	Number for the Service User BACSActive –only expected on 0N, 0S & 0C lines EaziPay – accepted without, even on 0N, 0S & 0C lines	[0-9]{6}
N	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
O	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
P	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
Q	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
R	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
S	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
T	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided
U	-	Blank Eazipay – not always provided

Validation Process

Bacs Active (EaziPay) files undergo the same rigorous validation process as other supported formats, with specialised handling for:

Alternative Date Formats: BACS Active files require ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD) format. However, we support various date format configurations to accommodate diverse EaziPay legacy system requirements.
SUN Number: BACS Active files require SUN numbers to be present on transaction lines with codes 0N, 0S, and 0C. However, legacy EaziPay files may omit SUN numbers entirely. The validation process accommodates both approaches, accepting files with embedded SUN numbers as well as those without.
Amount: Transaction amount in pence to be collected. BACS Active files require strict leading zero padding (e.g., £9.99 appears as 00000000999), whilst legacy EaziPay files may not include this padding. The validation process accepts both padded and unpadded amount formats to accommodate different source system outputs.
Trailing Columns (N-U): EaziPay format may have variable trailing column presence, accommodating source systems with different field export capabilities.

Submission of File

Upon final submission, a file originally uploaded in the Bacs Active (EaziPay) file format, is generated as BACS Standard 18 file including the relevant contra, header and trailer lines required for this specific file format, to be processed successfully via BACS.

Enhanced Approval to Submission Flow

We have streamlined the approval workflow for DDCMS Direct to eliminate unnecessary manual steps and improve processing efficiency. This enhancement automatically progresses files to submission once all required approvals are complete, reducing administrative overhead and accelerating file processing times.

Files Requiring Approvals

When you approve a file as the final or only required approver, the file now automatically transitions to submission without requiring the additional "Final Submit" step. This eliminates the previous two-stage process where files would move to "Ready to Submit" status and then require manual final submission. An audit entry is added for visibility for this automated status progression.

The system maintains all existing validation processes, including processing date revalidation to ensure dates within the file remain valid. If no longer valid, the file will transition to Cancelled status and a message will be displayed to the final approver confirming the reason for this. An audit log entry will also be added.

Legacy file Handling

Files that were already approved and in "Ready to Submit" status prior to this enhancement deployment continue to require manual "Final Submit" action. When completing final submission for these legacy files, you will see a notification explaining that future files will benefit from the automatic submission workflow.

Files Without Required Approvals

Files configured with zero required approvers continue to follow the existing process, maintaining the manual "Final Submit" step to ensure appropriate oversight for files that bypass the approval workflow entirely.

Enhanced File Content Review Interface

We have improved the File Content Review experience in DDCMS Direct with clearer organisation and enhanced currency visibility to help you better understand your uploaded file contents.

Improved File Lines Organisation

The File Content Review screen has been restructured to provide clearer categorisation of different transaction types. The "Payment Lines" tab has been renamed to "File Lines" and now contains three distinct sections:

Payment Lines: Displays monetary transactions only (excluding DDI instruction transactions)
Contra Lines: Shows balancing contra entries as before
DDI Lines: A new dedicated section for Direct Debit Instruction transactions (0N - New DDI, 0C - Cancel DDI, 0S - Convert DDI)

This separation improves clarity by distinguishing between monetary transactions and DDI instruction management transactions, making it easier to understand exactly what your file will accomplish. Each section maintains full functionality including export options (XLSX and PDF), pagination, and audit logging for downloads.

When files contain no DDI transactions, the DDI Lines section will display "No DDI lines" for clear indication. Export functions work independently for each section, so you can download payment transactions separately from DDI instructions based on your specific reporting needs.

Enhanced Currency Display

Amount column headers throughout the File Content Review now display "Amount (£)" instead of "Amount" to clearly indicate that all monetary values are shown in pounds.

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Enhanced Data Navigation with Expanded Pagination Options

We've significantly improved data navigation across DDCMS Direct by implementing comprehensive pagination controls with expanded page size options throughout the platform. Users can now view up to 1,000 records per page across key operational screens including the Home Page Outstanding Tasks, Outgoing File Status, Recent Incoming Files grids, Outgoing Files, Incoming Files, Audit trails, and Exports. This enhancement eliminates the need to navigate through multiple smaller pages when reviewing large datasets, allowing for more efficient monitoring of file processing activities, audit history, and outstanding tasks. The flexible page size options (25, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 records) enable users to customise their view based on their workflow preferences and screen capabilities, significantly reducing the time required to locate specific records and providing a more streamlined user experience when managing high-volume payment processing operations.

Enhanced SmartDebit Direct File In-Line Editing

You can now efficiently correct originating bank detail mismatches for entire files through a single action, eliminating file re-upload requirements and significantly improving processing speed whilst maintaining the required data consistency across all file rows.

Multi-Row Originating Bank Detail Updates for SmartDebit Direct Files

The in-line editing functionality for SmartDebit Direct files has been enhanced to provide greater flexibility when correcting originating bank details. You now have the option to apply corrected originating bank details to all rows in the file when validation errors are detected.

Saving after in-line editing originating bank details, now presents an additional option:

"Note: All SD Direct files must contain a single, consistent originating account number across all rows. Do you want to update the bank details for all rows in the file to the new values provided?"

Upon confirmation, the system:

Updates all rows in the file with the corrected originating bank details
Revalidates the entire file automatically
Updates the file status to reflect the changes

Multi-Row Originating Bank Detail Update Audit

The system maintains detailed audit trails for all originating bank detail updates:

User-Edited Row: The specific row that the you directly edited generates a detailed audit entry showing the field-level changes with clear "from" and "to" values.

File-Level Summary: An additional file-level audit entry covers all other rows in the file that were automatically updated (e.g., "Updated all rows with new originating bank details") providing a clear record that the remaining rows in the file were modified as part of the bulk operation.