You don’t even want to think about it: your company makes a large payment to a supplier, but along the way, the payment file is intercepted and altered. The bank account number is changed, and suddenly your money is gone. A true nightmare — and one that’s becoming reality for more and more businesses. In this blog, Silvester Jansen from Eqeep explains how you can effectively protect your SEPA payments against cybercriminals using hash codes.

The vulnerability of SEPA payment files

With the introduction of SEPA, the format for payment files changed to XML. This format is flexible, but it comes with a major downside: it can be modified relatively easily, even by someone with limited technical knowledge. IFS generates payment files, but these files are not automatically protected against manipulation. This poses a real risk: payment files are often stored in shared folders or sent through various channels before reaching the bank. During this stage, cybercriminals can intercept and alter the files — for instance, by changing bank account numbers so that payments end up in the wrong hands.

Hash codes as a digital fingerprint

To solve this problem, we at Eqeep developed a solution based on hash codes. A hash code is a unique code generated from the contents of a payment file. It acts like a digital fingerprint — if even a single character in the file changes, the hash code changes completely.

This technique uses the SHA-256 algorithm, a standard also recognized by Dutch banks. With this solution, a hash code is automatically generated when the payment file is created in IFS. The bank then generates its own hash code upon receiving the file. If both codes match, you can be confident that the file has not been tampered with.

The benefits for your financial security

Implementing hash codes for your SEPA payments offers three key advantages:

1. Improved control – The hash code is generated simultaneously with the payment file, directly within your IFS system.
2. Efficiency – The hash code is immediately available in IFS, making it easy to compare with the hash code calculated by the bank.
3. Time savings – There’s no need for a separate system to generate hash codes; everything happens automatically within IFS.

How it works in practice

In practice, the process is simple. When you create a payment file in IFS, our system automatically generates a hash code, which is displayed in the tracking information of the payment file. The bank also calculates a hash code on their end and shares it with you. You then compare the two codes, and if they match, you authorize the bank to process the payment.

This solution is available for both IFS 10 and IFS Cloud and is especially valuable for companies that send payment files to their bank without using cryptographic signatures or end-to-end SSL connections.

The high cost of cybercrime

Securing your payment processes is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. Companies that fall victim to cybercrime often face months of operational disruption and significant financial losses. We once had a client who was hacked, causing their operations to be completely halted for two to three months. Their data fell into the hands of criminals, and it took them months to recover from the damage. An investment in smart security is a small price to pay compared to the potential costs of a hack.

Digital transformation requires digital security

As your organization moves toward digitalization — for example, through the implementation of e-invoicing, as discussed in my previous blog — the need for digital security grows alongside it. These two developments go hand in hand. When you digitize your invoicing and payment processes, strong security becomes crucial to safeguard the integrity of your financial transactions. The hash code solution for SEPA payments is therefore a perfect complement to an e-invoicing strategy.

Secure your payments now

Curious how you can protect your SEPA payments with hash codes? Contact us for more information. We can take care of the implementation for you, ensuring your company is immediately protected against one of the most common forms of cybercrime.

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