What is camt.052 used for?
This is a bank report sent by the bank to the account holder (or an authorized third party) to provide information on account movements and/or balances at a given time of day. It allows real-time or near real-time monitoring of entries (debits, credits, reservations) and account status, which is useful for liquidity management, tracking large transactions, etc. In the ISO20022 environment, it replaces the old “intraday” formats such as MT942.
What is the role of camt.052 in automatic lettering?
Camt.052 is an intraday statement, i.e., an XML feed that the bank sends several times a day to report pending or confirmed receipts on customer accounts.
In a lettering software program (such as CashOnTime, Kyriba, Sage FRP, or SAP Cash Management solutions), it allows you to:
- Quickly identify payments received (SEPA transfers, internal transfers, cashed checks, etc.)
- Automatically match these payments with outstanding customer invoices in the accounting or ERP system.
- Reduce the cash recognition delay by avoiding waiting for the end-of-day statement (camt.053) or the detailed transaction file (camt.054).
How is it used in the process?
Here are the typical steps in automatic lettering software using a camt.052 flow:
- Receipt of bank data feed
The software queries the bank (via EBICS, API, SWIFTNet, etc.) to retrieve camt.052 files several times a day. These feeds contain transactions that have already been “booked” or are “pending.”
2. Reading and normalizing the XML message
The lettering engine reads the ISO20022 XML file and extracts the essential elements.
3. Automatic lettering with customer invoices
The engine applies reconciliation rules:
- by invoice reference (e.g., mentioned in the transfer description)
- by amount and customer
- or by another customized strategy in the CashOnTime application.
What are the concrete benefits for companies?
| Profit | Description |
| ⏱ Reduction in reconciliation time | No need to wait for the end-of-day statement: tracking is done as soon as the payment is visible. |
| 🔄 Continuous cash flow updating | Balances and receipts are continuously updated, improving cash visibility. |
| 💰 Reduction in manual tasks | Fewer accounting tasks to identify and process payments |
| 📈 Improvement in DSO | Faster payment recognition = better working capital management and real-time updates to collection strategies in CashOnTime Collection. |
Quick comparison with other ISO20022 formats
| Format | Time of issue | Typical use |
| camt.052 | Intraday (several times a day) | Real-time lettering, payment tracking |
| camt.053 | End of the day | Daily accounting reconciliation |
| camt.054 | Detailed movement flows | Mailed processing / payment notifications |
Camt.052 is therefore best suited for lettering software designed to work in a continuous flow.
In summary
In automatic customer payment lettering software, camt.052 is used to:
- Retrieve credit entries from bank accounts in real time.
- Enrich the automatic matching engine with structured payment data.
- Anticipate the posting of receipts before the end of the day.
- Streamline the reconciliation and cash flow forecasting process.
- Update automated dunning strategies.
Contact your bank to find out when this standard will be implemented and whether the camt.052 feed is already available for your accounts. All our CashOnTime consultants are also available to provide you with further information and help you optimize your processes.
