It is very important to note what the BSB standard does not ask the banks to do. The BSB does not ask the financial institutions to:

• Save up all chargeable events until month end and then debit/invoice the customer.
• Provide a balance based interest offset against service charges due.
• To combine an invoice with the billing statement.
• Change from a direct debit approach to an invoice approach, or vice-versa.
• Replace the paper-based Tax Invoice currently delivered.

In short, the BSB does not ask the banks to revise their existing billing procedures. 

Although some of these “nots” may be desirable, the BSB standard does not ask or require the banks to make these changes. What it does ask for is a monthly recounting of all service chargeable and tax events in the form of an electronic statement. How, when and what the customer is actually charged for remains in place.

BSB can be used to report on fees charged per transaction at the time that service is incurred, deducted from transaction principal at the time of credit, or held for periodic billing (e.g. one monthly debit to the account or invoice).  BSB is simply a reporting of the service fees incurred during a period, regardless of how those fees have been settled.  The specification allows the sending bank to identify whether fees have already been settled, or remain outstanding (see “Element Name: Payment Method” in Service Section Definition.)

The BSB is an electronic statement, produced typically on a calendar month end basis, that lists all individual chargeable events that occurred during the month along with summary totals and average deposit balances. This is something new. It does not ask the bank to change existing billing procedures.

The Sections of the Statement

• The Account Section: the account to which the statements relates
• The Tax Explanation Section: explains the tax codes used in the statement
• The Rate Section: non-tax rates applicable to the account (e.g., overdraft interest rate)
• The Currency Translation Section: information to enable translation between the various currencies contained in the statement
• The Balance Section: one or more sections that carry the value of various balances held within the account
• The Compensation Section: the summary value of charges and taxes
• The Service Section: recounts all chargeable events during the statement period
• The Tax Section: the taxable activities during the statement period
• The Balance/Float Adjustment Section
• The Service Adjustment Section: line item service adjustments
• The Member Charge Section: billing relationship account number, settlement currency and charge amount

About the ANSI x12 822 Standard and its relationship to BSB

This document makes substantial reference to the ANSI X12 822 transaction set which addresses the classic “Account Analysis” statement common in the United States market. The BSB includes virtually all of the substantive business requirements and capabilities found in the 822. The BSB does not provide for the transmission of historical rates as provided in the 822 RTE-DTM loops. The BSB does not provide for the transmission of historical balance and charge information as provided in the 822 LX-DTM loop. The BSB provides 822 CTP information in the Price Method and Price Rule elements of the Service Section.

In addition, the BSB is distinguished from the 822 as follows:

• BSB includes data not currently addressed by the 822 including: currency translation and value added tax (VAT)
• BSB is designed to address bank billing in any geography
• BSB is expressed in XML

For techincal specs please see this requirements document