BAI2 to CSV Converter

BAI2 to CSV Converter

BAI2 is the bank reporting format the Bank Administration Institute defined for US corporate balance and transaction reporting. A BAI2 file is a sequence of short comma-separated records, each ending with a slash: 01 for the file header, 02 for the group header that carries the as-of date, 03 for each account, 16 for each transaction, 88 for continuation text, and 49, 98 and 99 for the trailers. Amounts are whole cents with no decimal point, so 3999 means $39.99.

This BAI2 to CSV Converter reads the 16 transaction records and writes one CSV row for each. The date comes from the group header, the amount is converted to dollars and signed by the transaction type code, the bank reference goes to ID, and the customer reference goes to Memo. The text in each record, including any 88 continuation records, becomes the description. The file is processed in your browser.

Key features

• Reads 16 transaction records and their 88 continuation records.
• Converts cents to dollars with two decimal places and signs debits by the type code range.
• Takes each row’s date from the 02 group header as an ISO date.
• Writes Date, Description, Amount, Memo, Category, ID and Type columns, with the BAI2 type code in Type.
• Flags type codes outside the credit and debit ranges, and runs in the browser.

About the BAI2 to CSV format

A transaction record looks like 16,475,3999,S,BK1001,CUST1,Cloud hosting invoice 4411/. After the record code, the fields are type code, amount in cents, funds type, bank reference, customer reference and text. The type code decides the direction: codes 100 to 399 are credits, and codes 400 to 699 are debits. The converter writes debits as negative amounts.

A BAI2 file has no transaction dates of its own. The date is taken from the as-of date in the 02 group header. Files that cover several as-of dates have one 02 record per group, and the converter applies each group’s date to the 16 records that follow it.

How it works

The converter splits the file into records at each slash that ends a line, then reads the group header for the date and each 16 record for the transaction.

Text from the 16 record and any following 88 records is concatenated in order, with no separator added. The description is that combined text, and if it is empty the row falls back to a generic transaction label.

Common use cases

• A US controller receives a daily BAI2 file from a bank that has no portal download and needs the transactions in a spreadsheet.
• An accountant reconciles a BAI2 bank report against the general ledger by bank reference.
• A treasury analyst compares a week of BAI2 files and totals debits by type code.

How to use this tool

1. Download the BAI2 file from your bank’s reporting or SFTP folder.
2. Open the BAI2 to CSV converter and upload the .bai or .txt file, or paste its text.
3. Check the preview: the row count should match the number of 16 records, and the dates should match the as-of date.
4. Download the CSV and check the total against the ledger before you post anything.

Example

02,CUSTOMERX,BANKXXXX,1,260503,0900,USD,2/
16,475,3999,S,BK1001,CUST1,Cloud hosting invoice 4411/
16,195,240000,V,BK1002,CUST2,Client payment/

date,description,amount,memo,category,id,type
2026-05-03,Cloud hosting invoice 4411,-39.99,CUST1,,BK1001,475
2026-05-03,Client payment,2400.00,CUST2,,BK1002,195

Tips for best results

• Check the sign of a few rows against the bank portal before you trust the whole column. Debits should be negative.
• Use the ID column (the bank reference) to match rows with the bank’s transaction list, because text descriptions can repeat.
• Keep the original .bai or .txt file. BAI2 is the bank’s report and the CSV is a working copy.
• Filter the Type column to group transactions by code. The bank’s type code list tells you which code means a wire, an ACH item or a check.

Common pitfalls

Reading amounts as dollars without conversion. The converter divides the cents for you, so 3999 appears as 39.99. A manual import into the spreadsheet would show 3999.00.

Expecting a debit total to be in the file. BAI2 summary records (49, 98 and 99) hold control totals. The converter does not check them, so reconcile the sum of the rows with the closing ledger balance in the file.

Trusting the sign of unusual codes. Codes outside 100 to 399 and 400 to 699 are kept as positive amounts and flagged in the warnings. Check those rows against the bank’s list of type codes.

Expecting every funds-availability detail. The funds type field is not written to the CSV. A funds type that carries extra date fields can shift later columns in unusual files, so check a few rows that have one.

Frequently asked questions

For more background on data formats and conversion workflows, read our format guides.