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Bermuda Commercial Bank RESTful Open Banking API Implementation (v1)

The Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) RESTful Open Banking API provides secure, programmatic access to BCB's banking services, enabling developers to integrate financial services into their applications.

Key Features

  • Account details retrieval
  • Internal transfers
  • Payments (Swift)
  • Virtual Accounts
  • Transaction information access
  • Robust security and compliance
  • Comprehensive documentation

Available Environments

UAT Environment

URL: https://api-uat.bcb.bm

Purpose: Testing and integration

Production Environment

URL: https://api.bcb.bm

Purpose: Live production use

Download OpenAPI description
Overview
URL

https://www.bcb.bm

Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited, 34 Bermudiana Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda

enquiries@bcb.bm

Languages
Servers
Mock server

https://developers.bcb.bm/_mock/apis/open-banking-api/open-banking-api/

UAT Environment - Used for testing and integration purposes

https://api-uat.bcb.bm/

Production Environment - Live environment for production use

https://api.bcb.bm/

Operations
Operations
Operations
Operations
Operations

Request

Initiates a SWIFT payment transfer. The request must include all required payment details including:

  • Source and destination account information
  • Payment amount and currency
  • Beneficiary details
  • Payment purpose and reference information

Key Features:

  • Supports international wire transfers via SWIFT network
  • Implements idempotency to prevent duplicate transactions
  • Validates payment requests before processing
  • Supports both JSON and CSV response formats

Content Negotiation

Clients must use the HTTP Accept header to indicate the desired response format:

  • Set Accept: application/json for JSON responses (default)
  • Set Accept: text/csv for CSV responses If the Accept header is omitted, application/json is assumed.

Base URL:

All API requests use the versioned base URL:

https://api.bcb.bm/v1/payments/swift

Idempotency

The API supports idempotency through the optional Idempotency-Key header:

  • If no idempotency key is provided, the request is processed normally (duplicates are possible)
  • If a valid UUID idempotency key is provided for a new transaction, the system stores the key and associates it with the transaction results
  • If the same idempotency key is received again for the same endpoint/action, the system returns the previously stored response
  • Idempotency keys are user-specific - different users don't share cached responses
  • The idempotency key must be a valid UUID format (e.g., "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000")

Sample Request in JavaScript:

async function processSwiftPayment() {
  try {
    const response = await fetch('https://api.bcb.bm/v1/payments/swift', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Accept': 'application/json',
        'Idempotency-Key': '123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000' // Optional: UUID format required if provided
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        instructionIdentification: "PAYMENT-123456",
        debtorAccount: {
          identification: "DEBTOR-ACC-123"
        },
        instructedAmount: {
          currency: "USD",
          amount: "1000.00"
        },
        creditorAccount: {
          identification: "CREDITOR-ACC-456",
          name: "John Doe",
          additionalInformation: ["Additional details"]
        },
        creditorAgent: {
          identification: "BANKBIC123",
          name: "Beneficiary Bank",
          additionalInformation: ["SWIFT/BIC code"]
        },
        chargesType: "OUR",
        remittanceInformation: ["Payment for services"]
      })
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      const errorData = await response.json();
      throw new Error(`Error processing payment: ${errorData.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
    }

    const result = await response.json();
    
    // Check payment status
    if (result.status === 'success') {
      console.log('Payment processed successfully');
      
      // Log payment details
      console.log('Payment ID:', result.id);
      console.log('Transaction Status:', result.transactionStatus);
      console.log('Unique Identifier:', result.uniqueIdentifier);
      
      // Process payment details
      const details = result.details;
      console.log('External Reference:', details.extReference);
      console.log('Instructed Amount:', details.instructedAmount.amount, details.instructedAmount.currency);
      
      // Process account information
      console.log('Debtor Account:', details.debtorAccount.identification);
      console.log('Creditor Account:', details.creditorAccount.identification);
      console.log('Beneficiary Account:', details.beneficiaryAccount.identification);
      
      // Process settlement details
      const settlement = details.settlementDetails;
      console.log('Amount Credited:', settlement.amountCredited.amount, settlement.amountCredited.currency);
      console.log('Amount Debited:', settlement.amountDebited.amount, settlement.amountDebited.currency);
      console.log('Value Date:', settlement.valueDate);
      console.log('Record Status:', settlement.recordStatus);
      
      // Process charge details
      const charges = details.chargeDetails;
      console.log('Charges Type:', charges.chargesType);
      console.log('Total Charges:', charges.chargeAmount.amount, charges.chargeAmount.currency);
      
      // Process charge analysis
      const chargeAnalysis = charges.chargeAnalysis;
      console.log('Sender Charges:', chargeAnalysis.sender.amount, chargeAnalysis.sender.currency);
      console.log('Receiver Charges:', chargeAnalysis.receiver.amount, chargeAnalysis.receiver.currency);
      
      // Process beneficiary information
      console.log('Beneficiary Name:', details.beneficiary.name);
      console.log('Beneficiary Bank:', details.beneficiaryAgent.name);
      
      // Process remittance information
      if (details.remittanceInformation) {
        console.log('Remittance Information:');
        details.remittanceInformation.forEach(info => console.log('-', info));
      }
      
      // Process linked activities
      if (result.linkedActivities && result.linkedActivities.length > 0) {
        console.log('Linked Activities:');
        result.linkedActivities.forEach(activity => {
          console.log('- Activity ID:', activity.id);
          console.log('  Status:', activity.status);
          console.log('  Transaction Status:', activity.transactionStatus);
          console.log('  Unique Identifier:', activity.uniqueIdentifier);
        });
      }
    } else {
      console.error('Payment processing failed:', result.status);
      // Handle failed payment
      if (result.details) {
        console.error('Error details:', result.details);
      }
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error);
    // Handle error appropriately
  }
}

// Example usage:
processSwiftPayment();

Response Structure

FieldTypeDescription
idstringUnique identifier for the payment
statusstringPayment status (success or failed)
transactionStatusstringDetailed transaction status
uniqueIdentifierstringUnique identifier for tracking
detailsobjectPayment details object
linkedActivitiesarrayRelated financial activities

Required Permission: payment-swift

This endpoint requires the permission claim payment-swift to be present in the JWT token. These permissions are embedded in the token during the authentication process and cannot be modified afterward. The token must be obtained with the appropriate permissions to access this endpoint.

Security
Authorization or Feature Permissions
Bodyapplication/json

The SWIFT payment request containing all necessary payment details.

instructionIdentificationstringnon-emptyrequired

Unique identification as assigned by an instructing party for an instructed party to unambiguously identify the instruction.

debtorAccountAccountDetails (object)required

Unambiguous identification of the account of the debtor to which a debit entry will be made as a result of the transaction.

AccountDetails (object)

Unambiguous identification of the account of the debtor to which a debit entry will be made as a result of the transaction.

instructedAmountCurrencyAmount (object)required

Amount of money to be moved between the debtor and creditor, before deduction of charges, expressed in the currency as ordered by the initiating party.

CurrencyAmount (object)

Amount of money to be moved between the debtor and creditor, before deduction of charges, expressed in the currency as ordered by the initiating party.

creditorAccountPartyDetails (object)required

Unambiguous identification of the account of the creditor to which a credit entry will be posted as a result of the payment transaction.

PartyDetails (object)

Unambiguous identification of the account of the creditor to which a credit entry will be posted as a result of the payment transaction.

creditorAgentPartyDetails (object)required

Financial institution servicing an account for the creditor.

PartyDetails (object)

Financial institution servicing an account for the creditor.

intermediaryAgent(PartyDetails (object or null))

Agent between the debtor's agent and the creditor's agent.

(PartyDetails (object or null))

Agent between the debtor's agent and the creditor's agent.

chargesTypestringnon-emptyrequired

Specifies which party/parties will bear the charges associated with the processing of the payment transaction.

remittanceInformationArray of stringsrequired

Information supplied to enable the matching/reconciliation of an entry with the items that the payment is intended to settle.

curl -i -X POST \
  https://developers.bcb.bm/_mock/apis/open-banking-api/open-banking-api/v1/payments/swift \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_jwt_HERE>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "instructionIdentification": "PAY-2024-03-21-001",
    "debtorAccount": {
      "identification": "BM12BCBK00001234567890"
    },
    "instructedAmount": {
      "currency": "USD",
      "amount": 50000
    },
    "creditorAccount": {
      "identification": "US12BCBK00001234567890",
      "name": "Global Investment Services Inc",
      "additionalInformation": [
        "350 Fifth Avenue",
        "New York, NY 10118",
        "United States"
      ]
    },
    "creditorAgent": {
      "identification": "CHASUS33",
      "name": "JPMorgan Chase Bank",
      "additionalInformation": [
        "SWIFT/BIC: CHASUS33",
        "383 Madison Avenue",
        "New York, NY 10179",
        "United States"
      ]
    },
    "intermediaryAgent": {
      "identification": "BCBKBMHM",
      "name": "Bermuda Commercial Bank",
      "additionalInformation": [
        "SWIFT/BIC: BCBKBMHM",
        "Victoria Place",
        "31 Victoria Street",
        "Hamilton HM 10, Bermuda"
      ]
    },
    "chargesType": "OUR",
    "remittanceInformation": [
      "Payment for investment management services Q1 2024",
      "Invoice #INV-2024-001",
      "Service Period: Jan-Mar 2024"
    ]
  }'

Responses

Created - The payment was successfully processed.

Bodyapplication/json
idstring

Unique identifier assigned by the bank for the SWIFT transfer. This ID can be used for future reference and tracking of the payment.

statusstring

The current status of the payment processing. Possible values include:

  • success: Payment has been accepted for processing
  • failed: Payment failed
transactionStatusstring

Detailed transaction status indicating the current state of the transfer. This provides more granular status information than the main status field.

uniqueIdentifierstring

A unique identifier specific to this instance of the SWIFT transfer. This identifier remains constant throughout the lifecycle of the payment and can be used for reconciliation purposes.

detailsPaymentResponseDetails (object)

Detailed information about the payment transaction including amounts, accounts, and settlement information.

PaymentResponseDetails (object)

Detailed information about the payment transaction including amounts, accounts, and settlement information.

linkedActivitiesArray of objects(Activity)

Collection of related financial activities associated with this payment. This may include charges, forex conversions, or other related transactions.

Response
application/json
{ "id": "PAY987654321", "status": "success", "transactionStatus": "COMPLETED", "uniqueIdentifier": "unique-identifier-987", "details": { "extReference": "EXT98765", "instructedAmount": {}, "debtorAccount": {}, "beneficiaryAccount": {}, "creditorAccount": {}, "settlementDetails": {}, "chargeDetails": {}, "remittanceInformation": [], "beneficiary": {}, "beneficiaryAgent": {}, "intermediaryAgent": {} }, "linkedActivities": [ {} ] }

List payment statuses for an account

Request

Retrieves status information for all payments associated with a specific account. This endpoint:

  • Provides comprehensive payment status details including type, status, transaction ID, external reference, remittance information, amounts, value date, and exchange rate.
  • Supports both JSON and CSV response formats based on the Accept header.
  • Supports cursor-based pagination for efficient handling of large payment status datasets.

Pagination

This endpoint uses cursor-based pagination with server-side result-set management:

  • First Request: Optionally specify pageSize (default: 100, max: 1000). The server creates a cursor and returns a pageToken.
  • Subsequent Requests: Use the pageToken from previous responses with pageStart to navigate pages.
  • Page Token: Contains encoded pagination context including pageSize, so don't specify pageSize in subsequent requests.
  • Total Pages: Calculate using Math.ceil(total_size / page_size) from the response metadata.

Content Negotiation

Clients must use the HTTP Accept header to indicate the desired response format:

  • Set Accept: application/json for JSON responses (default)
  • Set Accept: text/csv for CSV responses If the Accept header is omitted, application/json is assumed.

Base URL

All API requests use the versioned base URL:

https://api.bcb.bm/v1/accounts/{accountNumber}/payments

Sample Request in JavaScript

async function getAllPaymentStatusesPaginated(accountNumber) {
  try {
    let allPaymentStatuses = [];
    let pageStart = 1;
    let pageToken = null;
    let totalPages = 0;

    do {
      // Build URL with pagination parameters
      let url = `https://api.bcb.bm/v1/accounts/${accountNumber}/payments`;
      const params = new URLSearchParams();
      
      if (pageStart === 1) {
        // First request: specify pageSize
        params.append('pageSize', '100');
      } else {
        // Subsequent requests: use pageToken and pageStart
        params.append('pageToken', pageToken);
        params.append('pageStart', pageStart.toString());
      }
      
      if (params.toString()) {
        url += '?' + params.toString();
      }

      const response = await fetch(url, {
        method: 'GET',
        headers: {
          'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN',
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
          'Accept': 'application/json'
        }
      });

      if (!response.ok) {
        const errorData = await response.json();
        throw new Error(`Error: ${errorData.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
      }

      const data = await response.json();
      console.log(`Page ${pageStart} data:`, data);

      // Store pagination info from first request
      if (pageStart === 1 && data.meta && data.meta.pagination) {
        pageToken = data.meta.pagination.page_token;
        totalPages = Math.ceil(data.meta.pagination.total_size / data.meta.pagination.page_size);
        console.log(`Total pages: ${totalPages}, Page token: ${pageToken}`);
      }

      // Collect payment statuses from this page
      if (data.data && data.data.length > 0) {
        allPaymentStatuses.push(...data.data);
        console.log(`Collected ${data.data.length} payment statuses from page ${pageStart}`);
      }

      pageStart++;
    } while (pageStart <= totalPages);

    console.log(`Total payment statuses collected: ${allPaymentStatuses.length}`);

    // Process all collected payment statuses
    allPaymentStatuses.forEach((payment, index) => {
      console.log(`Payment ${index + 1}:`, payment.transactionId);
      console.log('Type:', payment.type);
      console.log('Status:', payment.status);
      console.log('External Reference:', payment.externalReference);
      console.log('Remittance Information:', payment.remittanceInformation);
      console.log('Value Date:', payment.valueDate);
      console.log('Debit Amount:', `${payment.debitAmount.amount} ${payment.debitAmount.currency}`);
      if (payment.creditAmount && payment.creditAmount.amount) {
        console.log('Credit Amount:', `${payment.creditAmount.amount} ${payment.creditAmount.currency}`);
      }
      console.log('-------------------');
    });

    return allPaymentStatuses;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Alternative: Get single page of payment statuses
async function getPaymentStatusesPage(accountNumber, pageStart = 1, pageToken = null) {
  try {
    let url = `https://api.bcb.bm/v1/accounts/${accountNumber}/payments`;
    const params = new URLSearchParams();
    
    if (pageStart === 1 && !pageToken) {
      params.append('pageSize', '50'); // Custom page size
    } else {
      params.append('pageToken', pageToken);
      params.append('pageStart', pageStart.toString());
    }
    
    if (params.toString()) {
      url += '?' + params.toString();
    }

    const response = await fetch(url, {
      method: 'GET',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Accept': 'application/json'
      }
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      const errorData = await response.json();
      throw new Error(`Error: ${errorData.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
    }

    const data = await response.json();
    console.log('Payment statuses page:', data);
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Example usage:
getAllPaymentStatusesPaginated('123456789'); // Retrieves all payment statuses across multiple pages
// OR
getPaymentStatusesPage('123456789', 1).then(firstPage => {
  console.log('First page:', firstPage);
  // Use firstPage.meta.pagination.page_token for subsequent requests
});

Required Permission: get-payment-status

This endpoint requires the permission claim get-payment-status to be present in the JWT token. These permissions are embedded in the token during the authentication process and cannot be modified afterward. The token must be obtained with the appropriate permissions to access this endpoint.

Security
Authorization or Feature Permissions
Path
accountNumberstringrequired

The account number to retrieve payment statuses for.

Query
pageStartinteger or null(int32)

Optional. The record from which the response should be displayed (default: 1). Use with pageToken for subsequent requests.

pageSizeinteger or null(int32)

Optional. The total number of records per page (default: 100, max: 1000). Only specify in the first request - subsequent requests use the pageSize embedded in the pageToken.

pageTokenstring or null

Optional. Unique cursor ID received from previous response for subsequent requests. Contains encoded pagination context including pageSize.

curl -i -X GET \
  'https://developers.bcb.bm/_mock/apis/open-banking-api/open-banking-api/v1/accounts/{accountNumber}/payments?pageStart=0&pageSize=0&pageToken=string' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_jwt_HERE>'

Responses

OK - The request was successful.

Bodyapplication/json
meta(Meta (object or null))

Response metadata

(Meta (object or null))

Response metadata

dataArray of objects or null(TransactionStatus)

Response data

Response
application/json
{ "meta": { "pagination": {} }, "data": [ {}, {}, {} ] }

Request

Retrieves detailed status information for a specific payment identified by its payment ID (also known as transaction ID). This endpoint provides comprehensive status details including:

  • Type: The type of payment (e.g., "Outward Swift Payment MT103 API")
  • Status: Current status of the payment (e.g., "Pending", "Completed", "Failed")
  • TransactionId: Unique payment identifier (or Transaction Id)
  • ExternalReference: External reference number for the payment
  • RemittanceInformation: Free-text information about the purpose of the payment
  • DebitAmount: The amount debited from the account, including currency code
  • CreditAmount: The amount credited to the account, including currency code
  • ValueDate: The date when the payment was/will be processed
  • ExchangeRate: The exchange rate applied to the payment

Content Negotiation

Clients must use the HTTP Accept header to indicate the desired response format:

  • Set Accept: application/json for JSON responses (default)
  • Set Accept: text/csv for CSV responses If the Accept header is omitted, application/json is assumed.

Base URL:

All API requests use the versioned base URL:

https://api.bcb.bm/v1/payments/{paymentId}/status

Sample Request in JavaScript:

async function getPaymentStatus(paymentId) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(`https://api.bcb.bm/v1/payments/${paymentId}/status`, {
      method: 'GET',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Accept': 'application/json'
      }
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      const errorData = await response.json();
      throw new Error(`Error: ${errorData.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
    }

    const paymentStatus = await response.json();
    console.log('Payment Status Details:');
    console.log('Payment ID:', paymentStatus.transactionId);
    console.log('Type:', paymentStatus.type);
    console.log('Status:', paymentStatus.status);
    console.log('External Reference:', paymentStatus.externalReference);
    console.log('Remittance Information:', paymentStatus.remittanceInformation);
    console.log('Value Date:', paymentStatus.valueDate);
    console.log('Debit Amount:', `${paymentStatus.debitAmount.amount} ${paymentStatus.debitAmount.currency}`);
    
    if (paymentStatus.creditAmount && paymentStatus.creditAmount.amount) {
      console.log('Credit Amount:', `${paymentStatus.creditAmount.amount} ${paymentStatus.creditAmount.currency}`);
    }
    
    // Implement business logic based on payment status
    if (paymentStatus.status === 'Completed') {
      console.log('Payment has been successfully completed.');
    } else if (paymentStatus.status === 'Pending') {
      console.log('Payment is still being processed.');
    } else if (paymentStatus.status === 'Failed') {
      console.log('Payment failed. Please check the details or contact support.');
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('There was a problem retrieving the payment status:', error.message);
  }
}

// Example usage:
getPaymentStatus('PAY-001-2023');

Required Permission: get-payment-status

This endpoint requires the permission claim get-payment-status to be present in the JWT token. These permissions are embedded in the token during the authentication process and cannot be modified afterward. The token must be obtained with the appropriate permissions to access this endpoint.

Security
Authorization or Feature Permissions
Path
paymentIdstringrequired

The unique identifier of the payment (also known as transactionId) to retrieve status for.

curl -i -X GET \
  'https://developers.bcb.bm/_mock/apis/open-banking-api/open-banking-api/v1/payments/{paymentId}/status' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_jwt_HERE>'

Responses

OK - The request was successful.

Bodyapplication/json
typestring

The type of transaction (e.g., "Outward Swift Payment MT103 API")

externalReferencestring or null

External reference number for the transaction

statusstring

Current status of the transaction (e.g., "Pending", "Completed", "Failed")

remittanceInformationstring or null

Free-text remittance information provided by the client, describing the purpose of the transaction.

transactionIdstring

Unique transaction number

debitAmountCurrencyAmount (object)

The amount debited from the account

CurrencyAmount (object)

The amount debited from the account

valueDatestring

The date when the transaction will be processed

creditAmountCurrencyAmount (object)

The amount credited from the account

CurrencyAmount (object)

The amount credited from the account

exchangeRatenumber or null(decimal)

Exchange rate applied to the transaction

Response
application/json
{ "type": "Outward Swift Payment MT103 API", "externalReference": "REF123456", "status": "Completed", "remittanceInformation": "Invoice payment #INV-2023-001", "transactionId": "TX-001-2023", "debitAmount": { "currency": "USD", "amount": 1000 }, "valueDate": "2023-05-15", "creditAmount": { "currency": "USD", "amount": null }, "exchangeRate": null }
Operations
Operations
Operations