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We cannot avoid risks but we can control them
What unites the aviation and the banking business? This was the topic of the conversation between Nina Babic, our Chief Risk Officer, and pilot Roland Otto within the framework of the 100th…
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BK01 – developed 60 years ago, made for the future
60 years old and still keeping pace with the times: the "bank account 1", or BK01 for short. Its aim was to offer computerised payment processing for housing enterprises, making the process considerably faster and more economical – a revolution at that time. To this day, it remains a unique success story and an example of successful process digitalisation. You could also say it was a "fintech innovation" long before fintechs were around.
A pioneer in the German banking sector
We were the first German bank to offer an electronic information system that allowed the German housing industry to process data centrally, externally and without complications, making us a pioneer in Germany's banking sector.
However, we not only successfully introduced BK01 technology to the market, we have also continuously expanded it. In addition to the electronic processing of accounting records, tenant accounting and account management, we developed a solution for overall processing of payment transactions. This brought huge relief to the housing industry, as up to that point, all remittance slips had to be individually checked, items laboriously reconciled and each individual transfer processed by hand. This resulted in large numbers of individual entries in different sub-accounts and a great deal of effort and inefficiency. The solution sounds simple: allocation of payments via a virtual BK01 account number.
A virtual BK01 account number as a key
In concrete terms, our clients in the housing industry not only have a bank account with us, but also virtual account numbers that are assigned to this account. This has ensured for decades that transfers received and other payment flows are automatically allocated to the right tenant account, and has achieved this with an allocation rate of almost 100 per cent. Today, virtual account numbers are well-established and state-of-the-art – one reason why many in the sector regard us as the innovator on the market.
However, BK01 is not an isolated solution that requires a large amount of effort to implement. Instead, it is integrated into the leading ERP systems in the housing and property industry and is a permanent component in the release planning of ERP providers. That means that BK01 is the interface between the bank account system and business software. With that in mind, we have continuously extended it with additional features. As well as the "virtual account number" and the high degree of allocation accuracy, further sub-processes that are important to housing enterprises have been added, all of which are also automated. They include correspondence when there is a change of tenant, deposit management and outgoing payment flows such as payments to energy providers. Our digital solutions also offer benefits for the environment as well as time and cost savings and efficiency gains. For example, digital IT and banking services reduce paper consumption, since archiving, correspondence and other administrative services are performed online.
Continuing a success story
Today, over 4,000 clients with around 8 million rental units under management use BK01 to manage their housing stocks. More than 140 million customer entries are handled each year for housing enterprises, cooperatives, third-party managers, asset and property managers and energy companies using BK01 and Aareal Bank AG's account management system.
Improving process efficiency – today and in the future
The central tools in BK01 ensure that process efficiency is improved.
BK01 operating costs management automates incoming payments in the SAP system, i.e. the time-consuming manual differentiation of supplier contracts. Each cost category in a contract is given an individual virtual account number, on the basis of which users can allocate SEPA mandates. Housing enterprises no longer need to actively initiate payments and have fully automated allocation of outflows in their accounting systems.
BK01 billing data processing digitalises the preparatory accounting work for BK01 operating costs management for housing enterprises and regulates the automatic payment and entry of transfers and direct debit collections by service providers, suppliers, local authorities, etc. It does this for all billing types and formats used by housing enterprises.
BK01 deposit management and BK01 rent management offer document storage, making duplicate data storage redundant. Standard accounting transactions relating to incoming payments, including follow-up processes, run automatically and reliably – whether for rents, housing benefit and housing allowance or provisions for maintenance costs, whether direct debits or transfers.
BK01 Immoconnect ensures a perfect, automatic exchange of data between energy companies and their partners in the housing and property sector. The resource-intensive allocation and division of debits by utilities is no longer required, which simplifies internal processes and thus strengthens customer loyalty.
BK01 Econnect is the optimum solution to account for and process billing at energy companies and their partners. The system creates digital invoice files in the desired format and scope, thereby meeting the requirements of individual clients for electronic billing.
BK01 payments management optimises the accuracy of allocations and entries in payment transactions in the energy sector. Collective entries and a wide range of different forms of payment are automatically differentiated and allocated. The system also allows further payment processes to be integrated, enabling it to be adapted to established workflows, for example in the management of clearing or the processing of items requiring clarification.
