fints-lib-cli

A command line interface for communicating with FinTS servers.

Note: This is a fork and continuation of Prior99/fints. Published as fints-lib-cli on npm.

Installation

npm install -g fints-lib-cli
# or
yarn global add fints-lib-cli

Features

• Load list of accounts.
• Load list of transactions in specified range.
• Fetch the current balance for an account.
• List holdings for depot accounts.
• Submit SEPA credit transfers.
• Submit SEPA direct debits.

List accounts

  List the accounts available for the specified user.

  USAGE

    fints-lib list-accounts --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>   - Endpoint URL.                
    -n, --name <name> - Username used for connecting. 
    -p, --pin <pin>   - Pin used for connecting.      
    -b, --blz <blz>   - BLZ of the bank to connect to.
    -d, --debug      
    -v, --verbose    
    -j, --json       

fints-lib list-accounts --url https://example.com/fints -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678

Fetching transactions

  Fetch the statements for a specified account.

  USAGE

    fints-lib fetch-transactions --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> --iban <iban> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>     - Endpoint URL.                        
    -n, --name <name>   - Username used for connecting.         
    -p, --pin <pin>     - Pin used for connecting.              
    -b, --blz <blz>     - BLZ of the bank to connect to.        
    -d, --debug        
    -v, --verbose      
    -j, --json         
    -i, --iban <iban>   - IBAN of the account to fetch.         
    -s, --start <start> - Date of earliest transaction to fetch.
    -e, --end <end>     - Date of latest transaction to fetch.  

fints-lib fetch-transactions --url http://example.com/fints -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 -i DE111234567800000001 -s 2018-01-01 -e 2018-10-01

Fetch current balance

  Fetch the current balance for a specified account.

  USAGE

    fints-lib get-balance --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> --iban <iban> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>   - Endpoint URL.
    -n, --name <name> - Username used for connecting.
    -p, --pin <pin>   - Pin used for connecting.
    -b, --blz <blz>   - BLZ of the bank to connect to.
    -d, --debug
    -v, --verbose
    -j, --json
    -i, --iban <iban> - IBAN of the account to fetch.

fints-lib get-balance --url https://example.com/fints -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 -i DE111234567800000001

List holdings

  List the holdings of a depot account.

  USAGE

    fints-lib list-holdings --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> --iban <iban> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>   - Endpoint URL.
    -n, --name <name> - Username used for connecting.
    -p, --pin <pin>   - Pin used for connecting.
    -b, --blz <blz>   - BLZ of the bank to connect to.
    -d, --debug
    -v, --verbose
    -j, --json
    -i, --iban <iban> - IBAN of the depot account to fetch.

fints-lib list-holdings --url https://example.com/fints -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 -i DE111234567800000001

Submit credit transfer

  Submit a SEPA credit transfer request.

  USAGE

    fints-lib submit-credit-transfer --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> --account-iban <iban> --creditor-name <name> \
      --creditor-iban <iban> --amount <amount> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>              - Endpoint URL.
    -n, --name <name>            - Username used for connecting.
    -p, --pin <pin>              - Pin used for connecting.
    -b, --blz <blz>              - BLZ of the bank to connect to.
    --account-iban <iban>        - IBAN of the debtor account.
    --debtor-name <name>         - Name of the debtor.
    --creditor-name <name>       - Name of the creditor.
    --creditor-iban <iban>       - IBAN of the creditor.
    --creditor-bic <bic>         - BIC of the creditor (optional).
    --amount <amount>            - Amount to transfer.
    --execution-date <date>      - Requested execution date (YYYY-MM-DD).
    --end-to-end-id <id>         - End-to-end reference.
    --remittance <text>          - Unstructured remittance information.
    --purpose-code <code>        - Purpose code for the transfer.
    --message-id <id>            - Optional message identifier.
    --payment-information-id <id>- Optional payment information identifier.
    --batch                      - Request batch booking.
    --tan <tan>                  - Provide TAN to skip the interactive prompt.
    -d, --debug
    -v, --verbose
    -j, --json

fints-lib submit-credit-transfer --url https://example.com/fints --name username --pin 12345 --blz 12345678 \
  --account-iban DE02120300000000202051 --debtor-name "John Doe" --creditor-name "ACME GmbH" \
  --creditor-iban DE44500105175407324931 --amount 100.00 --remittance "Invoice 0815"

Submit direct debit

  Submit a SEPA direct debit request.

  USAGE

    fints-lib submit-direct-debit --url <url> --name <name> --pin <pin> --blz <blz> --account-iban <iban> --creditor-name <name> \
      --creditor-id <id> --debtor-name <name> --debtor-iban <iban> --amount <amount> --mandate-id <id> --mandate-date <date> \
      --collection-date <date> [...options]

  OPTIONS

    -u, --url <url>              - Endpoint URL.
    -n, --name <name>            - Username used for connecting.
    -p, --pin <pin>              - Pin used for connecting.
    -b, --blz <blz>              - BLZ of the bank to connect to.
    --account-iban <iban>        - IBAN of the creditor account.
    --creditor-name <name>       - Name of the creditor.
    --creditor-id <id>           - SEPA creditor identifier.
    --debtor-name <name>         - Name of the debtor.
    --debtor-iban <iban>         - IBAN of the debtor.
    --amount <amount>            - Amount to collect.
    --mandate-id <id>            - SEPA mandate identifier.
    --mandate-date <date>        - Mandate signature date (YYYY-MM-DD).
    --collection-date <date>     - Requested collection date (YYYY-MM-DD).
    --sequence-type <type>       - Sequence type (OOFF, FRST, RCUR, FNAL).
    --local-instrument <code>    - Local instrument (CORE or B2B).
    --end-to-end-id <id>         - End-to-end reference.
    --remittance <text>          - Unstructured remittance information.
    --purpose-code <code>        - Purpose code for the debit.
    --message-id <id>            - Optional message identifier.
    --payment-information-id <id>- Optional payment information identifier.
    --batch                      - Request batch booking.
    --tan <tan>                  - Provide TAN to skip the interactive prompt.
    -d, --debug
    -v, --verbose
    -j, --json

fints-lib submit-direct-debit --url https://example.com/fints --name username --pin 12345 --blz 12345678 \
  --account-iban DE111234567800000001 --creditor-name "ACME GmbH" --creditor-id DE98ZZZ09999999999 \
  --debtor-name "John Doe" --debtor-iban DE02120300000000202051 --amount 42.50 --mandate-id MANDATE-123 \
  --mandate-date 2022-01-10 --collection-date 2022-01-15 --remittance "Invoice 0815"

Practical CLI Examples

Using Environment Variables

To avoid typing credentials repeatedly, create a shell script or use environment variables:

#!/bin/bash
# save as fints-env.sh

export FINTS_URL="https://banking.example.com/fints"
export FINTS_USER="myusername"
export FINTS_PIN="mypin"
export FINTS_BLZ="12345678"

# Then use in commands:
# source fints-env.sh
# fints-lib list-accounts --url $FINTS_URL -n $FINTS_USER -p $FINTS_PIN -b $FINTS_BLZ

Quick Account Overview

# Get account list in JSON format for processing
fints-lib list-accounts \
  --url https://banking.example.com/fints \
  -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 \
  --json | jq '.'

# Check balance for a specific account
fints-lib get-balance \
  --url https://banking.example.com/fints \
  -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 \
  -i DE89370400440532013000 \
  --json | jq '.value'

Export Transactions to File

# Fetch and save transactions as JSON
fints-lib fetch-transactions \
  --url https://banking.example.com/fints \
  -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 \
  -i DE89370400440532013000 \
  -s 2024-01-01 -e 2024-12-31 \
  --json > transactions-2024.json

# Or save verbose output to text file
fints-lib fetch-transactions \
  --url https://banking.example.com/fints \
  -n username -p 12345 -b 12345678 \
  -i DE89370400440532013000 \
  -s 2024-01-01 -e 2024-12-31 \
  --verbose > transactions-2024.txt

Monthly Statement Automation

#!/bin/bash
# monthly-statement.sh - Fetch last month's transactions

# Calculate date range for last month
# For Linux (GNU date):
START_DATE=$(date -d "last month" +%Y-%m-01)
END_DATE=$(date -d "-1 day $(date +%Y-%m-01)" +%Y-%m-%d)

# For macOS (BSD date), install GNU coreutils and use 'gdate':
# brew install coreutils
# START_DATE=$(gdate -d "last month" +%Y-%m-01)
# END_DATE=$(gdate -d "-1 day $(gdate +%Y-%m-01)" +%Y-%m-%d)

# Fetch transactions
fints-lib fetch-transactions \
  --url "$FINTS_URL" \
  -n "$FINTS_USER" \
  -p "$FINTS_PIN" \
  -b "$FINTS_BLZ" \
  -i "$ACCOUNT_IBAN" \
  -s "$START_DATE" \
  -e "$END_DATE" \
  --json > "statement-$(date +%Y-%m).json"

echo "Statement saved for period: $START_DATE to $END_DATE"

Check Multiple Accounts

#!/bin/bash
# check-all-accounts.sh

ACCOUNTS=("DE89370400440532013000" "DE89370400440532013001")

for IBAN in "${ACCOUNTS[@]}"; do
    echo "Checking account: $IBAN"
    fints-lib get-balance \
      --url "$FINTS_URL" \
      -n "$FINTS_USER" \
      -p "$FINTS_PIN" \
      -b "$FINTS_BLZ" \
      -i "$IBAN" \
      --json | jq -r '"  Balance: \(.value.value) \(.value.currency)"'
    echo ""
done

Tips

• Use --json flag for machine-readable output that can be processed with tools like jq
• Use --verbose flag to see detailed information during development
• Use --debug flag to troubleshoot connection issues
• Store credentials in environment variables or a secure credential manager
• Use the FinTS Institute Database to find your bank's URL

Resources

• Database of banks with their URLs