# Turn Absa Access into an API

> Build methods that read balances, statement transactions, payments waiting for approval and proof of payment from Absa Access. A workflow can then check balances each weekday morning and hand yesterday's transactions to your accounting system.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/absa-access
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own Absa Access account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on Absa Access

### Get statement transactions

Reads the statement of one account in Absa Access Online for the dates you give, line by line.

- Takes: Account number, from date, to date
- Returns: Account number, currency, opening balance, closing balance, transactions with date, description, reference, amount and balance

### Check account balances

Reads the balance inquiry for every account on your Absa Access profile, in each account's currency.

- Takes: Nothing
- Returns: Account number, account name, currency, current balance, available balance

### List payments waiting for approval

Reads the payments and transfers that have been initiated in Absa Access and are waiting to be approved or rejected, with who initiated them.

- Takes: Account number (optional)
- Returns: Payment reference, payment type, from account, beneficiary, amount, currency, initiated by, initiated date

### Get proof of payment details

Opens the proof of payment for one completed payment in Absa Access and reads what it states.

- Takes: Payment reference
- Returns: Payment reference, payment date, from account, beneficiary name, beneficiary account, bank, amount, currency, status

## Automate Absa Access with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### Morning balances across every account

Starts: Every weekday at 7:00

1. Check the balances of every account on your Absa Access profile.
2. Keep each account's current and available balance, grouped by currency.
3. Email you the balances, with any account whose available balance is under 50,000 at the top.

### Payments waiting for your approval

Starts: Every weekday at 8:00 and 14:00

1. List the payments waiting for approval in Absa Access.
2. Keep the ones that were not there on the last run.
3. Email you each new payment so an approver can open it in Absa Access.

### Yesterday's transactions to accounting

Starts: Every weekday at 6:30

1. For each account you name, get yesterday's statement transactions.
2. Keep each transaction's date, description, reference, amount and balance.
3. Post them as JSON to your accounting system's webhook, one batch per account.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get statement transactions” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "absaaccess.co.za/get_statement_transactions",
    "input": {
      "account_number": "4091237765",
      "from_date": "2026-11-09",
      "to_date": "2026-11-11"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "account_number": "4091237765",
    "currency": "ZAR",
    "opening_balance": 1284310.55,
    "closing_balance": 1197842.1,
    "transactions": [
      {
        "date": "2026-11-09",
        "description": "Payment received Northwind Traders",
        "reference": "INV 20418",
        "amount": 48250,
        "balance": 1332560.55
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## Absa Access’s own options

Absa runs the Absa Access Developer Portal with APIs for foreign exchange, retail payments and account information. Going live takes testing sign-off, signed commercial and legal agreements, onboarding with Absa and an API user the bank creates on your corporate profile. Absa Access Host to Host also exchanges payment files directly.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Absa Access Developer Portal APIs | Foreign Exchange (FX Rates, FX Trade, FX Order across 10 African jurisdictions), Retail Payments for EFT and RTGS, and Account Information Services. | Onboarding with Absa, signed agreements, an API User Account on your corporate profile, OAuth 2.0 client details and certificates for mutual TLS. |
| Absa Access Host to Host | EFT, RTGS and international payment files sent from your systems, currency conversions, and statement downloads after a payment. | A direct integration over encrypted tunnels, with PGP and SSH keys shared between you and Absa. |
| Absa Access by hand | Balances, transfers, international payments, approvals, proof of payment, beneficiaries, trade finance, and statements as PDF, Excel or CSV. | A user on your company's Absa Access profile, joined by invitation. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [Absa Access Developer Portal: Our APIs](https://developer.absa.africa/static/our-apis/home), [Absa Access Developer Portal: Preparing to go live](https://developer.absa.africa/static/documentation/preparing-to-go-live), [Absa Access Host to Host (Absa Mozambique)](https://www.absa.co.mz/en/host-to-host/).

## Signing in to Absa Access

Absa Access asks for a username and password, and users join by accepting an invitation. Multi-factor authentication runs through the Absa Access Mobile App, and Business Integrator Online in South Africa uses a BIO digital certificate. With Fous you sign in through Absa Access's own sign-in with your own account. The login is sealed with AES-256, and code and AI agents never see it.

## Worth knowing

- **Users join by invitation**: The Absa Access sign-in page asks first-time users to accept the invitation they were sent. A method reads only the accounts and functions your own user has on the profile.
- **Initiating and approving are separate steps**: Absa Access lets a user initiate, approve or reject financial transactions. In South Africa, payments are approved in Business Integrator Online, under the Approvals tab and Singles.
- **Business Integrator Online has its own certificate**: BIO, opened from Absa Access in South Africa, works with a BIO digital certificate. Absa issues it on request, as a soft certificate that you enrol.
- **The Developer Portal opens from Absa Access**: To go live on Absa's APIs you sign in to Absa Access, open the Developer Portal and generate OAuth client details and certificates there, after Absa creates your API user.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Does Absa Access have an API?

Yes, through the Absa Access Developer Portal, with APIs for foreign exchange, retail payments and account information, secured with OAuth 2.0 and mutual TLS. You go live after testing sign-off, signed agreements and onboarding with Absa. Host-to-Host file exchange covers payment files and statements.

### Can I download statements as CSV from Absa Access?

Yes. Absa Access Online downloads bank statements as PDF, Excel or CSV. A method can read the same statement lines and return them as JSON for the dates you give.

### Where are payments approved in Absa Access?

Absa Access lets users initiate, approve or reject transactions, and the Absa Access Mobile App approves local payments and inter-account transfers. In South Africa, payments are approved in Business Integrator Online under the Approvals tab.

### Which countries does Absa Access cover?

Absa lists Absa Access in South Africa, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Mauritius, Mozambique and Uganda, with support contacts for each country.

### Is Fous affiliated with Absa?

No. Fous is an independent product. You sign in to Absa Access with your own account, and a method reads and does only what your account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of Absa Access (Absa). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.