Columbia Bank Positive Pay file

Works with your QuickBooks report exactly as exported. No cleanup.

Turn your QuickBooks Check Detail report or Excel check list into the check issue file Columbia Bank accepts.

Built from Columbia Bank's published spec · Read 10/29/2026 · Source

Make your Columbia Bank file Try it with a sample file

What Columbia Bank receives

The Columbia Bank file BankFileKit makes from a sample QuickBooks report with fake checks. You see this proof for your own file before anything leaves your browser.

File proof

Columbia Bank , Issued check file, comma delimited

positive-pay-columbia-20261026.csvCreated 10/26/2026 (example)

File check: Passed

111001,1688.12,10012026,Example Office Supply Co.,I221002,6895.24,10022026,"Example Janitorial, LLC",I331003,450.00,10032026,Example Property Mgmt LLC,V41004,2104.50,10152026,Example Employee One,I51005,12500.00,10202026,Example Construction and Landscaping Services of Northern County,I

Line 1. One check per line: check number, amount, issue date, payee and issue/void code, in this order.
Line 2. A payee name with a comma goes in double quotes, so the bank reads it as one name.
Line 3. A voided check, marked V, with its original amount. QuickBooks shows voids as $0.00, so BankFileKit asks you for the original amount.

Set it up once at Columbia Bank

Note: Already have a Columbia Bank import map?

Your file has to match the map you upload it with. Add a new map with the settings below, or use My bank isn't listed to make a file that matches the map you have.

In Commercial Online Banking, open Account Services, then Check Positive Pay, then Import Issues. Select Add a file definition (the File Import Definition link at the top of the page).
Choose a delimited file. Field delimiter: Comma. Text qualifier: Double quote. Amount: Decimal included. Issue date format: MMDDYYYY.
Default field values: Account: the account these checks are written on. Issue action: Add. If the screen asks for ABA/TRC, enter 123205054, Columbia Bank's routing number from its guide. Leave Issue type without a default.
Field positions: Check number 1, Amount 2, Issue date 3, Payee 4, Issue type 5. Save the definition.
To send a file: open Import Issues, select the button next to this definition and select Continue. Browse to the file you downloaded from BankFileKit, then select Import File.

What's in the file

What each check line holds, in the Columbia Bank file
Column	Field	Example	Rules
1	Check number	1001	Digits only, up to 15.
2	Amount	1688.12	Dollars and cents with a decimal point. No $ or commas. Up to $99,999,999.99.
3	Issue date	10012026	MMDDYYYY.
4	Payee	Example Office Supply Co.	Exactly as printed on the check. Up to 96 characters.
5	Issue type	I	I for issued checks, V for voids.

.csv file · Commas between fields · No header row · Windows line endings

Good to know

This is Columbia Bank at columbiabank.com. Columbia Bank in New Jersey is a different bank.
Columbia Bank lets you build your own file import definition. This layout follows the delimited sample in Columbia's guide: check number, amount, issue date and payee, plus an issue type with I for issued and V for void.
The account comes from the definition's default value, so each definition is for one account. If you write checks on more than one account, add a definition for each one.
If you use Payee Positive Pay, the payee name must match the printed check. Columbia allows up to 96 characters.
The file has no header or footer row, as Columbia's guide asks for files uploaded in online banking.

Where Columbia Bank's guide doesn't say

BankFileKit fills these in with safe defaults. Your test file confirms them with Columbia Bank before you send a live file.

BankFileKit default: A payee name is put in double quotes only when it has a comma (decided 10/29/2026). Columbia's samples use single quotes, but a single quote would break names like Goofy's Stuff Inc.
BankFileKit default: The issue type column is BankFileKit's addition to Columbia's sample, so voids can go in the same file. Columbia's guide lists it as an optional field.
BankFileKit default: Voided checks carry the original check amount.
BankFileKit default: Line endings: Windows (CRLF). Text: plain ASCII. Columbia's guide doesn't say.

Note: Send a test file to Columbia Bank first

Before your first live file, download the free test file with your first 3 checks, send it to Columbia Bank, and confirm it was accepted. BankFileKit can't guarantee that Columbia Bank will accept a file.

Source

Check Positive Pay User Guide, Columbia Bank. No date printed. Pages 5-9. https://www.columbiabank.com/globalassets/media/ppb-merger-center/check-positive-pay-user-guide.pdf. Read 10/29/2026.

BankFileKit isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Columbia Bank.

Other banks

See every bank, or set up your own layout if your bank uses a different one.