# Transaction Channels
Source: https://docs.mambu.com/docs/transaction-channels

A *transaction* is any operation implying changes in the balance of an account. Some transactions are posted through transaction channels. A *transaction channel* is a form of payment such as cash, SWIFT transfer, credit card repayment, or intra-bank transfer.

Transactions made between a client and a financial institution, such as disbursements, repayments, deposits, and withdrawals are posted through transaction channels. Transactions that happen within the processes of a financial institution, like applying interest, fees, or penalties are usually not posted through transaction channels.

Mambu has one predefined transaction channel, **Cash** - which you may rename. This transaction channel cannot be deleted.

![Transaction Channels main view, where all defined transaction channels are displayed](@site/static/img/support/managing-your-organization--transaction-channels.png)

## Permissions for transaction channels

The following permissions are required for a user to be able to perform the relevant management actions on transaction channels:

- `VIEW_TRANSACTION_CHANNELS`
- `CREATE_TRANSACTION_CHANNELS`
- `EDIT_TRANSACTION_CHANNELS`
- `DELETE_TRANSACTION_CHANNELS`

If these permissions are not assigned to a user, that user will not be able to see the **Transaction Channels** tab under **Administration** > **Financial Setup**.

## Posting transactions through transaction channels

When posting a transaction, you will be able to select the transaction channel to post it through by using the **Channel** dropdown in the relevant dialog.

For more information and examples of using transaction channels while posting transactions such as disbursements, repayments, deposits, or withdrawals, see:

- [Disbursing a Loan](/docs/disbursing-a-loan)
- [Processing Loan Repayments](/docs/processing-loan-repayments)
- [Deposits, Withdrawals, and Transfers](/docs/deposits-withdrawals-and-transfers)

![Selecting a transaction channel](@site/static/img/support/managing-your-organization--apply-a-repayment.png)

## Creating transaction channels

To create a new transaction channel:

1. On the main menu, go to **Administration** > **Financial Setup** > **Transaction Channels**.
2. Select **Add Channel**.
3. Enter all the necessary information. For more information, see [Transaction channel fields](#transaction-channel-fields) below.
4. Select **Save Changes**.

![Add Transaction Channel view, that can be accessed by pressing the Add Channel button from the main view.](@site/static/img/support/managing-your-organization--add-transaction-channel.png)

## Transaction channel fields

### General fields

| Field | Description | Required |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Name | Maximum of 255 characters. | YES |
| ID | Maximum length of 32 characters, must be unique, and must not contain spaces. | YES |

### Loan and saving constraints

Loan and savings constraints allow you to determine the transactions for which the transaction channel can be used.

Loan constraints apply to loan products and saving constraints apply to deposit products. By default the **Unconstrained Usage** option is selected which means there are no constraints set.

To set up constraints, select **Limited Usage** and define them by selecting **Add Filter**. There are three constraint types:

| Constraint type | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Amount | Limits the use of the transaction channel to transactions of certain amounts. |
| Type | Limits the use of the transaction channel to certain types of transactions. |
| Product | Limits the use of the transaction channel to specified products. |

Selecting **Match All** allows a transaction to use the transaction channel if it matches all the constraints. Selecting **Match Any** allows a transaction to use the transaction channel if it matches at least one of the constraints.

### Accounting

Use the **GL Account** dropdown to select the general ledger (GL) account to associate to the transaction channel. This will allow you to log different journal entries depending on which payment method you use while keeping your books updated. We recommend having separate GL accounts for each transaction channel.

:::note
If the **Accounting in Multicurrency** feature is enabled you are able to use a transaction channel only if the related GL account will be in the same currency as the GL accounts in the accounting rules of the transaction's products.
:::

### Usage Rights

You may choose to make a transaction channel accessible to all users by selecting **All Users**. Or you may make it accessible only to users with certain roles assigned by selecting the specific roles.

If access to a transaction channel is limited to certain roles, only users with those roles will see it as an option in the **Channel** dropdown when posting transactions. These usage rights settings can decrease possibilities of fraud in your system.

## Custom fields for transactions by channel

Custom field definitions are additional fields you can create in Mambu to capture any additional information required for your business processes.

You may create custom field definitions for transactions and make them available to specific transaction channels. The custom field definitions will then appear under the custom field set section when posting transactions through a specific transaction channel.

For more information, see [Custom Fields](/docs/custom-fields).

## Editing, deleting, and deactivating transaction channels

To edit, delete, or deactivate a transaction channel:
1. On the main menu, go to **Administration** > **Financial Setup** > **Transaction Channels**.
2. Find the transaction channel you want to manage in the list and select **Actions** and then either **Edit**, **Delete**, or **Deactivate** depending on the operation you want to carry out.

:::warning
If you need to change the GL account on a transaction channel already in use, you should make sure that you reflect the changes with manual journal entries.
:::

You cannot delete transaction channels that have been used. If a channel has been used before but you don't want it to be available anymore, you may deactivate it and users won't be able to see it as an option when logging a transaction. All deactivated channels are hidden from the list of available channels. To see them, select **Show deactivated transaction channels** in the top-left corner of the page. The predefined transaction channel cannot be deleted or deactivated.

## Rearranging transaction channels

You can define in which order the transaction channels will be displayed to users.

To rearrange the existing transaction channels:

1. On the main menu, go to **Administration** > **Financial Setup** > **Transaction Channels**.
2. Select **Rearrange**.
3. Drag and drop the channels in the order you want.
4. Select **Save Changes**.