Business functions and workflows

The MER Facility offers the following processing functions, called business functions:

Create

Create a new message, either from scratch or based on a template, and validate it, that is, ensure that it complies with the message standard specification for that type of message.

Edit

Edit a message to correct errors, and validate it.

Authorize

Authorize a message for subsequent processing, or confirm the authorization that was granted by another user when dual authorization is used. This function cannot be carried out by the user who last created, edited, or authorized the message.

Retype

Retype the contents of certain fields in the message, to ensure that the data in those fields is correct. Like Authorize, this function enforces dual authorization. If necessary, the fields to be retyped can be configured for each message type.

Confirm

Confirm that a message is authorized for subsequent processing. This is similar to the Authorize business function, but can be carried out by the user who last created, edited, or authorized the message.

Display

Display a message without the possibility of editing it.

You create message flows that link these business functions to form a workflow. (A workflow is a sequence of activities performed in accordance with business processes; it determines what can be done, by whom, and under what circumstances.) For example, you might create message flows to:

• Route messages that are rejected by the Authorize function to the Edit function, and messages that are accepted by the Authorize function to an external application (see Example of an MER business workflow)
• Route messages to the Retype function if their amount exceeds a certain threshold, or to the Authorize function if it does not
• Route messages that contain validation errors from an application to the Edit function, so that a user can manually correct the errors and resubmit the message