PayFacs

Hi there! Welcome to Dex, Forte's latest and greatest payments application. With Dex, you can view, create, and manage all your transaction data—including customers, payment methods, addresses, and schedules—in one convenient place. You can also view and maintain your merchant account, keep track of your funding entries, resolve disputed transactions, and generate API credentials to connect Dex with your third-party applications.

Creating PayFac Profiles

NOTE: Only the Enrollment Team can create PayFac profiles.

Payment Facilitators (PayFacsClosed) are partners that allow some or all of their merchant customers to use a shared credit card processing account through either Vantiv or Wells Fargo. These processors send the funding for these transactions to a Forte-owned PayFac Funding Location, which then transmits the funds to the merchants (or partners depending on setup) via an ACH transaction. In Dex, we store this information in a record called a PayFac profile. The PayFac profile links the processor (via processing credentials), the PayFac Funding Location (via Location ID), and the merchant together to ensure the funding process completes as smoothly as possible.

The Forte Enrollment Team can quickly create, configure, and maintain PayFac profiles in Dex by completing the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > PayFacs.
  2. Click the Create PayFac button in the upper right corner of the screen. The Create PayFac Modal displays.
  3. Complete the following General Information fields:

Field

Description

Profile Name

A short, descriptive name for the PayFac profile.

Processor

Use the dropdown to select either Vantiv, Wells Fargo, or Chase.

Version

The version number of the PayFac profile. The options in this field depend upon the processor you selected in the Processor field. For Vantiv merchants, only version 2 (Single Model) is allowed. For Wells Fargo merchants, you can select between version 2 (Single Model) or version 3 (Multi Model). For Chase merchants, only version 3 (Multi Model) is allowed. With Version 2 PayFac profiles, each merchant location (or MID) is mapped to a unique processor location (or MID) (e.g., Vantiv 1-1 profiles). For version 3 profiles, multiple merchant locations are mapped to a single processor location

Company ID

This field will be displayed if the "Chase" Processor is selected. Note: Currently, there is only one Company ID is listed and used with the processor.

Funding Location

Use the dropdown and search box to find and select the name and location ID of the PayFac Funding Location that Forte will use to fund PayFac merchants.

Amex

Use the dropdown to select whether or not the merchant will process American Express transactions and, if so, how those transactions will be funded and billed. Supported options for this field include the following:

None - The merchant does not accept American Express transactions.
PSP Shared - The Payment Service Provider model where American Express funds and bills Forte and we push American Express funding to the sponsored merchants.
Amex Funds and Bills - The merchant provides his/her own American Express credentials and receives funding directly from American Express. Forte's PayFac Funding Location omits all American Express transactions when funding the merchant.
Forte Funds and Bills - The merchant provides his/her own American Express credentials and Forte funds and bills the merchant from the Forte PayFac Funding Location.

Amex SE Number

The American Express Service Establishment Number associated with the processor. This field is only required for merchants who accept American Express cards.

Amex Sector

Use the dropdown and search box to find and select the American Express sector for this profile. The sector relates to the Merchant Category Code associated with a merchant and determines the pricing for American Express transactions.

  1. Click the Next button. The Processing Credentials screen displays.
    Note: For the Chase Processor, Processing Credentials is not required at this instance. 
  2. Complete the following Processing Credentials fields. 
    Note: The fields that display depend on the processor and the PayFac version number:

Field

Description

Chain

The 6-digit ID that uniquely identifies Forte's relationship with the processor.

Banking ID

The 4-digit Banking Identification Number (BIN ) that identifies the payment facilitator's bank.

Division

Indicates the status (open/closed), number, and name of the division assigned to the merchant.

Merchant ID

The processor-provided Merchant ID that uniquely identifies the merchant.

Terminal ID

The 4–8-digit, processor-provided Terminal ID that identifies a specific POS terminal or a payment gateway.

Service Provider ID

The 4-digit Service Provider ID (SPID) that identifies the payment facilitator.

Agent ID

The four-digit ID that determines whether or not the merchant assigned to this PayFac will board on a 1-1 profile or if the profile will be used to board sub-merchants under a master MID. This field only displays for version 2 PayFac profiles.

Descriptor (Prefix)

A 1-8-character ID that uniquely identifies each service provider.

  1. Click the Next button. The Assign Portfolios screen displays.
  2. Use the dropdown to search the partner organization you want to add to this PayFac profile.
  3. Select the Portfolio(s) to be associated with this PayFac profile. 
  4. Click the Next button. The Select Merchant Category Codes (MCC) screen is displayed. 
  5. Use the dialog box to drag and drop or click to browse to a file to Upload the MCC Code(s) that you would like to include in this PayFac profile. 
  6. Click the Next button. The Review and Submit screen displays.
  7. Double-check the Processor Credentials and the Portfolio(s) setup. If the values look correct, click the Create PayFac button. If you need to make edits, click the Back button until you reach the screen that needs to be updated.
  8. If successful, the Create PayFac modal will display a success message.

Boarding Locations to a PayFac Profile

NOTE: Only the Forte Enrollment Team can manually board merchant locations to PayFac profiles.

Merchant locations can be manually boarded to a PayFac profile after enrollment. To successfully board, merchant locations must

  • Be fully enrolled and in Live status in Dex
  • Be set up to process credit card transactions
  • Have a set Market Type and Merchant Category Code compatible with the processor
  • Have a correctly formatted Federal ID, a valid ZIP code, and a non-PO Box mailing address
  • Have a listed Primary Owner

To manually board a location to a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the Locations Datagrid by clicking the Locations menu option in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the desired location and/or use the filters to narrow down the displayed result list.
  3. Open the Board to PayFac modal one of two ways:
    1. From the Locations Datagrid, click  > Board to PayFac.
    2. Access the Location's Details Screen and click Actions > Board to PayFac.
  4. Use the dropdown and/or search field in the PayFacs field to find and select the desired PayFac profile.
  5. Click the Board button. Dex runs boarding validations and, if successful, displays a success message and the processor details for the PayFac profile. If unsuccessful, Dex displays an error message detailing the validation failures.

Working with PayFac Profiles

As Payment Facilitators add or remove merchant and sub-partner organizations to their hierarchy, we can minimize impacts to merchants by modifying the list of partners with access to a PayFac profile and its processing and funding settings. NOTE: You can only modify the partners of Active PayFac profiles.

Adding Partners

To add a partner to a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. If not already selected, click the Partner tab. The current list of partners with access to this profile display.
  5. Click the Add Partner button. The Add Partner modal displays.
  6. Use the dropdown and search field in the Select a Partner Organization field to find the desired partner.
  7. Click the name and ID of the partner you want to add. Repeat steps 6–7 until all the desired partners have been added to the Organizations to be added field.
  8. Click the Add button. Dex returns you to the Payfac Profile's Details Screen with the updated list of partners displayed on the Partners tab.

Removing Partners

NOTE: Partners can only be removed from a PayFac profile if we have not yet boarded any of their locations to the profile.

To remove a partner organization from a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. If not already selected, click the Partners tab. The current list of partners with access to this profile display.
  5. Find the partner organization you wish to remove and click the Remove Partner button that displays next to the partner's name and ID. A Remove Partner modal displays.
  6. Click the Remove button on the Remove Partner modal. Dex returns you to the PayFac Profile's Details Screen with the deleted partner's name and ID removed from the list that displays on the Partners tab.

Payment brands use merchant category codes (MCCs) to classify merchants and businesses by the type of goods or services provided. To onboard a MID to the payment processor for Card Services, a PayFac profile that includes the MCC code is required.

NOTE: Only the Forte Enrollment Team can Add/Manage PayFac profiles for a Partner/Portfolio.

Adding MCC Codes

To add MCC Code to a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage> Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. If not already selected, click the MCC Codes The current list of Merchant Category code(s) will be displayed.
  5. Click the Edit MCC Codes button. The Add MCC Codes modal displays.
  6. Use the Browse button to search for a file or drag and drop a file into the Upload dialog box to upload a file that includes the MCC code(s) that you would like to be included in this PayFac profile.
  7. Select the Trash can icon to remove the file and manage the current list of MCC Codes displayed from the file.
  8. Repeat steps 6–7 until the desired MCC Code(s) have been added successfully to the PayFac
  9. Select the Add button to add the MCC Code(s) to the PayFac profile. Dex returns you to the Payfac Detail Screen with the updated list of Merchant Category Code(s) for the PayFac ID.

Managing MCC Codes

To remove MCC Code(s) from a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage> Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it is listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. If not already selected, click the MCC Codes The current list of Merchant Category code(s) will be displayed.
  5. Select the Trash can icon to remove the MCC Codes from the PayFac profile.
  6. Repeat steps 6–7 until the desired MCC Code(s) have been added successfully to the PayFac
  7. Refer to the Adding MCC Codes section to know how to add new MCC codes to the current PayFac profile.

Viewing a PayFac's Event History

To help with troubleshooting, Dex records the event history for every PayFac profile created. Events include the following:

  • When Forte created the PayFac profile
  • When Forte added a partner to the profile
  • When Forte removed a partner from the profile
  • When Forte updated the PayFac profile's status
  • When a user updated or edited the PayFac profile's name

To view the history of a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Status, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. Click the History tab. Dex displays all the PayFac's events starting with the most recent. To filter the displayed list of historical events by a specific event, use the dropdown in the Filter By field to select one of the following event filters:
    • Create
    • Partner Added
    • Partner Removed
    • Status Updates
    • PayFac Name Edit

Deactivating and Activating a PayFac Profile

PayFac profiles that are not linked to any partner organizations can be deactivated, so that they're no longer available for merchant funding. Once deactivated, PayFac profiles can be re-activated via a similar process.

Deactivating

To deactivate a PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. Click the Actions button in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Deactivate. A Deactivate PayFac Modal displays asking you to confirm the deactivation. NOTE: The Actions button only displays on PayFac profiles that have no linked partner organizations. If you do not see the Actions button, you will need to remove the partners from the profile before deactivating it.
  5. Click the Deactivate button on the Deactivate PayFac Modal. Dex returns you to the PayFac Profile's Details Screen and changes the status of the profile to In-Active.

Activating

To activate an In-Active PayFac profile, complete the following steps:

  1. Access the PayFacs Datagrid by clicking Manage > Payfacs in the Dex main menu.
  2. Search for the PayFac profile by Name or ID and/or use the Processor, Version, Funding Location, American Express Service Establishment Number, or Partner ID/Name filter fields to narrow down the list of displayed PayFac profiles.
  3. After locating the desired PayFac profile, click the row on which it's listed. The PayFac Profile's Details Screen displays.
  4. Click the Actions button in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Activate. An Activate PayFac Modal displays asking you to confirm the activation.
  5. Click the Activate button on the Activate PayFac Modal. Dex returns you to the PayFac Profile's Details Screen, changes the status of the profile to Active, and activates the Add Partner button on the Partners tab.
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