Forte REST API v3

Forte’s REST API enables merchants and partners to perform a variety of powerful tasks such as creating and updating credit card, echeck, and scheduled transactions, securely managing customer and payment data, querying and tracking settlement information, and creating and submitting merchant applications for new Forte organizations and locations. Forte uses standard HTTP protocols within a PCI-compliant architecture that is simple to integrate.

Getting Started

To begin using Forte's REST web services, complete the following steps:

Sign up for a Test Account.
Create your API Credentials.
Create your Authentication Headers.
Craft a call.
Test your calls.

Step 1: Sign Up for a Test Account

If you are a merchant, navigate to the Forte Developer's Test Account sign-up page and enter your First Name, Last Name, Company Name, and Email address in the applicable fields. Forte uses this email address for verification purposes and as your Username for registering and signing into Dex, Forte's newest payment processing portal.

If you are a partner, contact Forte's Sales Team and request a partner sandbox account. Partner accounts in Dex have different permissions and different menu options.

After you verify your email address, Forte sends you a Dex invitation email where you can register for a sandbox account. Dex registration requires a mobile phone number that can receive SMS messages for account verification.

After registering and verifying your mobile number, Dex logs you in with your Organization ID. Your Organization ID represents a legal entity that can own multiple sub-organizations (for partners) or multiple locations (for merchants) as well as the customers, payment methods, and transactions that belong to those locations. Every request call made to the Forte REST API must contain the organization_id within the URI.

Every Dex sandbox account also comes with a Location ID. Your Location ID represents locations, which are processing endpoints that merchant organizations use to initiate transactions (in Forte legacy applications like Virtual Terminal, locations were known as MIDs). Locations own all the transaction data including sensitive payment method data and tokens. Tokens are random, alpha-numeric strings that represent stored, encrypted data. Tokenization is a common practice in the payment industry to protect sensitive data.

For questions or help with Dex registration or setup, contact Forte Technical Support at 888-235-4635 option 5.

Step 2: Create Your API Credentials

To begin integration with Forte's REST API, you first have to create your API authentication credentials. These include an API Access ID, which acts as your username, and an API Secure Key, which acts as a password. You will create and maintain these credentials in Dex.

Complete the following steps to generate your API Access ID and API Secure Key:

From your Google Chrome browser, log into your Dex Account.
Select Developer > API Credentials from the Dex Main Menu.
Click the CREATE button. The Create API Credentials screen displays.
Enter a name for this set of API credentials in the Name field.
Click the CREATE NEW API KEY button. The API Access ID and API Secure Key values display in their corresponding fields.
Click the COPY button next to the API Access ID and API Secure Key fields to record both of these newly generated values in a secure location to use in authenticating your REST API requests.

Once you save your API Secure Key, you will not be able to see the value again. If you forget your API Secure Key or it becomes compromised, you will have to regenerate the value in Dex.

Step 3: Create Your Authentication Headers

Requests to Forte's REST API must be authenticated using the Authorization header field and the custom header property, X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id.

The Authorization Header

Forte's REST web services rely on Basic access authentication over HTTPS using the API Access ID and an API Secure Key as the username and password values. These unique values are combined with a colon and then encoded using the RFC2045-MIME variant of Base64. The encoded string is then added to the HTTP Authorization header. For example, if you created the following API credentials:

API Access ID = 315c7649520edde96c5cbad59a5b265f
API Secure Key = c233f2958bd855d09d98397e74950640

The value of the Authorization header field would look like the following:

				
					Authorization=Basic MzE1Yzc2NDk1MjBlZGRlOTZjNWNiYWQ1OWE1YjI2NWY6YzIzM2YyOTU4YmQ4NTVkMDlkOTgzOTdlNzQ5NTA2NDA=

Several different online tools can help you create your `Authorization` header, such as Postman. You can also add Base64 encoding to HMAC requests to automatically convert the API Access ID and API Secure Key values into the encoded ASCII string. To do so, use the following code:

				
					Convert.ToBase64String(Encoding.Default.GetBytes(APIAccessID + ":" + APISecureKey)).Trim()

The X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id Header

The custom header property X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id specifies at which organization Forte should authenticate the request. A partner can authenticate his or her Organization ID in the X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id header property and then can access merchant sub-organizations by specifying the merchant Organization ID in the URI of the request.

The Accept Header

Forte’s REST service supports Content Negotiation through the Accept header sent in the request call.

The default value for Accept headers is application/json which returns JSON responses. However, you can also use application/xml which returns XML responses.

The Content-Type Header

The Content-Type header is only required for POST and PUT calls. Like the Accept header, the Content-Type header supports both application/json and application/xml. The default value for Content-Type headers is application/json.

Putting it All Together

In summary, you must include the following headers for every POST and PUT request call made to the Forte REST API. For GET and DELETE request calls, the Content-Type header is optional:

Content-Type – This header is only required for POST and PUT calls. This field defaults to application/json, but also supports application/xml.
Accept – Defaults to application/json, but also supports application/xml
X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id – A custom header property that specifies at which organization Forte should authenticate the request (i.e., org_{AuthOrganizationID})
Authorization – The API Access ID and API Secure Key encoded using the RFC2045-MIME variant of Base64.

Step 4: Craft a Call

The following sections detail everything you'll need to create a request call. The API Reference section lists and explains all the resources you can use and provides samples of common requests and responses.

Base URI

When constructing a call, append the resource endpoint to the following base URIs in the specified environments:

URI	Environment
https://sandbox.forte.net/api/v3	Sandbox
https://api.forte.net/v3	Live

For example, to find a specific customer in Sandbox, you would append the customer endpoint /organizations/{organization_id}/locations/{location_id}/customers/{customer_token} to the base URI https://sandbox.forte.net/api/v3 and perform a GET call. The complete URI, https://sandbox.forte.net/api/v3/organizations/{organization_id}/locations/{location_id}/customers/{customer_token} will return all the customer data attached to that customer’s token.

ID Formatting

All resources in Forte’s REST API require object prefixing to identify the specific resource and aid in troubleshooting in the event of errors. The resource ID is created by combining the object prefix with a unique ID number or token. The following table displays the prefixing standards used by Forte:

Object	Prefix	Example
organizations	org_ + ID	org_200000
locations	loc_ + ID	loc_100000
customers	cst_ + Token	cst_SoGUG6mcLUS1nVzYBIbk3g
addresses	add_ + Token	add_jUYRwbRjKUWgswNrFpSdKg
paymethods	mth + Token	mth_ymC20TMkHE-YmYxMt0UvMA
transactions	trn_ + GUID	trn_55c98c85-d3e8-4230-85e9-21d7d522eec0
fundings	fnd_ + ID	fnd_ACH-0226-173C5
settlements	stl_ + GUID	stl_51cf4633-1767-484f-8784-be76a4076791
schedules	sch_ + GUID	sch_2e5770ae-c120-414f-ae8c-d065753567e7
scheduleitems	sci_ + GUID	sci_4690fbfb-0b77-4477-a066-2c07ca2e5a3c
disputes	dsp_ + ID	dsp_2365435-e4ae-4ff4-a91e-abd8kjjfjffffc
applications	app_ + ID	app_258741
documents	doc_ + ID	doc_3131dddgwef0gpV2eYlo5

Supported Actions

Use the following HTTP verbs to perform an action on REST API resources:

Action	HTTP Method	Description
Create	POST	Creates the resource that corresponds to the data type defined in the endpoint. For example, making a POST call to the transactions URI creates a new transaction.
Find	GET	Returns summary information for all the resources that match the provided query parameters. For example, performing a GET call to the customers URI returns all the customers associated with that specific merchant location. To return comprehensive/detailed information on a specific resource, provide the resource’s ID to the defined URI. For example, to find a specific customer associated with a merchant location, perform a GET call to the customers endpoint and include the customer_token parameter in the URI
Update	PUT	Modifies the existing resource for the provided URI. All PUT calls require the resource’s ID.
Delete	DELETE	Deletes the existing resource for the provided URI. All DELETE calls require the resource’s ID.

Request Filters for General GET Requests

Forte REST web services support the following filtering parameters for GET requests without resource IDs (i.e., general resource searches). Use these search filters for all resources.

Some resources (e.g., transactions and settlements) may have additional filter parameters that you can use to narrow down your search results.

Parameter	Description
orderby	- Sets the order of the results during a search request - Uses the same fields accepted by the resource_filters - Can be followed by a space and one of the following values designating the order to use - asc - ascending (default if not specified) - desc - descending
page_size	- Sets the number of records returned on a page during a search request - Accepts values between 50 and 10000 - If no value is defined, this parameter uses the default value of 50
page_index	- Sets the index of the page of results returned during a search request - Index starts at 0 (zero) and has no upper limit - The given value must be a positive number - An index number set to a value higher than the max page value in a search request will return empty search results

When using search filters, the search_criteria object will display in the response and echo back all the resource parameters included in the search in the resource_specific object.

Understanding Responses

Forte includes the applicable parameters of the response object in all response calls returned to the client that made the request.

Optional request parameters whose values are null do not echo back in responses. The following table displays the response object and the parameters returned for each resource request.

Parameter	Description	Type
response_desc	A short description of the action's response. All resources use this parameter.	string
environment	The environment in which the user made the request. The value for this field can be either live or sandbox. All resources use this parameter.	string
authorization_code	The code indicating whether or not the transaction was authorized. This field is not used for voiding transactions.	string
response_type	The type of response this action generated: A - Approved D - Declined E - Error _____ The type of responses generated by authenticate action: O-Overall match M- FirstName/LastName match B- Business name match P- Conditional match N- No match U- No Info E- Timeout or Invalid response/internal error or Bad request	string
response_code	The response code of the action.	string
preauth_result	Pre-authorization check result from Forte Verify with the following possible values: NOTE: The test account numbers below may be used on Sandbox (with any valid ABA number) to force the indicated response. NEG - P15: High Risk — Test Account # 99915 NEG - P14: Negative Info — Test Account # 99941 UNK - P50: No info — Test Account # 99950 POS - P70: Validated — Test Account # 99970 POS - P71: Low Risk Approval — Test Account # 99971 POS - P73: Medium Risk Approval — Test Account # 99973 UNK - P80: Preauth Vendor Busy — Test Account # 99980 UNK - P90: Preauth Vendor Unavail — Test Account # 99990 UNK - P91: Preauth Vendor Error — Test Account # 99991 UNK - P92: Preauth Server Unavail — Test Account # 99992 _____ Pre-authorization check result from Authenticate with the following possible values: NOTE: The test account numbers below may be used on Sandbox (with any valid ABA number) to force the indicated response. POS-P60: Match - Test Account #99801 CON-P75: Conditional Match - Test Account #99809 NEG-P10: No Match - Test Account #99806 NEG-P94: Invalid Routing Number - Test Account #99824 NEG-P94: Invalid Account Number - Test Account #99828 NEG-P95: Bad Account - Test Account #99826 UNK-P50: No Info - Test Account #99820 UNK-P90: Preauth Vendor Unavail - Test Account #99821 UNK-P91: Preauth Vendor Error - Test Account #99822 ERROR-P94: Error - Test Account #99827	string
preauth_desc	Pre-authorization check description from Forte Verify with the following possible values: POS - Positive NEG - Negative UNK - No information available ___ Pre-authorization check description from Authenticate with the following possible values: P60: Match P75: Conditional Match P10: No Match	string
ownership_match	Provides ownership results based on the name fields being inquired upon, in a pipe delimited format. Possible values are Y, N, C or blank (Y-Match, N-Not Match, C-Conditional Match, Blank-No Info) The name fields in the result are: FirstNameMatch I LastNameMatch I NameMatch I BusinessNameMatch E.g., If First name match is Y, Last name match is N, no response in name match and Business name match is C, then the parameter will return the response as: ownership_match = Y I N I IC	string
preauth_neg_report	Negative database response information (unformatted) when pg_preauth_result=NEG.	string
avs_result	Forte only returns this field if the merchant passes any combination of billing address parameters from the physical_address object in the request. To test this service in Sandbox, see the testing parameters in the Verifying Credit Cards tutorial and Response Codes section. Supported values for this field include the following: - X - Match: Street address and 9-digit zip code both match - Y = Match: Street address and 5-digit zip code both match - A = Partial Match: Street address matches, but both 5-digit and 9-digit zip code do not match - W = Partial Match: Street address does not match, but 9-digit zip code matches - Z = Partial Match: Street address does not match, but 5-digit zip code matches - N = No Match: Street address, 5-digit zip code, and 9-digit zip code all do not match - U = System unavailable: Address information unavailable. Forte returns this response if the street address is a non-US address, if the AVS service is unavailable, or if the AVS service for a particular US bank is not functioning properly - R = System unavailable: Forte will retry the AVS check because the issuer's system is unavailable or the request times out - E = Invalid: AVS data is invalid - S = Not supported: The US issuing bank does not support AVS checks	string
cvv_result	The card verification value response. Supported values for this field include the following: - M = Match - N = No Match - E = Error (Unrecognized or Unknown Response) - I = Invalid or Null - P = Not Processed - S = Service Not Supported - U = Issuer Unable to Process - X = No Response - " "= A space will be sent as this response, only for Token transactions, where CVV must not be present in the request.	string
available_card_balance	The available balance on the credit card if a credit card is used for the transaction.	string
requested_amount	The transaction amount	string

Hypermedia

Forte’s REST API returns the following format for hypermedia responses. Result availability depends on the resource/action in the request.

The following sample of hypermedia responses are merely formatting examples provided for reference.

				
					{
   "links": {
     "self":"/customers?page_index=1",
     "prev":"/customers?page_index=0",
     "next":"/customers?page_index=2",
     "paymethod":"/customers/cst_SoGUG6mcLUS1nVzYBIbk3g/paymethods",
     "transactions":"/customers/cst_SoGUG6mcLUS1nVzYBIbk3g/transactions",
     "addresses":"/customers/cst_SoGUG6mcLUS1nVzYBIbk3g/addresses",
   }
}

Status Codes

Forte’s web services use standard HTTP status codes along with messages where appropriate. The table below displays the most common codes:

Code	Text	Description
200	Ok	This code indicates a successful HTTP request; the actual response depends on the request method. For example, responses for GET requests contain entities corresponding to the requested resource while responses for POST requests contain entities describing the result of the action.
201	Created	This code indicates that the server has fulfilled the request and has created a new resource.
400	Bad Request or Failed Transaction	This code indicates that the server cannot fulfill the request because of bad syntax (e.g., a create echeck request with a missing routing number) or the transaction failed (responses for failed transactions also contain the failed transaction information).
401	Unauthorized	This code occurs when the user sends a bad username, password, and X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id combination with the request.
403	Forbidden	This code indicates that the server understands the request but refuses to authorize it. Unlike a 401 unauthorized response, authenticating will make no difference.
404	Not Found	This code occurs when the user attempts an ID GET request, but the ID he/she provides does not exist in the database.
500	Internal Error	This generic error code indicates that the server has encountered an unexpected condition and cannot provide a more specific or suitable error message.

For status codes in the 400s, ensure that you correctly formatted the JSON (or XML) in the original request, especially when the system returns a descriptive error message along with the status code such as the following example messages:

Example 1

				
					{
    message: "Authentication Organization ID in header is missing or invalid."
}

Example 2

				
					{
    message: "Payment Method's routing number length is invalid."
}

Understanding Webhooks

Webhooks provide near-real-time notifications about the events that occur during a transaction,customer,paymethod,schedule and merchant application process through POSTs to a customer-defined endpoint. Forte notifies merchants about events through subscriptions. Depending on these subscriptions, multiple events can occur during an operation. For example, a POST transaction request that creates tokens for a customer and a paymethod causes three events to be fired: transaction.sale, customer.create, and paymethod.create. These three events can be combined under a common event ID (e.g., evt_xxxxxx) for easier information management.

Depending on how you configure your event subscriptions, the same data may be generated twice in separate webhooks. For example, a POST to the customer object that includes the creation of a paymethod could (if subscribed) generate a customer webhook with both customer and paymethod data as well as a paymethod webhook.

Merchants can subscribe to the following webhook events:

* transaction.authorize
* transaction.capture
* transaction.credit
* transaction.inquiry
* transaction.sale
* transaction.verify
* transaction.authenticate
* transaction.void
* customer.create
* customer.update
* customer.delete
* paymethod.create
* paymethod.update
* paymethod.delete
* schedule.create
* schedule.update
* schedule.delete

Merchant application webhooks provide the status of an application as the application status

events trigger during the application process.

Partners can subscribe to the following merchant application webhook events:

* merchantapplication.approved
* merchantapplication.declined
*merchantapplication.enrolled
* merchantapplication.pending
* merchantapplication.recalled
* merchantapplication.received
* merchantapplication.rejected

If a webhook post fails (i.e., does not result in an HTTP 200 response), Forte retries the webhook post up to twenty times adding one minute for each retry.

For more information on Webhooks, see Using Webhooks.

Step 5: Test Your Calls

To help you gain a greater understanding of how Forte's REST API works, we've built a Postman collection of sample REST requests that you can use to test each resource. NOTE: While we've included sample body parameters in this collection of request calls, you'll still need to add the URLs and Authentication Headers described in Step 3 above.

Postman maintains a thorough documentation repository. Use it to set up your own environment and create your own global variables to perform tests with your unique Organization ID, Location ID, API Access ID, and API Secure Key.

Tokens

A token is a unique string ID that references stored customer information, including payment, customer, and address data. Tokens provide customers convenient, secure access to their information, making the checkout process faster and easier. For merchants, tokens provide a convenient method of collecting scheduled recurring payments. For more information on tokens, see the Understanding Tokens tutorial on DevDocs.

Response Codes

For more information on response codes, see the Transaction Codes page on DevDocs.

Rate Limits

Forte throttles API requests to 10 per second. Once the request limit is met, Forte drops the connection and displays the following error: 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. For general synchronization of your transaction data, query the settlements and fundings endpoints using strategic date and timestamp filters in the request. Do not query individual transactions; this will bog down your connection and limit your payment processing ability. We recommend using single transaction queries on a limited basis for user-initiated, real-time status updates.

Versions

Versions	Description
Version 3 NOTE: This is the only supported version	1. Authentication using the API Access ID and API Secure Key that the developer creates in Dex. 2. Endpoints now using Organization IDs and Location ID.
Version 2 NOTE: Only version 3 is supported at this time. View version 2 here.	1. Authentication using an API Access ID and an API Secure Key provided by Forte Integration Team. 2. Endpoints using Account IDs and Location IDs. 3. Available for both Sandbox and Live.
Version 1 NOTE: Only version 3 is supported at this time.	1. Included only the following objects: Accounts, Locations, Customers, Addresses, Paymethods. 2. Authentication done using an API Login ID and a Secure Transaction Key provided by Forte Integration Team. 3.Only available in Sandbox.

Devices

CSG Forte offers multiple devices for a card present solution. The devices and supported processors are listed here.

Integrations

Peripherals

Explore.docs

Explore.docs

Merchant.docs

Partner.docs

Merchant.docs

Merchant.docs

Partner.docs

First Time Users

Quick Start

Transactional

Customer data

Tutorials

Response Code

Code samples

Third Party Modules

Plugins & More

Drivers

Additional Support

Forte REST API v3

Getting Started

Step 1: Sign Up for a Test Account

Step 2: Create Your API Credentials

Step 3: Create Your Authentication Headers

The Authorization Header

The X-Forte-Auth-Organization-Id Header

The Accept Header

The Content-Type Header

Putting it All Together

Step 4: Craft a Call

Base URI

ID Formatting

Supported Actions

Request Filters for General GET Requests

Understanding Responses

Hypermedia

Status Codes

Understanding Webhooks

Step 5: Test Your Calls

Tokens

Response Codes

Rate Limits

Versions

Devices

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