How a terminal ID works
The acquirer creates the terminal ID when a device is set up, and stores it with the device's profile: the merchant it belongs to, its location, its capabilities and its keys. The terminal places the ID in each message it sends, and the acquirer rejects messages from an ID it does not know or has blocked.
A shop with five tills has one merchant ID and five terminal IDs. An online store has no physical device, and its acquirer assigns one or more terminal IDs to the checkout all the same.
What a terminal ID is used for
- Sending settlement and reports to the right outlet and till
- Reconciling the day's takings terminal by terminal
- Loading the right configuration and encryption keys onto a device
- Blocking one lost or tampered device without stopping the merchant
- Tracing a disputed or suspicious payment to where it was taken
Terminal IDs in SoftPOS and payment platforms
With SoftPOS, each enrolled phone or tablet gets its own terminal ID, issued automatically when a member of staff activates the app. A platform that boards merchants at scale therefore runs a terminal management system that creates, suspends and retires IDs through an API, and keeps each one tied to its merchant ID and its device.
Terminal ID, merchant ID or serial number?
- Merchant ID
- Identifies the merchant's account with the acquirer. One merchant ID usually has many terminal IDs under it.
- Device serial number
- Set by the manufacturer and fixed to the hardware. A terminal ID is assigned by the acquirer and can move to a replacement device.
Where a terminal ID shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- Merchant onboardingBusiness sign-up, verification and underwriting, from application to first payment.
- BackofficeOne console to run the platform: customers, money, risk, content and staff permissions.