A step-by-step guide to use the MerchantE Payment Acceptance extension for Adobe Commerce powered by Magento 2.4.x.

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Extension Installation and Configuration

Please note that each Magento installation can vary from others; if your screen does not appear exactly the same as the screens pictured here, don’t be concerned. The names of tabs and selections should be consistent. If you have any questions along the way, do not hesitate to contact MerchantE (ME) for assistance at Help@merchantE.com.

Use Composer to Install Magento - If you have not done so already, use Composer to download Magento and install according to their instructions. Configure and add products as needed to your eCommerce store.
Download and Install the Extension - Download MerchantE Payment Acceptance extension for Magento v 2.x from the Magento Marketplace (filter “Payments & Security” extensions, search MerchantE). Choose the ‘store version’ that matches your installed version of Magento.
Follow the instructions for installing a new Magento v 2.x extension.

Configure the Extension

Navigate: Stores ⭢ Configuration ⭢ Sales ⭢ Payment Methods ⭢MerchantE

Set Up the Payment Method - Proceed to configure the extension according to the following instructions and your specific business needs. Field descriptions, defaults, and suggestions are provided below.
1. Enabled - Set to “Yes” to enable this extension as a Payment Method within your Magento installation.
2. Title - This is the “title” of this particular Payment Method as it appears to the customer during checkout. “Credit Card” is the default and recommended value.
3. Sort Order - This field allows you to change the order in which this Payment Method Title (e.g., “Credit Card”) will be presented among any other enabled Payment Methods.
Credentials
1. Profile ID - This is a 20-digit merchant identifier which you will receive from MerchantE when your merchant account has been successfully set up.
2. Profile Key - This is a 32-character encoded passkey which you will receive from MerchantE when your merchant account has been successfully set up.
3. User ID - This identification value is used to integrate with the Reporting and Account Updater services and can be obtained from your MerchantE sales or support representative once your merchant account has been successfully set up with MerchantE.
4. User Password - This credential value is used to integrate with the Reporting and Account Updater services and can be obtained from your MerchantE sales or support representative once your merchant account has been successfully set up with MerchantE.
5. Use Sandbox - Selecting “Yes” provides simulated authorization responses for integration, testing, and development purposes. To process live transactions in the production environment, select “No.” Do not attempt to process live financial transactions when Use Sandbox is set to “Yes.”
Order Settings -
1. New Order Status - Select the status that you want to set an order to when the payment has been approved; this field defaults to “Processing,” but supports custom Magento statuses. Custom “Order Status” must be associated with the processing state make it available in the configuration. For more information, see Magento documentation.
2. Transaction Type - Select either “Sale” or “Pre-Authorization” depending on your type of business, products, and/or ordering model. Merchants are responsible for complying with all card brand regulations relating to eCommerce transactions which may require one of these specific Transaction Types to be used. If you aren’t sure how you should be processing eCommerce transactions, contact your MerchantE sales or support representative.
  1. Pre-Authorization - Used to authorize a card for an amount when an order is placed, but NOT to capture those funds for settlement into your bank account. If an order is pre-authorized, the funds may be captured later within the Magento Orders interface, such as when a product ships.
  2. Sale - Used to authorize a card for an amount and immediately capture those funds for settlement to your bank account, as in sale of certain digital goods.
3. Use Level II/Level III Processing - Select “Yes” to enable support for “Level II” and “Level III”, line-item detail processing. This option is for merchants who process B2B and B2G transactions and may qualify those transactions for lower interchange rates on Corporate or Purchasing Cards by providing additional data fields and detailed line-item transaction information. Details of transactions are located in the comments section in the Sales Order detail screen (Navigate: Admin ⭢ Sales ⭢ Orders ⭢ {Select transaction} ⭢ View).
Checkout Preferences -
1. Enable Hosted Checkout – when this option is selected to “Yes,” the customer is redirected to the MerchantE secure website to enter their sensitive card details to place an Order:
  1. Your webserver is notified when the customer’s transaction is approved.
  2. The sensitive card details are never passed to your webserver, reducing your scope of PCI DSS compliance requirements.
  3. Do not use this option if you want to store payment card details for future transactions. Stored cards capabilities are provided by the Tokenization methods.
  4. When this option is set to “No” the customer will be prompted to enter their card details directly on the Magento site, using one of MerchantE Tokenization methods.
Additional Settings -
1. Enable RBS (Recurring Billing Service) -
  1. It is recommended that you select “No” as this feature is not compliant with the card brands stored card requirements and you could be subject to non-compliance fees.
  2. If you still choose to use this feature, select “Yes.” There are additional settings required to enable RBS for applicable products. The steps are described in the Detailed Feature Guide.
2. Enable AUS (Account Updater Service) - AUS helps you avoid declines when you have payment cards on file. MerchantE provides an automated service that updates card information. This feature will not function until you have enabled AUS on your merchant account. Contact a MerchantE sales or support representative for details.
3. Force CVV for Saved Cards -
  1. Select “Yes” if you want to add an additional layer of security and require buyers to re-enter the Card Verification Value (CVV2, also referred to as CID, CSC, or CVC2) number for each purchase made using a stored card on file.
  2. Select “No” to allow stored cards to be used without entering this information.
4. Client Reference Number - This is a customizable field which can be populated with dynamic Order data elements from Magento which will then appear in your reporting from MerchantE, allowing you to better track and reconcile orders. The following dynamic data elements are supported in this field. You can also enter static values and combine them with these data elements, e.g. “Order #[orderid]”.
  1. [ip] - Customer IP address
  2. [orderid] - Magento Order ID
  3. [name] - Customer name from Magento
  4. [email] - Customer email address from Magento
  5. [phone] - Customer phone number from Magento
  6. [company] - Customer company name from Magento
  7. [customerid] - Customer ID from Magento
5. Allow Payments from Specific Countries - Allow or reject orders from specific countries based on the shipping address entered by the customer.
6. Payment from Specific Countries - Allow or reject orders from specific countries based on the shipping address entered by the customer.
7. Minimum Order Total - Minimum amount an order can be for the customer to choose this payment method.
8. Maximum Order Total - Maximum amount an order can be for the customer to choose this payment method.
Advanced Setting -
1. Tokenization Method - Tokenization enables merchants to accept and submit payment card transactions for payment processing without transmitting or storing sensitive credit card account details. In Magento, merchants can select from three token options:
  1. Permanent Tokens Only - By selecting this option, when the customer inputs their credit card details, MerchantE will automatically generate a permanent token, and the token will be stored for future use. This configuration supports both the Hosted Checkout and the non-Hosted Checkout options.
  2. Temporary or Permanent Tokens Only - By selecting this option, MerchantE will initially generate a temporary token. The merchant (and cardholder) can select to save the payment card data for future use:
    1. If the customer chooses “YES” when prompted to save their card during the transaction, the temporary token that was used during authorization is provided to the merchant to be stored and used as a permanent token.
    2. If the customer chooses “NO” when prompted to save their card during the transaction, the temporary token is not saved for future use.
  3. Installments/Pre-payments Only - This security setting allows for merchants to process installments or pre-payments using MerchantE Permanent tokens.
    Please contact a MerchantE sales or support representative if you need assistance with understanding which options to select.
Completing the Configuration - After changing configuration options, it is always recommended that you clear cache and rebuild indexes. Magento has guidance to assist you:
1. Clear Cache
2. Rebuild Indexes
Testing the Extension - Before beginning your testing, always clear cache and rebuild indexes. Navigate to your Magento storefront, purchase a product, and proceed to checkout.
1. Hosted Checkout - If you have enabled “Hosted Checkout” as your PCI Compliance scope reduction option in the Payment Method configuration page, the Hosted Checkout Page will open in a new tab or window. You can customize the appearance of this hosted page to match your website, including customized images and style sheets. For more information, see Hosted Payments . To test “Hosted Checkout,” your testing environment must be connected to the internet.
  1. Enter a test card value such as 4111111111111111 (Do not use live cards in the test/sandbox environment), any date in the future as the expiration, and 123 as the Security Code. The
    address information should have been pre-populated with your Magento Order information.
  2. Press “Submit.”
  3. The popup window may then be closed, and the original Magento store page will then update and you will see a payment confirmation.
2. If you did not enable the Hosted Checkout method on the Payment Method configuration page, the checkout flow will appear as pictured below. After the Order details are confirmed, as illustrated before, then the card data may be entered directly into the checkout page in the “Review & Payments” tab.
  1. Enter any test card value such as 4111111111111111 (Do not use live cards in the test/sandbox environment), input any date in the future as the expiration, and enter “123” as the Card Verification Number.
  2. Press “Place Order.”
  3. After the payment has been successfully approved by the MerchantE transaction simulator, you will see the following confirmation page.
3. Verify the Sales Order - Navigate: Sales ⭢ Order
  1. You will then see the list of your recent test transactions. To see more details associated with any transaction, click “View.”
  2. View Order details: scroll down to view specific processing details from the transaction, including the MerchantE Transaction ID, the approval code from the card issuer, as well as the CVV and AVS response codes and messages.
Going Live - Navigate: Stores ⭢ Configuration ⭢ Sales ⭢ Payment Method
1. Change the “Use Sandbox” option to “No”.
2. If MerchantE has provided any new credentials (Profile ID, Profile Key, User ID, Password) for processing “live” transactions in your production merchant account, update those in the “Credentials” section.
3. Save changes by pressing “Save Config” button.
4. Authorization logs are only available when “Use Sandbox” is set to “Yes” and are saved to the /var/log directory within your root Magento installation.

Detailed Feature Guide

Checkout for Transaction Type: Sale - If you set Transaction Type to “Sale” in the Payment Method configuration, then purchases on your website will be authorized and captured for settlement.
Checkout and Invoice for Transaction Type: Pre-Authorization - If you set Transaction Type to “Pre-Authorization” in the Payment Method Configuration, then the amount will only be pre-authorized and held on the customer’s card when they check out. It must be captured (invoiced) later in the Admin Order interface.
Refunds - Navigate: Sales ⭢ Order
1. Select the Order to be refunded. The Order must have a corresponding Invoice.
  1. If you set Transaction Type to “Sale” then all orders will automatically have an invoice.
  2. If you set Transaction Type to Pre-Authorize, then you must first issue an invoice for that order before you can refund it.
2. Select Invoices from the left-hand menu.
3. Click the Credit Memo link.
4. You will then be presented with the Credit Memo screen. Here you may make any adjustments, such as whether to refund shipping fees, charge restocking fees, or charge other fees resulting in only a partial refund to the cardholder.
5. Press the Refund button to issue the refund.
Manually Entered Transactions - Navigate: Sales ⭢ Order
Third-Party Checkout Module Support - The MerchantE Payment Acceptance extension for Magento 2.x has been tested as compatible with the following checkout modules:
1. Native Magento Checkout
2. Native Magento One Step Checkout
3. OneStep Checkout
4. IWD
5. MageStore
International Currency Acceptance -
1. International processing functionality must be activated on your MerchantE account before this can be implemented. Contact your MerchantE sales or support representatives for more information.
2. Checkout will always be in the “Base Currency” that you have set for the current Magento “Configuration Scope.”
3. To view or change your “Base Currency,” from the Admin Dashboard, select Stores ⭢ Configuration ⭢ Currency Setup. Select “Currency Options”, then select your “Base Currency,” “Default Display Currency” and “Allowed Currencies.”
4. To accept multiple types of currencies, you must set up a new view with a different base currency. For example, it is common to have a general storefront in Euros, then a specific view for customers in Germany, UK, etc. Each of those views can have an alternate “Base Currency.”
Level II and Level III Processing - Level II or Level III processing is generally relevant when you are selling products to larger corporations or government entities. These B2B or B2G transactions are often authorized by cardholders using what are known as “Purchasing Cards” (or “P-Cards”). When accepting an eligible purchase card, providing this additional level of detail will ensure that you receive the lowest interchange rates for that transaction.
1. Level II transactions require the tax amount and an invoice or Purchase Order number from the buyer. When Level II/III is enabled within this extension, there is an additional prompt for the “Purchase Order Number” field during the checkout process. If the customer enters a value in that field, it will be sent to the card issuer. If no value is entered, then the Magento order number will be sent to the card issuer in that field. If tax information is configured within Magento, the tax information associated with a given transaction will be sent to the card issuer when Level II/III is enabled.
2. Level III transactions provide specific line-item details to the card issuer during the transaction, such as item description, quantity, unit-of-measure, price and tax information, and more. To process Level III transactions, you must contact MerchantE to enroll in the Interchange Optimization Program. To activate Level III processing within Magento using this extension, and to ensure that you pass all required data, you must perform the following steps in Magento:
  1. Ensure that the “Use Level II/III Processing” option is set to “Yes” on the Payment Method/Order Settings configuration screen.
  2. Enter the “Default Commodity Code” which best describes the type of products that you sell on the Payment Method configuration screen. If you sell products which are classified under multiple commodity codes, ensure these are configured in Admin ⭢ Products ⭢ Catalog.
  3. Select “Alternate Tax Rates” that may apply to specific tax codes on the Payment Method configuration screen (to create new custom tax rates, go to Admin ⭢ Stores ⭢ Tax Zones and Rules.
  4. Your government-issued Tax ID number must be entered in the VAT Number field located at Admin ⭢ Stores ⭢ Configuration ⭢ General ⭢ Store Information. The Validate VAT Number button will only work with VAT Numbers issued within the European Union and does not typically apply to US-based merchants.
  5. Ensure that your Products are set with the proper Tax Class (Admin ⭢ Products ⭢ Catalog). Note that the only Unit of Measure that Magento natively offers is “each” (EA).
  6. In Magento 2 Enterprise Edition, the user may enter their “VAT Number” when creating a billing or shipping address. If this is done, these values will appear in the Tax ID field during checkout and will override any Tax ID associated with the customer profile.
  7. The cardholder also may provide/edit their own Tax ID and/or Purchase Order Number when they submit their card information during checkout
Recurring and Subscription Payments - While it is not compliant and not recommended, it is possible to use the MerchantE Recurring Billing Service with Magento.
1. Ensure that “Enable RBS” is set to “Yes” in the Payment Method configuration screen.
2. From the Admin Dashboard, select Products ⭢ Catalog and either edit an existing product or create a new one.
3. Scroll down to the “ME Recurring Profile” tab and set “Enable Recurring Profile” to “Yes”.
4. Define the frequency of the recurring/subscription payments which you would like to apply to this product. Repeat as needed for your other subscription-based products or services. You must contact MerchantE Customer Care to enable RBS on your account.
Account Updater Service (AUS) - Account Updater Service (AUS) helps you avoid declines when you have payment cards or tokens on file, such as with subscription-based products or any recurring payments. MerchantE provides an automated service, sending card account information to the card brands on an ongoing weekly basis. The card brands return any updates such as revised expiration dates or new account numbers for cards that have been replaced. Contact a MerchantE sales or support representative for details.
Integrated Reporting - Navigate: Reports ⭢ MerchantE Reports
1. Select any of the available reports.
2. Provide a date range for your query, then click the “Show Report” button.
3. MerchantE Reporting is limited in sandbox mode. When requesting a report, if you receive the error “Invalid credentials. Please verify your credentials in the MerchantE configuration.” Please ensure that you have entered the correct User ID and User Password provided by MerchantE into the Payment Method configuration screen.
  When requesting a report, if you receive the error “Unable to view this report due to insufficient rights.” Your merchant account may not have permissions to request that specific report. Please contact your sales or support representative for more information, or email Help@merchantE.com.
Get Started - This concludes the User Guide. You are now prepared to begin using the MerchantE Payment Acceptance extension. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact your sales or solution consulting representative, or email us at Help@merchantE.com.

MerchantE Knowledge Base

Magento Plugin

Extension Installation and Configuration

Configure the Extension

Detailed Feature Guide