Merchant Onboarding

Step-by-step guide for onboarding a new merchant to the Peak Gateway platform.

Merchant Lifecycle

Merchants are created with all business data through the admin portal. They start in PENDING status. TransIT processor credentials are configured in a separate step, which activates the merchant (ACTIVE status) and enables payment processing.

1. Create Merchant

1. Sign in to the Admin Portal
2. Navigate to Merchants → Add Merchant
3. Fill in all merchant details:
   • Legal business name (required)
   • DBA (doing-business-as) name
   • Business type and MCC code
   • Contact name, email, and phone
   • Business address (street, city, state, zip)
   • Branding (logo URL, primary color) — optional
   • Webhook URL — optional
4. Click Create — a merchant ID is generated and status is set to PENDING
5. The contact email receives a welcome notification

2. Activate TransIT Processor

Once the merchant account is created, activate payment processing:

1. Open the merchant detail page
2. Go to the Processing tab
3. Click Activate TransIT
4. Enter the TransIT credentials (obtained from TSYS boarding):
   • Merchant ID (MID) — required, the merchant identification number issued during boarding
   • Terminal Number — optional, the 8-character device tracking number starting with V or 7, assigned by the bank or agent during product registration
5. Click Activate — merchant status changes from PENDING to ACTIVE
6. The merchant can now process transactions

3. Assign Devices

1. In the merchant detail page, go to Devices
2. Click Provision Device
3. Enter the terminal serial number (e.g., Nexgo N86)
4. The merchant-onboarding service generates activation credentials
5. On the terminal, enter the activation code to pair with the merchant

4. Test Transaction

Before going live:

1. Switch the merchant to test mode in the Processing tab
2. On the terminal, run a test sale for $1.00
3. Verify the transaction appears in Transactions with status APPROVED
4. Check the settlement batch includes the test transaction
5. Switch back to live mode when ready

5. Enable Notifications

1. In merchant settings, enable Email Notifications
2. Add recipient email addresses for:
   • Daily settlement reports
   • Chargeback alerts
   • Account changes

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Credential validation fails	Wrong MID or terminal number	Double-check TransIT boarding paperwork
Device won't activate	Serial number mismatch	Verify S/N on the device label matches portal entry
Test transaction declines	Test mode not enabled	Toggle test mode on in Processing tab
No settlement batch	Batch time not reached	Batches settle daily at the configured cutoff time