Merchant
A Merchant is a business, firm, or corporation that has entered into a formal agreement—known as a Merchant Agreement—to accept credit and/or debit card payments. Merchants typically receive these payments in exchange for goods or services provided to consumers.
Account Holder (Consumer)
An Account Holder, also referred to as a Consumer, is the individual or entity that owns or is authorized to use a bank account or credit/debit card. This person receives goods or services from the merchant and initiates payment transactions.
Merchant ID (MID)
The Merchant ID is a unique numeric identifier assigned to a merchant by CSG Forte (or its processing partner). It is used for accounting, billing, and tracking of all transactions associated with that specific merchant. This ID helps the payment processor distinguish between different merchants.
Location
A Location refers to a specific merchant account under a given Merchant ID (MID). For businesses with multiple physical or operational locations, each one may be assigned a unique MID to differentiate their payment activities and reporting.
Location ID
This is typically the same as the Merchant ID (MID) and serves to numerically identify the specific merchant account for payment processing purposes. In some cases, the term Location ID may be used when referring to one of many sites or branches under a larger merchant organization.
Application ID
An Application ID is a unique numeric identifier assigned to a merchant’s application for payment processing services through CSG Forte. It tracks the submission and status of the application during the onboarding or approval process.
Organization
In the CSG Forte Dex platform, an Organization refers to the legal business entity responsible for managing one or more associated merchant accounts (locations). It acts as the parent entity that governs administrative access, reporting, and transaction visibility for its associated accounts.
Org ID
The Org ID is a unique numeric identifier assigned to a merchant organization in the Dex system. It groups one or more merchant locations under a single umbrella and is essential for managing multi-location businesses.
ISO (Independent Sales Organization)
An ISO is an independent entity or partner responsible for referring, onboarding, and sometimes servicing merchants. Their primary role is to support merchant sales and distribution of payment processing services. ISOs may also provide limited customer support or technical services.
ISO ID
The ISO ID is a unique numeric identifier that links a merchant’s account to its respective ISO. This helps CSG Forte associate merchant accounts with the corresponding ISO for tracking, support, and commission-related purposes.
Enterprise Organization
An Enterprise Organization in Dex refers to a higher-level grouping of multiple merchant organizations. It allows enterprise users—such as corporate administrators or third-party partners—to access and manage multiple organizations and their respective locations using a single login.
Enterprise Org ID
The Enterprise Org ID is a unique numeric identifier that represents the overarching enterprise group. This ID enables centralized visibility and control over multiple merchant organizations under a single enterprise structure.