Configure agents

Agents are the second level of the front-end hierarchy. They represent a collection of chains that are grouped together by a common attribute (industry sector or geographic location, for example). Agents that do not exist in Express are created automatically when you enter the front-end hierarchy on a terminal setup. These automatically created agents have an initial description of "unknown" in the database. You can replace this description with a description of your choice at any time.

To configure an agent:

1. On the global navigation bar, click the Main button.

   The Express Homepage opens.

   

2. In the Merchant Number field, enter a back-end merchant number.

   -or-

   In the Merchant Number field, enter a front-end merchant number (POS Merchant ID), and then in the BIN field, enter a BIN number.

3. From the New Entity Type field, select Agent.
4. Click the adjacent Add button.

   The Hierarchy Information - New page opens.

   

5. Enter or edit values in the fields provided as follows:
   • BIN: A six-digit number that identifies the client bank. A BIN is assigned by TSYS Acquiring Solutions and is the highest level of the front-end hierarchy. The front-end hierarchy is used by TSYS Acquiring Solutions to route an authorization or batch to the correct Acquirer. BINS contain Agents, the second level of the front-end hierarchy.
   • BIN Name: The name assigned to the BIN; usually the merchant's business or bank name.
   • Agent: A six-digit number that the client bank uses to identify a smaller bank (or ISO) that processes credit card transactions through the client bank. Agents are the second level of the front-end hierarchy. They contain Chains and roll up into BINs. If a merchant does not process transactions using the Agent level of the front-end hierarchy, enter 000000 as a value for this field.
   • Agent Name: The full name of the merchant's agent.
   • Block?: If you select this check box, it blocks all terminal activity for the entity in context, and you can specify a time range for the block by entering "from" and "to" dates in the adjacent fields.
6. Click Board.

Note: In order to obtain a Service Number, the values that you enter for the front-end hierarchy members must be valid and the Inquiry Code must equal a "New Installation Request". If you are updating a boarded agent, you do not need to request a new Service Number.