Merchant Login

Merchant area

Documentation

1. Introduction

The present document gives you an insight into the merchant menu of Sofort GmbH (hereinafter the product is refered to as Direct Bank Transfer). You can manage your master data on your account as well as products offered from Sofort GmbH here. You can activate new products or edit existing projects. You also have the possibility to directly apply for a Deutsche Handelsbank account in your merchant menu.

As an online merchant, you have at least one account with Sofort GmbH which is assigned a unique customer number. This account is also your billable unit for which you receive a monthly invoice. If you have any questions or need help, please have your customer number at hand.

The following pages will guide you step by step through your personal customer menu to explain the configuration options to you.

2. Registration with Sofort GmbH

Before you can access your personal merchant menu, you have to register with Sofort GmbH.

Registration is ONLY required for online merchants, NOT for buyers or end customers.

Registration can be accessed directly from the merchant menu of the website www.klarna.com/sofort/. You will then be redirected to the SSL-secured website https://www.sofort.com/payment/users/register/ to enter your data.

Registrierung EN

After having registered free of charge, a confirmation mail will be sent to the email address you stated. Follow the instructions of this email and create a password for your personal merchant menu for future logins.

To log in, you always need your customer number (alternatively, you may assign an alias at a later time) and your password. The password is only known to you and should not be disclosed to third parties.

After having created a password, you can directly log in to your merchant menu.

Please be aware that Sofort GmbH currently does not provide a conditional access system, i.e. you have one access to manage your account and cannot create additional accounts.

3. Product activation

After having registered and created a password, you can directly log in to your merchant menu. Before using the Sofort GmbH products, you have to activate the desired product(s).

3.1. Login to your merchant menu

You can directly log in from the merchant area on the website.

Webseite_Anbieter_Login_Mainpage_2

You can call the SSL-secured login website https://www.sofort.com/payment/users/login.

If you forgot your password, you can request a new password by clicking on the link "Forgot password". You will then need your customer number (or alias) and the email address entered upon registration or stored as contact address in your master data.

3.2. Contract and product selection

In the next step, you have to activate the products you want to use in the future. You can only change your master data before you have activated at least one product.

Click product activation in the left main menu now.

Anbietermenü_VertragsUndProduktauswahl_1

In the next step, select the desired product by checking the box. Subsequently, you will see a selection of rates for this product. Depending on your selection, you may be requested to enter or apply for a Deutsche Handelsbank account in the next steps. A Deutsche Handelsbank account is required in order to use the product iDEAL.

If the desired products cannot be activated or if you have any questions, please contact your sales representative or call Sofort GmbH at +49 (0)89 24 88 37 692.

Anbietermenü_VertragsUndProduktauswahl_2

After you have selected a rate and accepted the general terms and conditions as well as the privacy policy, click next.

Now enter your bank account for the billing.

Anbietermenü_Bankverbindung_Gebühren_EN

You can specify an alternative bank account to receive payments. Go to the project settings of the respective product and project to configure the settings. Details will follow.

Save your bank account to successfully complete product activation. Repeat these steps if you want to activate additional products.

4. Create projects

You have to create at least one project for a product to be able to use it. You can create as many projects as you like free of charge.

The following descriptions refer to the integration of the products offered from Sofort GmbH. Sofort gmbH offers you a range of ready-to-use interfaces (plugins or shop modules) for common shop or ERP systems to reduce integration efforts.

For the product Direct Bank Transfer, two different integration solutions are provided to you. Hence there are two different project types of which you have to select one while you create a project.

Before you continue, please obtain information on the solution you want to use from the plugin provider or on the website https://www.sofort.com/integrationCenter-eng-DE/. There you will find any information about the appropriate project type, which you will have to define at a later stage. If you select the wrong project types, you may not be able to use the product or more effort is required.

Contact for integration issues:

Please have your customer number at hand.

Phone: +49 (0)89 24 88 37 691
Email: integration@sofort.com

4.1. Select product

As a first step please select the product, which you have activated before and which you wish to use in the future.

projectcreation_product

If you decide to select another product than Direct Bank Transfer at this point, you will be directly forwarded to the specification of the project settings.

If you decide to select the product Direct Bank Transfer at this point, you will have determine the appropriate project type.

4.2. Select project type

You can choose between the project types Gateway and Classic. The settings to be made within a project can be found in the general descriptions of the interface (API) for individual integrations or in the plugin documentation for ready-to-use interfaces for common shop or ERP solutions.

The overview only lists products you have already activated.

4.2.1. Direct Bank Transfer - Gateway projects

The Direct Bank Transfer - Gateway is based on the so-called XML API.
Select this project type if you

  • carry out integration yourself or by an agency
  • want to use the available plugins (shop modules),which you then configure for Direct Bank Transfer by means of userID, projectID and API key / configuration key.
projectcreation_gateway

4.2.2. Direct Bank Transfer - Classic projects

Direct Bank Transfer Classic projects are based on the so-called Name-Value-Pair API.
Select this project type if you

  • want to use plugins (shop modules) that do not support the XML API via the Direct Bank Transfer Gateway and which you then configure for the product by means of userID, projectID and project password.

This project type is no longer supported for own integrations of Direct Bank Transfer which are not realised by existing plugins.

projectcreation_classic

4.3. Project settings

The general project settings are described in the following. Some settings are not available until you created and saved a project for the first time. Technical settings can be found in the corresponding product and plugin documentation.

After having selected the correct project type for your integration and saved your project, different settings can be made for individual projects. The following refers to Gateway projects with an existing Deutsche Handelsbank account; the general settings also apply to Classic projects.

4.3.1. Base settings

In the base settings, you can make all configurations required to use a product. The settings include address data which are displayed to the buyer during the payment process or the bank account to receive payments.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen

General settings

For some products, you cannot change the settings yourself. Please contact service@sofort.com for changes.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Allgemeine_Einstellungen
  • Project name:
    The project name mainly ensures identification of the project. For Invoices from Sofort GmbH, the project name is also used for customer correspondences.
  • Shop system:
    Select a standard eCommerce solution or an own shop system (self-programmed) if you carry out integration yourself. This setting helps Sofort GmbH to identify errors and notify you thereof.
  • Industry:
    Select the industry of your business.
  • Website:
    Enter the website URL of your eCommerce solution.
  • Configuration key for your shop system:
    This setting is automatically set and ensures authentication in the systems. Detailed information can be found in the interface descriptions.

Project address

The project address can deviate from the address stored with the master data. This may be helpful if the company for example runs several online shops which are all independent.

Please note that the project address is only displayed in the payment wizard of Sofort GmbH for example, but cannot be used for billing purposes.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Adresse

Instead of your address, you can also display your company logo to the end customer (see project logo) or you display both. You may store your company logo in the expanded project settings under project logo.

Project bank account

The project bank account is used to receive payments from buyers. This bank account may differ from the bank account Sofort GmbH uses for billing.

NOTE!
For your security, project bank accounts can only be changed if you can retrieve emails from the email address stated in your master data. A confirmation password will be sent to this main email address. Changes will not become effective unless they are confirmed by this password.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Bankverbindung

Furthermore, you can store additional bank accounts. A local bank account in the currency used in the respective country is essential to process payments in the currencies CHF (Swiss Francs), PLN (Polish Zloty), GBP (British Pounds), HUF (Hungarian Forint), and CZK (Czech crowns).

Additional bank accounts can only be stored for the product Direct Bank Transfer per supported sender country.

Settings for all payment methods

These technical settings can be found in the corresponding technical product documentation or API descriptions. Most settings can be dynamically transferred by parameters for every product for every interface call.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Zahlungsmethoden

Payment methods

You have to additionally activate the payment methods previously selected in product activation by checking the boxes.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Zahlarten

You can make additional product-specific settings under options. The test mode can be activated here. The test mode allows you to simulate the entire payment process without real cash flow.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Zahlarten_Testmodus

For the payment method Direct Bank Transfer, you can request optional buyer protection and activate this feature in the Direct Bank Transfer options subsequently.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Zahlart_SUE_Käuferschutz

When using the payment method Paycode you generate a 10 digit number code. This paycode may be printed on an invoice or be sent as an e-mail. A customer pays then with payment wizard from Sofort GmbH. The default duration of validity can be set in the payment method options. Options for creating and sending a paycode may be found in the tab "paycodes".

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Schnelleinstellungen_Zahlarten_Paycode_Gültigkeit

Save all settings made by clicking on the "Save" button at the bottom of the page. They will become effective immediately.

4.3.2. Extended settings in the project

You make additional settings in the extended project settings. They are optional but facilitate the use of the Sofort GmbH products or communication with your buyers

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen

The following figure gives you an overview of the options.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_Überblick

Project logo

You can upload your company logo here. It will be displayed to the buyer in the payment wizard of Sofort GmbH instead of your project address (see "project adress").

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_Projektlogo

Please note that it is not possible to display a project logo and a project address at the same time.

Notifications

Notifications allow you to automatically inform your systems on transaction status changes. You can create new or edit existing notification types here.

Please note that it is only possible to change a payment status by using a Deutsche Handelsbank account as a recipient bank.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_Benachrichtigungen

Additional information on notifications and payment status can be found in the corresponding product documentation or plugin documentation.

Alternative bank account for the payment method Direct Bank Transfer

You can determine additional bank accounts for the payment method Direct Bank Transfer to be used for cash receipts from the respective sender country. This is especially recommended for countries in which foreign transfers (SEPA) are not possible from every bank and/or cause additional costs for customers. Therefore, we recommend to enter local accounts for the following countries: Switzerland (in CHF), Poland (in PLN), Italy, and in all beta countries. A local account is essential for the UK and Hungary.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_WeitereBankverbindungenSUE

Depending on the sender country the buyer uses in the payment wizard, the money will be automatically transferred to the recipient's bank configured here.

Master password

The master password is used to protect your technical settings in the project. Settings can only be made or saved if you know the master password.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_MasterPasswort

Project blacklists

In the project blacklists, you can exclude countries, groups of banks or individual banks.

Please make sure that the settings you make only refer to this individual project. You can also make these settings globally for all projects. Go to projects in the main menu on the left and use the menu button Blacklists.

The countries are the sender countries supported by Sofort GmbH, which the buyer selected on the payment wizard page when starting the payment process. All countries are available by default (except for countries in beta status).

Anbietermenü_Projekt_ErweiterteEinstellungen_Sperrlisten

Note:
A local recipient account managed in the local currency is required to process the foreign currencies CHF, GBP, PLN, HUF and CZK in the countries Switzerland (CHF, Swiss Francs), the UK (GBP, British Pound), Poland (PLN, Polish Sloty), Hungary (HUF, Hungarian Forint), and the Czech Republic (CZK, Czech Crowns). In Switzerland and Poland, payments in EUR can be partly carried out.

4.3.3. Test project

Some project settings can be tested under the tab Test Project.

By calling the payment wizard, you can verify if everything is displayed correctly, e.g. your uploaded company logo. The full range of features can only be tested directly from your application by making a test order (as your customer does) to simulate the entire process including the payment process.

Anbietermenü_Projekt_Projekt-testen-Tab Anbietermenü_Projekt_Projekt-testen

5. Your merchant menu

The following gives you an overview of your editing options and of the menu items that provide this information.

5.1. Menu item Overview

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5.1.1. Dashboard

Your dashboard is displayed after you have logged in to your personal merchant menu. It contains a current overview of the turnover you generated with your activated products.

Furthermore, it provides information on news messages and from the press on Sofort GmbH.

5.1.2. Support & Help

You can use this menu item to quickly access our product documentation and plugins including the descriptions for the integration. Moreover, the installation is explained step by step to ensure easy use of the products.

For questions on integration, the contact data of our integration team is provided here.

5.2. Menu item Transactions for

You can use this menu item to find all transactions on the products activated and used by you. The following actions are available.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Transaktionen-für

5.2.1. Search for transactions

You can display all or search for individual transactions for every product. If applicable, different search options are available for every product. For SOFORT, you can for example search by:

  • Amount and currency
  • Reason
  • Transaction ID
  • Payment status (only with Deutsche Handelsbank account)
  • Time period
  • Sender bank details
Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Suche

The results list is displayed below depending on the selected search criteria. The areas "Search", "Period", and "Sender" are linked and evaluated with a logical AND. Click "Search" to update the results lists after changing the search criteria.

5.2.2. Export transactions

You can export the search results either as a PDF or CSV file.

Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Suchergebnisse_export

The export contains different fields depending on the product.

5.2.3. View transaction details

You can view the transaction details by clicking on the linked transaction ID or the detail icon.

Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Suchergebnisse_details

You can view different information in the transaction details depending on the product and you can carry out actions (e.g. refunds) if necessary. For Direct Bank Transfer, you can receive information on:

  • Transfer details
  • Status history
  • Sender account
  • Recipient account
  • Customer variables
  • Notifications
Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Transaktionsdetails

5.2.4. Prepare refunds

You can prepare a transaction for a refund for products which support refunding both in the overview of transactions and in the transactions details.

It is possible to edit a prepared refund in the menu item Services and Refunds.

Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Suchergebnisse_rückbuchungen Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_SUE_Details_rückbcuhungen

Editing a prepared refund is also possible with the menu item "Services".

Please note that a transaction paid to a Deutsche Handelsbank account cannot be prepared for refund until the money has been received.

5.2.5.Paycode

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Transaktionen-für_SÜ-Paycode

Options for searching and exporting can be found with the tab "transactions".

It is also possible to prepare a payment for customers and create a paycode. The paycode may be printed i.e. on an invoice or directly sent via mail oder SMS (see tab "send via mail" and "send via sms").

Note:

If you are using Paycode with a Direct Bank Transfer classic-project you can find the features described above with the menu item "Services" -> "Paycode".

Anbietermenü_Transaktionen_Paycode-generieren

5.3. Menu item Projects

You can use this menu item to

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Projekte

 

 

  • view and edit existing projects
  • create new projects
  • create Deutsche Handelsbank accounts
  • exclude countries, groups of banks or individual banks for ALL projects (global blacklist)
  • view notifications and search for faulty notifications
  • view buyer protection transactions

 

Since the menu items depend on what products you have activated, the display in your account may vary.

5.3.1. My projects

In My projects, you can see an overview of all projects per product. You also get information whether the individual projects have already been activated or still have to be activated for productive use (otherwise, only test transactions are possible).

Projects can be

  • edited (click on project name or pen symbol)
  • deleted
  • copied
Anbietermenü_Projekt-Übersicht

5.3.2. Create new project

These settings can be found at chapter "Create projects".

5.3.3. Create Deutsche Handelsbank account

You can use this menu item to create Deutsche Handelsbank accounts. You will be redirected to the website of Deutsche Handelsbank where you can complete all the steps of opening a bank account.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Projekte_SBK_1

5.3.4. Blacklists (for all projects)

The settings are identical to the "project blacklist", but they apply to ALL projects.

5.3.5. Notifications

You can use this menu item to display both successful and faulty correct notifications. You can also search for specific notifications.

Please note that notification details are available for 6 weeks at the most. Faulty notifications which were successful later are not marked as being faulty for a longer period of time.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Projekte_Benachrichtigungen

5.3.6. Buyer protection

You can search for specific transactions with buyer protection here. The search criteria and displays are identical to "search for transactions"

5.4. My account

The following settings always refer to your personal customer number.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_En

5.4.1. Master data

The master data are for example used to bill the fees for all products. This data will appear on your monthly statement.

Some data cannot be edited by yourself. In this case, please contact service@sofort.com for changes.

Generally, the following data can be edited:

  • Personal data
  • Address
  • Invoice address (if different)
  • Your reference (appear additionally on the invoice)
  • Contact
  • Tax
  • Subscribe for newsletter
  • Login alias (can be used to log in instead of customer number)

The email address in the contact information is especially important.

You need access to this email address to change the project bank account (see Project bank account) or for new login passwords.

Anbietermenü_Stammdaten Kontakt

5.4.2. Product activation

You can activate additional products here (see "Product activation").

5.4.3. Direct debit authorisation

This bank account is used to bill Direct Bank Transfer fees (see "Contract and product selection").

5.4.4. Change password

You can change your login password here. This password is used to log in to your personal merchant menu.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Stammdaten_Passwort-ändern

5.4.5. IP access restriction

You can define individual IP addresses, entire class C networks (xxx.xxx.xxx.0/24) or dynamic host names (DynDNS) here to allow logging in to your merchant menu. The security of your merchant menu can be improved by rejecting logins from other addresses than stored here.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_IP-Zugangsbeschränkung

5.4.6. Contact persons

You can define new contact persons for the following contact types or edit existing contacts here. These contacts are used for topic-specific communication between you and Sofort GmbH:

  • Technical contact
  • Marketing contact
  • Finance contact
  • Business administration contact
  • Legal contact
  • Customer care contact
Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Ansprechpartner_EN

5.4.7. Invoices

You can use this menu item to view or download your previous invoices or credits issued by Sofort GmbH.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Rechnungen

5.4.8. Campaign code

If you received a campaign code, you can enter it here. Campaign codes that have already been redeemed are also displayed here.

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5.4.9. Contract terms

You can view your rates and fees here. They are displayed for each product.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Vertragskonditionen

5.4.10. Cancel contract/product

You can cancel your contract or individual products here.

Cancel contract

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Vertrag-kündigen

Cancel products

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Mein-Konto_Produkt-kündigen

5.5. Services

You can use this menu item to carry out the following actions.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Weitere-Dienste

5.5.1. Refunds

Under the tab Refunds, you can consolidate and edit transactions prepared for refunds (see Prepare refunds).

Please note that the respective bank reserves the right to carry out the refund. Sofort GmbH currently provides the possibility to prepare the first step for German credit institutions to carry out a refund – the refund will then be carried out by you as a merchant in a second step with the respective bank.

Edit prepared refunds

You can view your previously prepared refunds here and edit them as it is shown in the image below.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Weitere-Dienste_Rückbuchungen_vormerken

Consolidate refunds

You can consolidate the prepared refunds in a SEPA PAIN file. You can enter a file name and (for real transactions/refunds) edit the sender account from which the money is to be refunded to the buyer.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Weitere-Dienste_Rückbuchungen_zusammenfassen

Consolidated refunds

The previously consolidated refunds can be

  • deleted
  • edited (remove individual refunds)
  • downloaded as a SEPA PAIN file (to carry out the refund with your bank in step two)
  • uploaded to Deutsche Handelsbank online banking and authorised (only available with the use of a Deutsche Handelsbank account)
Anbietermenü_Navigation_Weitere-Dienste_Rückbuchungen_runterladen

5.5.2. Paycode

Paycode is an additional service provided by Sofort GmbH. You generate a 10-digit numerical code. You can then email this paycode to your buyers or print it on the invoice. The buyer will then make the payment using the payment wizard as usual.

You can use this menu item to

  • generate paycodes
  • send via email
  • send via SMS
  • show previous codes
  • search

Note:
If you are using Paycode with a Gateway-project you can find the features described above with the menu item "transactions for Direct Bank Transfer" -> "Payccode".

5.5.3. API key

The API key (API – Application Programming Interface) is required to authorise your shop/ERP system with your Direct Bank Transfer interfaces (APIs). Additional information on authorisation can be found in the corresponding API documentation of the products.

The API keys can be restricted to individual IP addresses or entire class C networks.

You can also get an overview of your configuration keys for standard shop plugins here. Detailed information is provided in the corresponding plugin documentation.

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5.5.4. API calls

You can use this menu item to check your API calls and view faulty calls.

Anbietermenü_Navigation_Weitere-Dienste_API-Aufrufe

6. Support & Contact

The ''Direct Bank Transfer'' team will be available if you need help.

You may send us an email at service@sofort.com.

We are also glad to assist you in case of technical issues:

Technical support:
Phone: +49 (0)89 24 88 37 691
Email: integration@sofort.com

Business hours:
Monday to Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

7. Legal Notice

Sofort GmbH
Theresienhöhe 12
80339 Munich
Germany

Support for customers
Phone: +49 (0)89 24 88 37 690

Support for merchants
Phone: +49 (0)89 24 88 37 692

info@sofort.com
www.sofort.com

Directors

Felix Würtenberger
Wilhelmus Geerling Klaassen

External Data Protection Officer
Mr. Michael Schramm, LL.M. 
For privacy questions please contact us at: datenschutz@sofort.com

Registered at the District Court Munich
HRB 218675
VAT-ID: DE248376956

© Sofort GmbH. All rights reserved, including the translation.

The documentation including all published content is protected by copyright. Reprints or reproduction of any kind and processing, duplication, and distribution using electronic systems of any kind shall only be permitted with prior written consent of Sofort GmbH.

The contents of this documentation and the implementation of the information contained therein may only be used at your own risk. Sofort GmbH assumes no responsibility for the function of individual programmes or of parts of them. In particular, Sofort GmbH assumes no responsibility for possible damages resulting from the use.