Standard Load Balancing routes transactions using monthly ratios Advanced Transaction Routing routes transactions using Merchant Defined Field values Routing rules use percentages, not dollar amounts If a transaction does not match any routing rule, it is sent to your Default processor

If you want transactions to route by purchase location: Location = Chicago → 100% to Processor 1 Location = Los Angeles → 100% to Processor 2 Location = Boston → 100% to Processor 1 Processor numbers shown in parentheses match the processors listed in the standard Load Balancing section.

Advanced Transaction Routing

If Advanced Transaction Routing is enabled on your account, you will see an additional section on the Load Balancing screen called Merchant Defined Field Transaction Routing. This allows you to route transactions based on values you pass into Merchant Defined Fields.

This feature only appears if you have multiple processors (multiple MIDs) on your account.

How It Works

Standard Load Balancing routes transactions using monthly ratios
Advanced Transaction Routing routes transactions using Merchant Defined Field values
Routing rules use percentages, not dollar amounts
If a transaction does not match any routing rule, it is sent to your Default processor

Create a Merchant Defined Field Routing Rule

Go to Advanced Transaction Routing on the Load Balancing screen
Select the Merchant Defined Field you want to route by (example: Location)
Enter the value you expect to be passed (example: Chicago)
Choose the processor(s) the transaction should route to using percentages
- Example: 100% to Processor 1
Click Save

A new routing rule will appear in the list.

Example Setup

If you want transactions to route by purchase location:

Location = Chicago → 100% to Processor 1
Location = Los Angeles → 100% to Processor 2
Location = Boston → 100% to Processor 1

Processor numbers shown in parentheses match the processors listed in the standard Load Balancing section.

What Happens if the Value Does Not Match a Rule

If a transaction passes a value that is not listed in your rules (example: “Cincinnati”), the Gateway will route that transaction to the Default processor.

Optional: Split Routing for One Value

In rare cases, you may want to split transactions for a single value across processors.

Example:

Location = Madison → 50% Processor 1, 50% Processor 2

This does not split individual transactions. It distributes separate transactions over time so the total volume stays balanced.

Credit Cards vs Checks

You can build routing rules for:

Credit card transactions
Check (ACH) transactions (configured separately)

Video Walkthrough

Watch the video below for a full walkthrough of setting up Merchant Defined Field routing rules and how the default processor is used when no rule matches: