There are several different identifiers associated with your Braintree account. Here are some important ones you'll need to know.
API credentials
API credentials are unique account identifiers that must be added to your code before you can process payments via the API. Think of them as your username and password to payment processing. The four API credentials are:
- Environment
- Public key
- Private key
- Merchant ID
Environment
The environment specifies where requests via the API should be directed – sandbox or production. Because you have a different set of API keys for each environment, you'll need to update your code depending on which environment you're working in.
There are both production and sandbox environments for the Control Panel and the API. Learn more about the differences between sandbox and production.
API keys
The public and private keys together make up your user's API keys. Each user associated with your Braintree gateway will have their own set of API keys, which they can change or rotate at any time for added security. Because this affects your integration, it should be done with caution. Learn more about rotating API keys.
importantSandbox API keys are different from those in the production environment, sothey must be updated in your code by your developers when switching betweenenvironments. More information about switching environments is available inour developer docs.
Public key
This is your user-specific public identifier. Each user associated with your Braintree gateway will have their own public key.
To find your public key:
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click API from the drop-down menu
- Scroll to the API Keys section
If no API keys appear, click the Generate New API Key button.
Private key
This is your user-specific private identifier. Each user associated with your Braintree gateway will have their own private key. Your private key should not be shared outside the use of an API call – even with us.
To find your private key:
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click API from the drop-down menu
- Scroll to the API Keys section
- Click the View link located in the Private Key column
Your private key will be revealed in the Private Key column on the next page.
Merchant ID
noteYour merchant ID is not the same as your merchant account ID. See below forthe differences.
Your merchant ID is the unique identifier for your entire gateway account, including the multiple merchant accounts that may be in your gateway. Often referred to as the public ID or production ID, your merchant ID will be different for your production and sandbox gateways. If you contact our Support team for assistance, we may ask you to confirm this credential for your gateway account.
To find your merchant ID:
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click Business from the drop-down menu
You'll find your merchant ID at the top of this page.
Your merchant ID can also be found when logged into your Control Panel, as the string of letters and numbers following /merchants/ in the URL.
Additional credentials
Depending on your integration, you may need to provide other credentials in addition to those listed above.
Merchant account ID
noteYour merchant account ID is not the same as your merchant ID. See below forthe differences.
A single Braintree gateway can have multiple merchant accounts to process transactions for different businesses or currencies. Each merchant account within a gateway can be identified by its unique merchant account ID.
You can use this ID to specify a merchant account when creating a transaction. If you have a single merchant account, it is not necessary to specify a merchant account ID in your API requests. If you have multiple merchant accounts and choose not to specify the merchant account ID, all requests will process through your default merchant account.
Even if you only have one merchant account in your gateway, certain shopping cart integrations may require you to provide your merchant account ID.
To find your merchant account ID(s):
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click Business from the drop-down menu
- Scroll to the Merchant Accounts section
From here you'll see the merchant account IDs in the first column for each account.
noteIf you don't see your merchant account IDs in the Control Panel, check to makesure your user's role has the Add/Edit Processing Options rolepermission.
Adding merchant accounts in sandbox
You can add multiple merchant accounts in your sandbox to test processing in different currencies. For instructions on how to do this, see our article on testing.
noteYou can only manually create additional merchant accounts in our testenvironment, the sandbox. Contact us if youneed a merchant account added to your production account.
Merchant account ID versus merchant ID
While merchant account ID and merchant ID sound similar, they are different values with distinct purposes, and are often confused with one another.
Your merchant ID is a unique identifier for your entire gateway account and one of the four API credentials. This value is required for certain actions, such as connecting your API calls to the Braintree gateway or setting up third-party shopping carts.
Your merchant account ID is a unique identifier for a specific merchant account in your gateway. It is used to specify which merchant account to use when creating a transaction, creating a subscription, verifying a payment method, or generating a client token.
Business profiles
If you accept Venmo as a payment method, you can create a custom profile for different businesses or subsidiaries that share a gateway. This will let you display different information to customers paying with Venmo based on which business or site they're purchasing from. See more about creating multiple profiles for Venmo.
Tokenization keys
Tokenization keys can be used for authorization in your Braintree integration. They authorize the client SDK to tokenize payment information for use on your server.
To view your tokenization keys:
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click API from the drop-down menu
- Scroll to the Tokenization Keys section
If no key appears, click the Generate New Tokenization Key button.
Client-Side Encryption key
The Client-Side Encryption (CSE) key is required if you are using our older integration method. Similar to the merchant ID, this value is unique to your entire Braintree gateway account, not to a specific user. Some shopping cart integrations may also require the CSE key in order to connect to Braintree.
To find your CSE key:
- Log into either the production Control Panel or the sandbox Control Panel, depending on which environment you are working in
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click API from the drop-down menu
- Scroll to the Client-Side Encryption Keys section
