The short answer
- Your processor issues it. Ask the company behind your merchant account, not Bambora, and not your software vendor.
- It has several names. VAR, VARS, tear sheet, parameter sheet and terminal setup sheet all describe the same kind of document.
- The fields vary. Most sheets carry a merchant number and a terminal ID. Some add a BIN, a client number or store and chain numbers.
- It is not an approval. The sheet describes an account that already exists. It does not open or approve one.
- It is not an API credential. Your website or software connects to Bambora with a separate merchant ID and passcode, which stay secret.
What VAR means and why Bambora asks for it
VAR stands for value-added reseller. In payments, a VAR sheet is a file of facts about your merchant account that a gateway needs before it can send your payments to the right place. Authorize.Net and Stripe both describe it this way, and both list the other names it goes by.
You need one when the gateway and the merchant account come from different companies. Bambora runs the gateway, the service that carries a card payment from your checkout to your processor and brings the answer back. Your processor holds the merchant account, approves the sale and pays you. The VAR sheet is how the first learns about the second. If one company supplies both parts in a single package, you may not need a sheet.
What a VAR sheet usually contains
The exact fields come from the sheet your processor issues. Different processors ask for different things, and the same processor can change its form. This table shows the kinds of fields such sheets often carry.
| Field type | What it identifies |
|---|---|
| Merchant number (MID) | Your merchant account on the processing side |
| Terminal ID (TID) | A set-up processing endpoint. It does not have to be a physical device. |
| BIN or bank number | The bank or acquirer behind the account |
| Client, chain, store or agent number | How the processor groups your account |
| Merchant category code (MCC) | The kind of business you run |
| Descriptor | The name customers see on their card statement |
| Business details | Legal name, address, province, time zone, phone, website |
| Card brand numbers | Separate IDs for a card brand, where the processor uses them |
Copy every value exactly, and keep leading zeros. A dropped zero can stop payments.
A VAR sheet is different from these
| Item | What it does | Who gives it to you |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant application | Asks a processor to approve your business | You submit it |
| Approval letter or welcome email | Confirms the account was approved | Your processor |
| VAR or parameter sheet | Describes the approved account so a gateway can reach it | Your processor |
| Bambora merchant ID | Identifies your account on the gateway | Bambora |
| API passcode or keys | Let your software use your Bambora account. Bambora uses separate keys for payments and saved-card profiles. | Bambora, through your account |
The processor's merchant number and the Bambora merchant ID are two different numbers. Keep them labelled. Never put one in the other's field unless the team activating the account tells you to.
How to ask for the right sheet
Start with your processor's account representative or support line. A sheet made for a different gateway may not work. If your account came through a bank or credit union, ask them to confirm your IDs are set up for use with an outside gateway.
You can send this request:
Ask your processor to send the sheet through its secure process. Do not paste passwords, API passcodes or card numbers into an email or a website form, including ours.
From sheet to working payments
- Find out which processor holds your merchant account
- Confirm that account can connect to Bambora for your payment type and currency
- Get the current sheet from your processor through its secure process
- Enter the values, or have the activating team enter them
- Run a test payment, a refund and a decline
- Check that the first real deposit reaches your bank account
The connection is done when a live payment settles and the deposit matches.
Does the Shift4 address change replace the VAR sheet?
No. Bambora's help centre says new Shift4 addresses have been live since 25 August 2026, and integrations must move to them before 31 December 2026. It says API keys and credentials stay the same. That change concerns your software. The VAR sheet concerns your processor.
If you got a notice, ask your developer or plugin vendor. If you are not sure what you run, we can check your setup with you.
Where CleverPays fits
Your processor issues the sheet and holds the merchant account. Bambora runs the gateway and issues the gateway ID and keys. Your software vendor maintains the plugin that connects to it. CleverPays does not issue VAR sheets for other companies, and we do not decide whether a processor approves an account.
We check your setup: which gateway account you have, which processor is behind it, what software connects them, CAD or USD, and whether you rely on saved cards or recurring billing. Then we tell you what to ask for and who should send it. If you are looking at a new processor, whether your gateway account, saved cards and recurring billing can stay depends on the account. We confirm that in writing first. Where we can set up the account, we will say so in writing; where we cannot, we will tell you. We answer in English and French.
Sources
- Authorize.Net: processor updates and VAR sheets, read 18 October 2026
- Stripe: what is a VAR sheet, read 18 October 2026
- Bambora North America help: why the API URLs are changing, read 18 October 2026
- Bambora North America developer docs: Payment Profiles, read 18 October 2026
- Bambora North America help: response codes, read 18 October 2026
- Shift4: acquisition of Worldline's North American subsidiaries completed, 2 March 2026, read 18 October 2026
Product and company names on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. CleverPays is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
