How to Use the FMTC Merchant Feed API (Deals-Merchants API Guide)

Originally published December 2021 • Updated September 2026

A merchant feed API provides structured access to affiliate merchant data, including program details, tracking links, and metadata. FMTC’s Deals-Merchants API (formerly the getmerchants endpoint) allows developers and publishers to efficiently retrieve and integrate merchant data into their platforms.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how the Deals-Merchants API works, what data it returns, and how you can use it to power affiliate experiences.

What is a Merchant Feed API?

A merchant feed is a dataset that includes information about affiliate merchants such as merchant IDs, names, affiliate links, and categorization. APIs like FMTC’s Deals-Merchants endpoint allow you to access this data programmatically and keep your platform in sync with real-time updates.

This is especially useful for:

• Building affiliate storefronts
• Powering deal and coupon platforms
• Mapping merchants across multiple networks
• Maintaining accurate merchant directories

Overview of the Deals-Merchants API

The Deals-Merchants API provides a list of merchants along with their associated metadata. This endpoint is commonly used alongside other FMTC APIs to create a complete affiliate data pipeline.

The API allows you to:

• Retrieve merchant records
• Access merchant IDs and names
• Map merchants across systems
• Sync merchant data with your internal database

API Endpoint & Key Fields Returned

Endpoint

A basic call to the Deals-Merchants endpoint looks like this:

You can find your API Feed Access Key in your FMTC dashboard under Coupons & Deals > Deal API Keys & Calls. The API key is required for all calls to this endpoint.

Response Fields

The Deals-Merchants API returns structured merchant data that can be used across a variety of use cases. Common fields include:

• ID – A unique FMTC identifier for each merchant
• Program ID – A unique network-assigned ID
• Name – The display name of the merchant
• Network Information – Affiliate network associations and network notes
• Relationship_Status – Indicates whether you are approved for the merchant’s program
• Affiliate Links – An affiliate link containing your affiliate ID, a direct link, or a FreshReach link

For a full list of response elements, view the Deals-Merchants API documentation.

Request Parameters

This API can be filtered with many parameters. Some key request parameters include:

● sincedate: Return only merchants that have been added or modified since this date. It is in a modified ISO 8601 format, omitting the time zone. Example: &sincedate=2021-12-13T18:00:00 will return all deals modified or created after December 13, 2021 at 6:00 PM.

● networkid: Provides a comma-separated list of networks. Use the slugs from the Networks endpoint. Example parameter, &network=aw,cj will return merchants you’ve selected from Awin and CJ Affiliate.

● merchantids: Return only the specified merchant. This parameter accepts a comma-separated list. Example parameter, &merchantids=54385,43987 returns information about merchants #54385 and #43987.

How to Use the Deals-Merchants API

A typical implementation involves calling the API on a regular cadence and storing the results in your database.

Recommended approach:

• Perform incremental updates frequently (e.g., every 30 minutes)
• Run full syncs periodically to ensure completeness
• Store merchant IDs as your primary reference key

Best Practices for Integration

To get the most out of the Deals-Merchants API:

• Use merchant IDs as stable identifiers
• Cache results to improve performance
• Avoid unnecessary full refreshes
• Pair with other FMTC endpoints for a complete dataset

Ready to put FMTC merchant data to work?

FMTC’s Deal Feed gives publishers and platforms access to normalized merchant and deal data through a single API, making it easier to keep affiliate content accurate and up to date.

Get started with FMTC Deal Feed.

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