Originally published December 2021 • Updated March 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 – Indicator if you are approved into 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, visit the api guide here.

Request Parameters

This API can be filtered with many parameters. A full list can be found in our documentation. 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

Get Started with FMTC

Ready to start integrating affiliate data into your platform?

👉 Get started with FMTC: https://www.fmtc.co/getting-started

As always, our team is ready to help you! If you have any questions or concerns, send us an email at support@fmtc.co. And if you’d like to do some more reading, here are some other Tech Corner articles from FMTC:

● getDeals Deep Dive
● Get Deals and Get Merchants
● The Product Feed
● FreshReach® Deep Dive

The post How to Use the FMTC Merchant Feed API (deals-merchants API Guide) appeared first on FMTC.