Glossary

A

Access Control Server (ACS)

Combines access security, authentication, user and administrator access and policy control in a centralized identity framework. Credit card issuers are required to maintain an ACS used to support cardholder authentication.

Account Takeover (ATO)

A method of online fraud where someone gains access to an online account by acquiring the login, often by theft, and then takes over the account and its access from the rightful owner.

Acquirer

A bank that accepts payments for a payments network. Often the financial institution that provides a merchant account and processes card transactions via POS equipment on behalf of a merchant. The acquirer feeds transaction data into the interchange system. Sometimes referred to as the acquiring bank.

Acquirer Reference Number (ARN)

A unique number attached to a card transaction when it is passed from the merchant’s bank to the cardholder's bank. The numbers are used to track transactions and their progress. They can also be called trace IDs because they are most often used to trace where the funds for a transaction are in the process.

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Fraud protection service to check that the billing address given by the customer matches the one on file with the issuing bank to make sure they are a valid customer.

Affinity Card

A credit card issued in association with an organization or group; commonly professional, alumni, retirement or other associations. The card issuer often pays the organization a royalty for marketing the card.

Alternative Payment Methods (APM)

Relate to any electronic payment which is not made using a credit or debit card. This includes prepaid cards and e-vouchers, digital wallets, P2P solutions, mobile payments, and cryptocurrencies.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

Any tool or technique formally used to fight money laundering.Sometimes refers to standardized policies and regulations put in place that organizations must comply with.

Application Programming Interface (API)

A package of software, tools, documentation and definitions designed to allow software developers to seamlessly access a software service or application.

Arbitration

The process followed by the card companies to determine whether an Issuer or an Acquirer has ultimate responsibility for a chargeback. Either member initiates this process after the re-presentment process is completed.

ATM Interchange Fee

Fee paid to the acquirer by the cardholder bank for an ATM transaction. These fees are set by the ATM network.

Authentication

The process whereby the actual identity of a party is verified by means of providing secret information to the validating agent. The secret information is assumed to be known only to the party and the validating agent.

Authorization

The process of checking and approving that a cardholder has enough funds in their account for the proposed transaction. A positive check means an authorization code is created and funds are set aside for the proposed transaction.

Authorization Amount

The amount of a transaction that is submitted to the authorizer for approval. This amount is reserved against the available balance of a consumer’s credit card.

Authorization Code

The code assigned to the transaction once it has been approved by the processor.

Authorization Only

Transactions of this type are entered and submitted for authorization. These transactions will not be automatically submitted for settlement. In order to capture funds, you must first perform a capture action against the transaction.

Authorized Pending Capture

These transactions have been approved by the authorizer but have not yet settled. Transactions in this state have been authorized only and will not be settled until a capture action is performed against the transactions. These transactions will remain in an unsettled state until the capture action is performed.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

An electronic payment network for the processing of electronic financial transactions between banks in Ghana. Used for direct deposit, recurring transactions, clearing electronic checks and Demand Deposit Account (DDA) transactions.

Average Monthly Volume (AMV)

The average amount of transactions processed by an organization (merchant, processor, etc.) during a month. Typically expressed in dollars.

Average Ticket

For any particular merchant account, the average transaction size. Used for predictions and fee and pricing calculations. Also called Average Selling Price (ASP).

B

Back Office Conversion

Check conversion (paper to digital) that takes place in the merchant's “back office”. Consumers must be notified that BOC will occur by posting at the point of sale or other check receiving locations.

Back-end Processor

A data processing company that contracts with Acquirers to provide communication and processing systems that connect with the interchange systems for clearing and settlement services on behalf of those Acquirers. (In some cases the Acquirer may act as its own back-end processor.)

Bank Account Number

The number of a bank account provided for a given transaction. For any eCheck charge or refund transaction, a full bank account number must be provided.

Bank Account Type

This indicates the type of bank account provided by a customer for an eCheck transaction. The valid values for this field are Current/Checking or Savings.

Bank Identification Number (BIN)

The first digits — typically the first four digits or first six digits — that are found on a card from an issuing or acquiring institution as unique identifiers of that institution.

Bank Identifier Code (BIC)

This is often referred to as a SWIFT code or SWIFT address as SWIFT owns and administers the BIC system.

Bank Routing Number

The first nine digits at the bottom of a personal check which identify the financial institution where the account is located.

Bankcard

A financial transaction card (typically a credit or debit card) issued by a financial institution.

Basis Point

One one-hundredth of one percent. Generally referred to as basis points (bps).

Batch

A group of card transactions collected for submitting to settlement to the merchant’s bank account.

Batch Processing

Data communications transmission in which transactions are grouped together and transmitted for processing.

Beneficiary

Person who receives funds collected by a third party. Sometimes a person sets up an account on behalf of another person. If they want the funds to be settled directly to the beneficiary, the account will need to be changed to complete KYC checks on the beneficiary and verify their bank information.

Bitcoin

A decentralized digital currency.

C

Cannibalization

A sale that would have occurred on one form of payment, but now occurs with a different form of payment offered to the shopper. Merchants prefer incremental sales over cannibalized sales.

Capture

After a card is authorized, a second set of data is passed for the transaction itself and this is called capture. It signifies that an actual transaction has taken place and the data is passed to the acquiring bank for settlement.

Capture Date

The date when a transaction is processed by an acquirer.

Card association

A technical term for a specific credit card company, such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover.

Card Issuer

The financial institution that authorizes the issuance of a card to a consumer or organization. Card issuers retain authority over the use of the card by the end user and are liable for the use of the card.

Card Not Present (CNP) Accounts

A merchant or seller account that principally accepts online and other card not present payments. May have higher rates than point of sale (POS) accounts with the consumer present. Because the signature is not required, these accounts are generally viewed as higher risk.

Card Not Present Transaction (CNP)

A payment card transaction where the card cannot be physically presented to the merchant at the time of the transaction. Commonly used for online, mail-order and telephone transactions but also used in a few other cases.

Card Present (CP)

A transaction made where the cardholder can present a physical credit card to the merchant. Requires a point of sale device.

Card Verification Code (CVC)

A unique numerical value calculated from the data encoded on the magnetic stripe of a MasterCard card, validating card information during the authorization process.

Card Verification Value (CVV)

A unique value calculated from the data encoded on the magnetic stripe of a VISA card, validating card information during the authorization process.

Cardholder

The individual to whom a credit or debit card has been issued or an additional person who is also authorized to use the card.

Chargeback

The result of a cardholder or the cardholder’s bank disputing a specific credit or debit card transaction. The chargeback is sent back to the merchant bank for resolution. The merchant has a set amount of time in which to defend the chargeback, depending on the rules of the card association. A chargeback fee is usually charged to the merchant in addition to the amount of the transaction.

Chargeback Defense

The information a merchant needs/uses to defend against a chargeback, such as an invoice, a customer verification, or proof of shipping.

Chargeback Period

The time during which an issuing bank has the right to charge a transaction back to the acquiring bank. The period varies by transaction type from 45 to 180 days.

Chip Cards

Also known as EMV cards. A type of credit/debit card with a computer chip embedded into it. Chip cards make in-person transactions more secure, but make card-not-present transactions more prone to fraud.

Clearing

The process of transmitting information about a transaction or transactions that eventually results in a decision of approval or denial of the transactions and the settlement of funds involved.

Communication Error

Transactions of this status experienced an error connecting to the processor. These transactions are not re-submitted or sent for settlement.

Compliance

Any process that is used by any of the partners in a payment transaction to meet with and follow regulatory procedures applying to that transaction. These can include government regulations, card network regulations, bank regulations and others.

Consumer Authentication

The term used to describe tools intended to verify that the person making the transaction is actually the person authorized to do so, in both in-person and card-not-present transactions.

Contactless Payments

Devices that use radio frequency identification for making secure payments. Embedded chip and antenna enable consumers to wave a device over a reader at point of sale.

Control Number

Number that uniquely identifies a retrieval request or chargeback.

Cracker

Someone who breaks into someone else’s computer system, often on a network, bypassing passwords and licenses or otherwise breaches computer security.

Credit Card Number

The number on the credit card provided for a given transaction. For any charge or refund transactions against a credit card, the credit card number must be provided. In the case of refund transactions, the first four and last four digits may be provided in lieu of the full number.

Credit card processors

Entities like merchant account providers that handle the details of processing credit card transactions between merchants, issuing banks, and acquiring banks. Also called third party processors.

Credit/Pending Settlement

Transactions of this status have been entered as credits, but have not yet been submitted for settlement. These transactions will remain in this unsettled state until they are submitted for settlement. Once a credit has been settled, the status changes to Credited.

Credited

Transactions with this status are refund transactions that have been successfully processed within the system. This refund has been successfully applied against the payment method. No further action may be taken against these transactions.

Cross Border Payments

Cross border payments are transactions that occur between accounts based in different countries (i.e. non-domestic payments). Typically, cross border payments are made via an incumbent correspondent banking network, which involves the money travelling between multiple organisations, resulting in the process being slow and costly.

Crowdfunding

Funding a project, event or organization by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

Cryptocurrency

Digital currency, such as bitcoin, that relies on blockchain technology using cryptography to create, distribute and track the currency.

Currency

The currency associated with the amount of a transaction.

Currency conversion

The process of converting an amount of funds from one currency into another. Typically involves one or more national currencies and is governed by published daily conversion rates for buying and selling each currency.

Customer ID

This is an internal identifier for a consumer that may be associated with the billing information of a transaction. This field may contain any format of information.

D

Data Breach

Unintentional release of secure information to an untrusted environment.

Data Security Standard (DSS)

PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). Common standards for merchants and third parties resulting from the alignment of MasterCard, Visa and other card associations with the similar goal of protecting payment card account data wherever it is received or stored.

Debit

A charge to an account. Basically any amount proposed to be withdrawn from an account is referred to as a debit.

Debit Card

A payment card that primarily accesses a Deposit Account and which can be used to make purchases or withdraw cash.

Decline

The transaction request has been refused, usually by the issuing bank but sometimes by other entities along the processing chain. Reasons are typically insufficient funds or more rarely fraud or theft. Reasons are coded for return with the decline.

Deposit Account

A financial account with a balance of funds rather than a credit account. Examples include checking, savings, share draft, and many others.

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets allow consumers to shop online and pay using a wallet system, rather than entering a credit card for each purchase. Wallets typically use a user name and PIN or other security device to authenticate the buyer.

Disbursement

The distribution of funds once a transaction has been approved. Includes the process to get the various fees to the stakeholders along the way.

Discount Rate

In credit card payment systems, the interest rate percentage charged a merchant for processing credit card transactions. Other fees may also be levied.

Discount Rate

A discount rate is a fee associated with collecting, assessing, approving, processing, and settling credit card transactions. This fee is often a percentage of the transaction value.

Dispute

A claim made by a cardholder to the issuing bank questioning the validity of a credit or debit card charge. Disputes start an interaction with the merchant that could lead to retrievals or chargebacks.

E

E-Cheque

The electronic equivalent of a paper cheque.

Ecommerce

Buying and selling goods and services online.

ECommerce Indicator (ECI)

An indicator flag for all transactions that are generated via eCommerce. This flag is intended to identify to the banking network all eCommerce transactions. The value is exactly a decimal 2 digit value, passed in authorization messages.

Electronic Bill Payment (E-Pay)

Method for consumers to pay bills using PCs, smartphones or other devices to send electronic instructions to withdraw funds from accounts and pay merchants.

Electronic Cheque Acceptance or ECA

A system that captures transaction information off a paper cheque and converts it into an electronic item processed through cheque clearing without the need for a paper cheque or via ACH. Now available to consumers via smartphone apps and some banking institutions.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT)

The electronic transfer of funds between two bank accounts, using electronic means rather than paper methods. Includes ACH, wire transfers, payroll deposits and any other fund transfer made completely electronically.

Email Address

An email address may be provided along with the billing information of a transaction.

Encryption

A method of coding data, using an algorithm, to protect it from unauthorized access. There are many types of data encryption, and they are the basis of network security.

End-to-End Encryption

Uninterrupted protection of the integrity and confidentiality of transmitted data by encoding it at the start and decoding it at the end of the transaction.

EURO1

The EURO1 is a large-value payment system for same day euro transactions at a pan-European level, which processes transactions of high priority and urgency, and primarily of large amount at a domestic and cross border level on a multilateral net basis.

EURO1 processes in excess of 250,000 payments per day, with an overall value of approximately €210 billion. EURO1 is based on a messaging and IT infrastructure provided by SWIFT.

Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV)

A commonly-available chip-based standard for smart payment cards using chip and pin systems for card present transactions. Designed to combat fraud by making cards much harder to counterfeit.

Expiration Date

The date on which a credit card is no longer valid. Transactions will only be successfully authorized and settled for credit cards whose expiration dates have not passed.

F

Fees

Fees for screening and processing online payments may include, but are not limited to, costs for the following:

• Monthly Account

• Discount rate

• Per item charges for credit card and electronic check transactions

Foreign Exchange Fee / FX Fee

FX fees are typically charged as a mark up to the mid-market (aka interbank) rate. The mid-point between the buy and the sell prices of the two currencies on the global currency markets determines this rate.

 

Providers that process FX payments often add a high commission to this rate in order to make a profit from the transaction. Fees may also be added when a transaction has to pass through multiple correspondent banks to reach the recipient.

Fraud

The crime of using dishonest methods to take something of value from another person or entity. Fraudsters dupe and deceive consumers to commit fraud (steal their identity or credentials).

Fraud Score

For merchants using fraud screening programmes, a fraud score may be available during transaction authorization. This is a number, usually between 0 and 1000, that represents the overall fraud risk of a particular transaction. The higher the number, the riskier the transaction.

Friendly Fraud

Friendly fraud is the term used when a consumer (or someone with access to their credit card) makes a purchase and then initiates a chargeback (saying that they did not make the purchase and/or did not receive the goods or services).

FX / Forex

Foreign Exchange (FX) is the exchange, or conversion, of one currency into another currency. Foreign Exchange also refers to the global trading market whereby currencies are virtually exchanged around the clock, with the largest centres being based in London, New York, Tokyo, and Singapore. The term Foreign Exchange is frequently abbreviated to ‘forex’ as well as ‘FX’.

G

Gateway

An organization or system initiating transactions between merchants and the acquiring firms. Often provides additional fraud, identity, and reporting functions as well as equipment and software to process transactions.

Gift Cards

A magnetic stripe or smart (chip) card that replaces paper gift certificates that are most often used in retail, restaurant and lodging establishments.

H

Hacker

A person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data, or a person who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or network.

Host Card Emulation (HCE)

A specialist software that permits a mobile device to act as a card in order to perform a transaction on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled device without the need of a secure element.

Hosted checkout

A service provided to accept debit and credit payments online.

I

Independent Sales Organization (ISO)

ISOs sell merchant accounts from other processors – they are usually purely sales and support organizations.

Instant Payment Notification (IPN)

A method for online retailers to automatically track purchases and other server-to-server communication in real time.

Interchange

The domestic and international systems operated by VISA and MasterCard for authorization, settlement and the passing through of interchange and other fees, as well as other monetary and non-monetary information related to bankcard activities.

Interchange fee

A fee specified by card associations that is paid by the acquirer to the issuing bank for each credit or debit card transaction to cover transaction costs. The acquirer passes this fee to merchants, in addition to any other fees charged for processing credit or debit card transactions. The fee depends on a number of variables, such as card type, business type, card acceptance method, settlement or batch timeframe, information submitted with the transaction, and more. Fees usually range between 1-3%.

International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

An account number written in a standardised internationally recognised format which is used to identify an individual account, making it faster easier to process cross border transactions across Europe. An IBAN is made up of a code that identifies the country the account belongs to, the bank the account belongs to, followed by the account number.

Issuing bank

The bank that holds the customer’s credit or debit card account and settles funds to the acquiring bank for payment to the merchant. The issuing bank bills the cardholder for transactions at a later date, typically monthly.

K

Know Your Customer (KYC)

The compliance process of confirming the identity of a merchant or customer. Most commonly refers to government, bank, and card network requirements to verify identity to prevent fraud, identity theft, money laundering, and terrorist financing.

Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA)

A security measure that seeks to prove the identity of a user who is attempting to access an online service, by asking them to answer at least one “secret” question. KBA is generally used as a component in multifactor authentication (MFA) and for self-served password retrieval.

L

Large-Value Payment System (LVPS)

A Large-Value Payment System refers to Real Time Gross Settlement systems (RTGS), such as CHAPS, TARGET2, and country-specific equivalents. Payments via this method are sent securely, in real-time, with complete certainty that the payment will settle.

Liability shift

The liability for chargebacks resulting from fraudulent transactions moves from the merchant to the issuing financial institution when the merchant has authenticated the transaction. Without Consumer Authentication, merchants are liable for chargebacks.

M

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

A character recognition technology used on cheques to make electronic scanning easier. Used for the bank routing number and account number at the bottom of a cheque.

Marketplace

A type of online ecommerce business where products and services are provided by multiple third parties, but transactions are processed by the marketplace.

MasterCard SecureCode

This is a programme offered by MasterCard to increase security and reduce fraud on internet-initiated purchases. One of the 3-D Secure protocols. The merchant’s website interfaces with MasterCard to obtain the specified fields at the time of purchase. These values are then submitted with the authorization request to verify that this is an authentic cardholder purchase.

MCC or SIC Codes

Special numbers assigned by the card companies to Seller types for identification and tracking purposes. MasterCard uses MCC (Merchant Category Code), while Visa uses SIC (Standard Industry Codes).

Merchant

Any person or business entity that accepts payments in exchange for goods or services.

Merchant account

A bank account from an acquiring bank that allows a merchant to accept credit, debit and other payment types.

Merchant Acquirer

Another term for the acquirer or acquiring bank.

Merchant Agreement

The contract between merchant and acquiring bank listing legal warranties, rights and responsibilities.

Merchant ID Number (MID)

A unique number to identify each merchant to everyone else in the processing chain for accounting and billing purposes.

Merchant of Record

The merchant designated for the specific transaction under consideration.

Merchant Plug-In (MPI)

A software module, used to provide an interface between a software service and merchants’ payment processing software. Some examples are the 3-D Secure protocols. The software also verifies Issuers’ digital signatures in the authentication responses returned to the merchant.

Merchant Service Provider (MSP)

Provides a merchant with an account, processing and report tools to enable that merchant to process online transactions. Each transaction is facilitated by the MSP on behalf of the Merchant.

Method of Payment (MOP), aka Payment Method

Method used to pay for a transaction - for example, cheque, direct debit, credit card, ACH, debit card, cash and more.

MO / TO

Mail Order and Telephone Order card sales, typically authorized through a manual POS terminal.

Mobile Commerce

Business that is conducted on the internet with mobile phones or other wireless hand-held devices.

Mobile Payments

Using a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services, digital and hard goods. Mobile payments can be made using direct operator billing (or WAP billing) allows the charges to be added to the user’s mobile bill. Mobile payments can also be made using a credit card or mobile wallet.

Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS)

A mobile device, either stand-alone or for use with a tablet or smartphone, combined with software or an app to allow mobile card reading and transaction processing.

Money Laundering (ML)

An illegal activity designed to convert illegal funds into acceptable funds by passing them through accounts and businesses in transactions that hide their origins.

Money Transmitter License (MTL)

Every Country has a regulatory body overseeing money transmission. Many (but not all) require institutions that handle payments to become registered money transmitters and procure a license to operate in their country.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

A defense against hacking and identity theft that requires multiple steps and pieces of information in order to gain access to an online account.

N

Near Field Communication (NFC)

A form of communication used mostly in smartphones or other handheld devices for payments that allows devices to communicate with a payment terminal to complete transactions.

Net Settlement

The final (net) effect of a series of payment transactions involving customers of two or more banks.

Network

A computer network is a data communications system which interconnects computer systems at different sites or locations.

Network Fees

Fees charged for payment transactions by the card networks that are included in interchange fees.

Non-Bank

A financial institution that does not offer banking services.

O

One-Time Password (OTP)

A password that is only good for one login session or transaction. OTPs avoid shortcomings associated with static passwords, in that they are not vulnerable to replay attacks. A potential fraudster using a one-time password that has previously been used will not be able to abuse it, since it will no longer be valid.

Online Payments

The process of exchanging money electronically to pay for goods or services, using the internet, computer networks and digital stored value systems.

Originator

The institution that initiates a wire transfer or ACH payment.

P

Partial Reversal Status

In the case of a prior authorization capture transaction, a partial reversal may apply. This value indicates the success of the partial reversal transaction.

Payee

The person/business/organization that receives a payment.

Payment Amount

The amount of a transaction submitted for authorization. This is the amount authorized against the specified payment method.

Payment Card industry (PCI)

The credit, debit, prepaid and other payment card businesses. Also refers to the requirements that they have set out that provide security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and more.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

A proprietary information security standard for the payment card industry. A requirement for merchants and payment processors to meet security requirements that are used extensively across almost all card systems for security.

Payment Gateway

An Internet-based service that transports credit card information from a computer terminal or Web site to a credit card processor, where it can be verified.

Payment Service Provider (PSP)

Provides online services for accepting electronic payments by a variety of payment methods including credit card, direct debit, bank transfer, and others. A PSP is a designation by Visa and Mastercard that allows merchants to onboard submerchants under their account.

PCI compliance

A common term used to indicate that a particular organization meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. Failure to meet PCI compliance can mean penalties or the suspension of the ability to make card transactions.

Pending Settlement / Captured

Transactions with this status have been approved, captured and are awaiting settlement. These transactions will be submitted for settlement according to the transaction cut off time associated with the merchant account.

PIN (Personal Identification Number)

A number that is assigned to consumers to identify them when they use debit cards at an ATM, point-of-sale device or a home device. Also used with some credit cards.

PIN Authorization Request (PIN verification)

A procedure to validate cardholder identity by comparing the PIN to a card account.

Point of Sale (POS)

Both the device used to conduct a transaction and the time and place it happened. Typically refers to a card swipe or chip reading pad connected to a cash register.

POS Terminal

The actual device at a point of sale (POS) that conducts a transaction and is used to gather and forward the transaction details.

Prepaid Cards

Debit card that is acquired with a balance already associated with it. Prepaid cards allow the cardholder to spend up to the amount deposited into the prepaid card account.

R

Re-presentment (Reversal)

The re-submission by an Acquirer of a previously charged back sale in an attempt to re-charge the Cardholder. Chargebacks require some form of additional documentation confirming the validity of the charge and disputing the original chargeback reason.

Real-Time Gross Settlement Systems (RTGS)

They are fund transfer systems designed to move high-value and wholesale payments between banks instantly. RTGS are usually controlled by the central bank of a country.

Payments made via a RTGS are settled as soon as they are processed, and once processed, payments are final and irrevocable. As these payments are high value, they do not need to be netted or bundled, meaning the transaction is settled on a one to one basis in real-time.

Reason Code

A code used to provide additional information about a transaction and (typically) a rejection or change in status. Information covered could include a chargeback, subsequent presentment, fee collection, funds disbursement, or request for a source document.

Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)

Manages ACH transactions by taking credits or debits from relevant parties.

Reconciliation

The process through which incoming and outgoing funds and transactions are matched up.

Recurring Billing Transaction

A recurring billing transaction indicates that a similar transaction is submitted multiple times over a period of time. This flag is sent to the processor during authorization indicating that this is a recurring billing transaction.

Reference Transaction ID

This is the transaction ID that links transactions to an original or parent transaction. In the case of credit transactions, a reference transaction ID may be entered to link the subsequent credit to the original transaction within the system.

Reserve account

For high-risk merchants, an account that holds a reserve portion of funds. The acquiring bank requires reserve accounts to cover chargebacks, disputed charges, fees and other expenses. Some organizations require reserve accounts of all new merchant accounts.

Retailer

Also see Merchant. In eCommerce terms, any business that accepts credit or debit cards, alternative payment methods or digital wallets, as a source of payment. The retailer is the party which offers goods for sale or provides services in exchange for payment.

Retrieval request

When a cardholder or issuing bank wants more information about a transaction, the issuing bank sends a retrieval request. The merchant has a defined period in which to send the information. Typically a failure to respond will result in a chargeback and often a retrieval request fee will be assessed to the merchant.

Retrieval Request

A retrieval request occurs when a consumer requests more information about a transaction that appears on his or her credit card statement.

Routing Transit Number (RTN)

The nine digit code at the bottom of a cheque identifies the bank where the account is held.

S

Sales Draft

The paper or electronic evidence of a purchase.

Secure Payment Page

A secure payment page assures consumers that their payment information is encrypted for privacy and data integrity before it is sent over the Internet. This page is typically identified by the “s” in https:// (instead of http://). Payment gateway providers make this necessary eCommerce link possible by hosting the payment gateway software and individual secure payment pages on their own servers.

SecureCode

A MasterCard security solution designed to authenticate cardholders when paying online; one of the 3-D Secure protocols. It standardizes the data transport infrastructure for passing cardholder authentication information among the merchant, acquirer, and issuer communities.

Security

Protection from harm. In eCommerce terms, security is ensuring that transactions are not open to fraud. In eCommerce systems, security protocols protect the consumer, the merchant and the bank from hackers and fraudsters.

Seller Account or Online Seller Account

The financial institution account a Seller identifies as the sole account from which monthly and/or transaction fees are debited.

Seller Bank

(Acquirer or Processor) The financial institution with which a Seller contracts to accept credit cards for payment of goods and services.

Seller Fees

Sellers are charged several types of fees for screening and processing online payments. Fees for products and services include, but are not limited to costs for the following:

• Monthly Online Seller Account

• Discount rate

• Per item charges for credit card and electronic check transactions - Chargebacks

Seller or Online Seller

An individual or business that sells products or services and is capable of accepting payment for products and services via a Seller account.

Server

A computer system that provides services to other computer systems over a network. Can be in the form of hardware or software. Performs coordination functions, administration, and access functions.

Settled Successfully

Transactions with this status have been approved and successfully submitted for settlement. The charge or refund has been applied against the appropriate payment method. No further action may be taken against successfully settled transactions.

Settlement

The transfer of funds to satisfy a payment transaction that has been approved. Once approval is granted, the funds travel back to the acquiring bank and the merchant account, with associated fees deducted along the way.

Settlement Amount

The transaction amount sent to the processor for settlement. This is the amount that will appear as a charge or refund against the specified method of payment. This amount may be less than or equal to the original authorization amount for the transaction.

Settlement Date Time

This date indicates the date/time on which a transaction was submitted for settlement. Only transactions that have been successfully settled will contain a settlement date.

Settlement Error

Transactions with this status have experienced an error during processing. These transactions have not been successfully settled.

Settlement Statement

A statement provided to a merchant that shows the approved sales and credit activity, billing information, fees and chargebacks (if any) that occurred during the statement period.

Shopping Cart

Software that allows visitors to an internet site to buy from that merchant.

Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

A European payment initiative which was introduced in order to establish a single payment market; making it simple and less costly for consumers and businesses to make and receive payments across Europe.

SEPA payments are available in 35 countries, and provide cross border bank transfer capabilities for businesses, merchants, and consumers in a way which is equivalent to making a domestic payment.

Smart Card

Plastic card containing a computer chip with memory capabilities. Also known as a chip or EMV card.

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)

Founded in 1973, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a cooperative utility that was initially made up of 239 banks from 15 countries. Their goal was to develop standardised messaging and processing of transaction services for financial institutions globally; making global cross border transfers possible.

SWIFT is often considered to be the backbone of the international finance industry and now serves more than 200 countries and territories. SWIFT payments are a type of international transfer sent via the SWIFT network; however, SWIFT does not facilitate the transfer of funds. Instead, it sends payment orders via its secure and reliable network, which must be then settled by the correspondent accounts that institutions have with each other. When sending or receiving international payments, a SWIFT code is used to identify a specific bank.

Submit Date Time

The date and time that a transaction is entered into the system. This also coincides with the date / time that a transaction is authorized.

Swipe Fees

Another term for interchange fees.

T

Three-D Secure (3-D Secure)

The name for a group of protocols designed as an additional security layer for online credit and debit card transactions. Each of the major credit cards has its own versions of the 3-D Secure protocols.

Tokenization

The process of translating a credit card number into a random sequence of numbers as a method of encryption, to enhance credit card security during a transaction.

Transaction Fee

A per item fee charged to the merchant by the acquirer for transaction activity such as sales, credit / returns, batch closures, third-party services, etc.

Transaction ID (Trans ID)

Each transaction within the system is assigned a unique transaction ID. This ID may be used to sort or identify specific transactions within the system.

Transaction Status

Each transaction within the system is given a unique status value to indicate the current processing state. A transaction status provides summary information regarding the state and subsequent actions that may be performed against a transaction. The following values may appear in the transaction status field: Authorized/ Pending Capture, Captured/Pending Settlement, Credit/ Pending Settlement, Declined, Voided, Credited, General Error, Communication Error, Settled Successfully, Under Review, Review Failed.

Transaction Type

This value indicates the type of transaction entered and actions that may be associated with the transaction.

Transactions

Transactions between a merchant and a cardholder for the sale or rental of goods; the provision of services evidenced by a sales draft or credit draft, or where permitted by agreement between Global Payments and merchant, or by an electronic equivalent of a sales draft or credit draft, which is presented to Global Payments by the merchant for processing through the interchange systems.

U

Unauthorized Transaction

Any sale for which a Cardholder does not provide his/her specific authorization. (This should not be confused with the failure to receive an authorization response from the Issuer.)

Under Review

Transactions with this status are currently being reviewed before being submitted for processing.

Universal Cardholder Authentication Field (UCAF)

Developed by MasterCard for use in their SecureCode payment initiative, UCAF is a universal, multipurpose data transport mechanism implemented by merchants and acquirers for collecting authentication information generated by issuers and cardholders. Once collected, this information is communicated to the issuer in the payment authorization request and provides explicit evidence that the transaction was originated by a legitimate cardholder.

V

Verified by Visa

This is a program offered by Visa to increase security and reduce fraud on internet-initiated purchases. One of the 3-D Secure protocols. The merchant’s website interfaces with Visa to obtain the specified fields at the time of purchase. These values are then submitted with the authorization request to verify that this is an authentic cardholder purchase.

Visa

Connects financial institutions, merchants and governments around the world with credit, debit and prepaid products.

Void

Cancellation of a payment transaction and also cancellation of the transfer of funds from customer to merchant.

Voided

Transactions with this status have been marked as Void within the application. Transactions with this status will not be sent for settlement.

W

Wallets

Digital wallets allow consumers to shop online and pay using a wallet system, rather than entering a credit card for each purchase. Wallets typically use a user name and PIN or other security device to authenticate the buyer.

Webhost

Allows individuals to run their website off hosted server space, by providing internet connectivity through a data center.