Account Number: Account number is the number assigned by the Acquiring bank to the merchant. Each merchant has their own direct bank account in their choice of currencies, and funds from their online credit card transactions are deposited to these accounts.
Acquiring Bank: Also known as a Merchant bank, this is a financial institution that provides business owners with merchant accounts and enables them to process credit card transactions. The Acquiring banks receive funds from a cardholder when they use their credit card at a merchant’s web site, and then deposits the amount (less any fees) into the merchant’s direct account.
Address Verification Service: Known as AVS it verifies a customer address against a given credit card by comparing the cardholder’s billing address with the provided shipping/physical address. AVS does not decline transactions, but it provides merchants with information to help them decide whether to accept or decline the transaction. (This pertains to North American cardholders only.)
Adjustment: Is initiated by the Acquiring bank to correct a processing error. The error could be a duplication of a transaction or the result of a cardholder dispute. The Acquirer debits or credits the merchant’s direct account for the amount of the adjustment.
Amex: American Express.
API: Application Programming Interface.
Application Server: This is software that runs on a middle-tier server, located between a web browser-based thin client, and the back-end databases and business applications. These servers handle application logic and connectivity.
Approval: Transaction was approved. An approval code (also called the authorization code) is a six digit code sent to the merchant when transaction is approved.
Authorization: The process of verifying the validity of the card and that a cardholder has sufficient funds available against their line of credit on their credit card. A positive response results in an authorization code being generated. Those funds are in turn set aside, and the level of available credit left on the card is reduced by the authorized amount. The authorization approval also confirms that the card number is valid, and the credit card is not reported lost or stolen. Authorizations may be generated automatically via a merchant’s web site, via a Virtual Terminal, and processed electronically, or may include authorization directly between a merchant and their Acquiring bank.
Authorization Code: A code that the Issuing bank returns in an electronic format to our processing system when a transaction is approved. The code serves as proof of the authorization.
Authorization Response: An Issuing bank’s electronic response to an authorization request.
Average Ticket: The average amount of a merchant’s order. This is calculated by dividing the total sales volume by the total number of sales for a specified time period.
AV-yeS: The name we have given our AVS only solution, which is designed to mitigate US cardholder chargebacks and online fraud for global merchants. This solution is available to all Internet merchants as a stand-alone service outside of our direct merchant account multi-currency payment processing solutions. It verifies a customer address against a given credit card.
Batch Processing: Batch processing allows transactions to be captured in a merchant’s system for submission to us as a batch file using our secure interface at your convenience, once a week, or several times a day. This solution can also be used in addition to one of our other solutions for recurring billings or any other offline needs.
BIN: Is the Bank Identification Number for Card Association recognition.
Capture: Converting an authorized amount into a billable transaction. Transactions cannot be captured unless previously authorized, and the goods or services shipped, or transmitted, to the merchant’s customers. Authorized credit card sales must be captured and settled in order for a merchant to receive their funds.
Card Associations: Payment networks such as Visa and MasterCard (and others), that connect Acquiring banks with Issuing banks for the authorization and funding of credit card transactions.
Cardholder: The owner of the credit card being used to make an online purchase.
Cardholder Transaction: The use of a credit card by a merchant’s customer to purchase goods or services via their web site.
Card Issuer: Banks that issue cards to cardholders.
cGate®: Is the name given to our secure, high-speed platform independent payment processing gateway.
cGate® Secure Verify: Our cGate® Secure Verify solution allows merchants to process 3-D Secure™ transactions though Verified by Visa and MasterCard® SecureCode™. This technology was designed by the Card Associations to provide merchants and Acquirers protection from fraudulent transactions, chargebacks and unauthorized payments made on an eCommerce site.
cGate® Secure Batch: The cGate® Secure Batch solution allows transactions to be captured in your system, and then submitted as a batch file using our secure interface at your convenience, once a week, or several times a day. This solution can also be used in addition to one of our other solutions for recurring billings or any other offline needs.
cGate Secure – Real-Time: Real-time transaction processing is the preferred method for most of our merchants as it provides instantaneous approved/declined responses to all transactions. It also allows up-to-the-minute reporting on all transactions processed through our payment gateway.
Chargeback: Is a transaction that is billed back to a merchant after the sale has been completed. The Issuing bank, on behalf of the cardholder, disputes the transaction. Chargebacks must be ‘worked’ and resolved within a specific time period by the merchant. The Issuer can charge part or all of the transaction back to the merchant via the Acquiring bank.
Chargeback Files: Files received by us containing merchant chargebacks.
Chargeback Reports: Merchant chargebacks reports are received from our partner banks and posted by us each day to our web reports. They are accessed by secure login to enable merchants to work directly with their Acquiring bank(s) to resolve.
CNP: Card Not Present transactions via the Internet or mail/telephone where the card is NOT seen by the merchant.
Credit: Also known as a reversal. It is the voiding of an authorized transaction (sale) that has not been settled. If a Card Issuer supports a credit or reversal, it immediately undoes the authorization and releases the amount on the cardholder’s card.
Credit Card: A payment card (Visa, MasterCard and American Express) linked to a bank account. Card owners are able to pay off the full amount of their credit card in full each month, or via a monthly repayment schedule. Outstanding balances normally incur interest.
CID: American Express Card Verification Code.
CVC2: MasterCard’s term – Card Verification Code 2 – used for card security.
CVV2: Card Verification Value 2. CVV2 is a 3-digit code printed on the back of a Visa card. CVV2 helps to ensure that the credit card number is legitimate and that the card is in the possession of the purchaser.
3-D Secure™ Based Payer Authentication Services: FAC’s cGate®SecureVerify is a fully compliant Payer Authentication solution for Verified by Visa and MasterCard®SecureCode™. Based on the Card Associations’ 3-D Secure™ technology, the solution provides merchants with protection from fraudulent transactions, chargebacks and unauthorized payments made through an eCommerce web site.
Daily Transaction File: Is the file that contains all of a merchant’s transactions submitted for clearing to Interchange.
DCC: Dynamic Currency Conversion is a foreign exchange mechanism provided by banks and third parties that gives the cardholder an option to pay either in the merchant’s local currency or their home currency at web site checkout. FAC does not facilitate DCC solutions.
Debit Card: Examples of debit cards include Visa Delta or Maestro. They are designed to enable cardholders to transfer money from a current account, (including savings or deposit accounts), or an account on which cheques can be drawn for depositing to another person’s account.
Decline: Transaction was declined by the Issuing bank.
Deposit: Is the amount of credit card purchases that are credited to a merchant’s direct bank account on a daily basis. The deposit is what the Acquiring bank receives from the Issuer during settlement.
Descriptor: Is the description of services/company name that appears on the credit card statements of merchant customers to identify transactions.
Discount Rate: Is the fee merchants pay to their Acquiring bank for the privilege of being able to deposit funds from their credit card transactions to the bank. The fee assists banks with operational and risk management costs associated with providing this service.
ECI: Electronic Commerce Indicator is a mandatory field in payment processing from Visa and MasterCard to distinguish transactions generated through the Internet.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): A system of transferring money from one bank account directly to another via electronic means.
Hosted Payment Page: Is a secure webpage hosted by FAC where the merchant’s customer enters their payment data for a seamless checkout experience. Using FAC’s hosted payment page means that payment data is captured outside of the merchant network, greatly reducing their PCI compliance requirements.
Interchange: The standardized electronic exchange of transactional data between merchant Acquiring banks and card Issuing banks on Visa and MasterCard.
Interchange Fee: Is the fee paid by the Acquiring bank (First Citizens) to the Issuing bank for transactions entered into Interchange. Visa and MasterCard set the percentage rate to be charged.
IP Address: a unique numeric system internet address, separated by periods. An Internet user can specify an IP address to route information to a particular destination.
Issuer: Is the name given to a bank that extends credit to customers through credit cards. The bank issues the credit card and receives the cardholder’s payment at the end of the billing period.
Java: Similar to the Windows component, the Java solution connects the merchant’s server directly to our payment gateway server.
KYC: Know Your Customer. All the banks have KYC policies in place and merchants are required to comply with these requirements as part of the process of securing a direct merchant account.
LACR: Latin American Caribbean Region.
Mag Stripe: Is the strip on the back of a card that contains magnetically encoded information relevant to the cardholder.
Manual Transaction Entry: Merchants can use the MO/TO function within our administration system to manually submit orders received via telephone or e-mail. Each user is provided with a unique login and password to conduct administrative tasks such as refunds, reversals, producing reports and viewing transaction and batch history.
MasterCard: The international payments system organisation controlled by its members.
MasterCard® SecureCode™: Provides merchants with protection from fraudulent transactions, chargebacks and unauthorized payments made through an eCommerce web site. MasterCard offers chargeback liability shift for fraud related chargebacks when the transaction is authenticated through MasterCard®SecureCode™.
Merchant: Is the term used to describe companies/clients operating on-line with a store front and payment processing at checkout.
Merchant Accounts: It relates to the establishment of merchant accounts with First Citizens for the purposes of receiving funds from online credit card transactions.
Merchant Bank: Also known as an Acquiring bank, it is a financial institution that provides credit card settlement accounts for merchants. The bank receives funds from a cardholder when they use their credit card at a merchant’s web site, and then deposits the amount (less any fees) into the merchant’s direct account. Your acquiring bank is First Citizens Bank.
Merchant Name: Is the name of the company responsible for payment processing.
Merchant Password: The unique passwords assigned to merchants registered with us to use our Merchant Administration system.
MID: Merchant Identification Number. These are provided by the banks once merchants are approved for settlement services. MIDS are unique to each merchant. MIDS are available in a variety of currencies. The MIDS are loaded onto our processing system, and identify transactions specific to each merchant customer.
MO/TO: Mail Order/Telephone Order. Where a merchant takes an order over the telephone or by post.
Monthly Minimum: Relates to the minimum monthly processing volume, by currency, that the banks will allow.
MSP: Merchant Service Provider.
Multi-Currency: Is the term used to describe a variety of different currencies: Example, US Dollars, Euros, British Pounds.
Net Settled Position: The amount settled to a merchant’s direct bank account after charges have been deducted by the Acquiring bank.
NDA: Non Disclosure Agreement.
Online Fraud: A widely used term to describe Internet fraud.
Order Number: A merchant generated number for the product or service supplied. Order numbers can be tied to transaction numbers within our payments system to assist with reconciliation and customer support initiatives.
Payer Authentication: Payer authentication systems provide Issuing banks with the ability to authenticate cardholders during an online purchase, which reduces the likelihood of fraudulent use of payment cards and improves transaction performance. The Card Associations’ 3-D Secure payer authentication services (Verified by Visa and MasterCard® Securecode™) enable Issuing banks to verify that the actual cardholder is the person executing an Internet purchase.
Payment Gateway: Term used to describe a payment platform. In essence it is an eCommerce application service that authorises a range of online payments and transactions.
Payout: Amount due to the merchant for approved transactions funds (less processing fees). Also knows as settlement amount.
PCI DSS: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard: It is a standard from the PCI Security Standards Council developed to ensure financial data security standards.
Phishing: Is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
POS: Point of Sale.
Pre-Authorisation: A transaction intended to be followed by a separate financial transaction within a specific time interval. Pre-authorisations are used when the merchant wishes to obtain advance approval or verification sufficient funds are available to make a full purchase using a credit card.
Processing Platform: A generic term we use to refer to our international payment processing platform.
Processing Day: Transactions performed by a merchant during a 24-hour period.
PSP: Payment Service Provider.
Real-Time Processing: This transaction processing is the preferred method for most of our merchants as it provides instantaneous approved/declined responses to all transactions. It also allows up-to-the-minute reporting on all transactions processed through our payment gateway. Real-time means that when a merchant’s customer orders online, the credit card information in conveyed to us at that exact time so that an authorization can be requested and received.
Reason Codes: Are the codes given as the reason for a chargeback or retrieval request.
Reconciliation: The method used by merchants to compare their online sales with the transactions that are recorded by the Acquirer and credited to their settlement accounts.
Refund: Is a transaction in our system whereby merchants refund payments to their customers. Our system is able to facilitate partial and full refunds.
Repeat/Recurring (subscription) billing: A solution for merchants who need continuous recurring, subscription, installment or membership-based billing.
Representment: A transaction that is originated by a merchant to recover funds that were previously charged back to the merchant by the cardholder and/or the Issuer as being unauthorized or fraudulent.
Request: The content of an order sent to a payments platform for processing.
Response: Information that is returned as a result of sending a request to the payments platform.
Response Time: The time it takes for the payments platform to return information to merchants’ servers.
Reversal: Also known as a credit. It is the voiding of an authorized transaction (sale) that has not been settled. If a Card Issuer supports a credit or reversal, it immediately undoes the authorization and releases the amount on the cardholder’s card.
Settlement: Settlement is what occurs when the Acquiring bank and the Issuing bank exchange transactional data and the funds from a merchant’s credit card orders are settled to their direct bank account.
Set-up Fees: The initial costs that are incurred in the process of establishing a merchant account with the bank(s) and integrating to our payments platform.
Shopping Carts: Are programmes that Internet merchants use to display their products and services and to take orders.
SOAP: An easy-to-use web service to process all transaction types available through FAC’s payment gateway.
Spoofing (Web Sites): the act of creating a website, as a hoax, with the intention of misleading visitors that the website has been created by a different person or organization. Normally, the website will adopt the design of the target website and sometimes has a similar URL.
Tokenization: Is the process by which a customer’s sensitive credit card information is replaced by a unique identifier called a token that cannot be mathematically reversed. This unique token is assigned to a customer’s card data and returned to the merchant.
TPP: Third Party Processor is an independent processor that has contracted with a bank to provide transaction processing services for the banks’ merchants.
Transaction: Relates to data that is sent from a merchant’s checkout page to our processing platform. In generic terms, transactions range from a pre-authorization, authorization, capture/sale, refund and reversal.
Transaction Fee: The charge that is incurred for each individual credit card transaction.
Transit Routing Number: Also known as the “bank ID number”
VbV: Verified by Visa. VbV is a methodology introduced by the Card Schemes and Banks to provide an additional secure cardholder verification process prior to an Internet transaction proceeding.
Virtual Terminal: Enables merchants to process transactions manually via a secure web browser from anywhere they can obtain an Internet connection.
Visa: Is the international payment systems organisation controlled by its members.
Web Sites: Refers to merchant shop-fronts.
Web Reports: FAC offers a series of web-based reports accessible via secure login.