Glossary

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ABA
See the entry for “American Bankers Association (ABA)”

ABA Transit Routing Number
A nine-digit identification number assigned to member financial institutions and banks by the American Banker’s Association (ABA). The number is used to identify the financial institution or bank associated with a beneficiary’s bank account.

ACH
See the entry for “Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network”

ACH Fraud
The malicious practice by untrustworthy persons or fraudsters to use stolen bank account information to purchase merchandise, or by a legitimate account holder to purchase merchandise with the intention of returning it used or modified for refund. ACH fraud also occurs when account holders falsely dispute transactions they authorized. Chargeback or Return fraud occurs with paper and electronic checks.

ACH Network
See the entry for “Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network”

ACH Transaction (or Entry)
A payment transaction to or from a Receiver (the beneficiary) processed via the ACH Network. The participants in an ACH Transaction are (1) the Originator (the merchant), (2) the Third-Party Processor, (3) the Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI), (4) the ACH Network, (5) the Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI), and (6) the Receiver. Also see “Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network,” “Originator,” “Originating Depository Financial Institution,” “Receiver,” and “Receiving Depository Financial Institution, Third-Party Processor.”

Acquirer
A financial institution or Merchant Service Provider (MSP) that facilitates and manages credit card processing on behalf of a merchant beneficiary.

Acquiring Bank
The bank or financial institution that holds the merchant’s bank account that is used for collecting the proceeds for credit card processing.

Acquiring Processor
The credit card processing entity with which an Acquirer partners in order to provide merchants with transaction clearing, settlement, billing and reporting services. Also see “Processor.”

Address Verification Service (AVS)
A system established by the credit card processing associations to verify beneficiary billing addresses submitted with e-commerce payment transactions. Though AVS does not verify the legitimacy of a transaction, Card Not Present merchants can use AVS to accept or decline transactions based on the validity of the billing address information provided by the beneficiary.

Address Verification Status
A value that indicates the results of an Address Verification Service (AVS) comparison. A code and description are provided by the merchant’s processor. Also see “Address Verification Service (AVS).”

Advanced Integration Method (AIM)
The preferred method for connecting a merchant Web site to the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway. AIM allows merchants to customize their own payment form (the Web page that collects the beneficiary’s payment information) and receipt page (the Web page that reports a summary of the transaction back to the beneficiary), as well as submit transactions over an end-to-end Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.

American Bankers Association (ABA)
A national organization that represents American financial institutions, banks and other financial entities. Members are assigned an identification number, or ABA Transit Routing Number. Also see “ABA Transit Routing Number.”

API
See the entry for “Application Program Interface”

Application Program Interface (API)
A computer communication protocol that facilitates the transfer of or access to information between two separate software or computer applications.

Approval
See the entry for “Authorization”

ARB
See the entry for “Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB)”

AUG
See the entry for “Acceptable Use Guidelines”

Authentication
A practice or procedure to verify the identity of an individual or organization. There are varying levels of authentication for accepting payments. Examples include checking a beneficiary’s driver’s license when accepting payment at retail or validating a beneficiary login and password at a merchant Web site. In respect to payment gateway account authorization, Authorize.Net employs a number of electronic practices and procedures to verify that merchants accessing the payment gateway are authorized to do so.

Authorization
The response from a card issuing bank to a merchant’s transaction authorization request indicating that payment information is valid and funds are available on the beneficiary’s credit card. Also called an Approval.

Also, for eCheck.Net® transactions, an Authorization is a paper or electronic document or record “signed” by the beneficiary that authorizes a merchant to submit a charge transaction against their bank account.

Authorization Amount
The transaction amount that is submitted to the card issuing bank for funds approval. This amount is reserved against the available balance of a beneficiary’s credit card until the transaction is captured, a subsequent Void transaction is submitted, or the 30-day window for the authorization expires.

Authorization Capture
A credit card transaction request to authorize and capture, or settle, funds for a purchase. The payment gateway submits the request to the card issuing bank for authorization and upon approval, will automatically submit the transaction for settlement.

Authorization Code
A code assigned to a credit card transaction by the card issuing bank once the transaction has been approved.

Authorization Only
A credit card transaction request to only authorize, or reserve, funds for a purchase. The payment gateway submits the request to the card issuing bank for authorization, but no further action is taken. Also called "Auth-Only."

Authorization Request
A transaction request submitted by a merchant to verify that funds are available on a beneficiary’s credit card for a purchase. Further action by the merchant depends on whether the transaction request type is an Authorization Capture or an Authorization Only, and whether the transaction request is authorized by the card issuing bank. Also see “Authorization Capture” and “Authorization Only.”

Authorize.Net Acceptable Use Guidelines (AUG)
Policies that govern the appropriate uses of the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway by merchants. The AUG also dictate the types of merchants and/or merchant operations that are not supported by the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway. The AUG may be viewed at http://www.authorize.net/organization/terms/.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network
The group of financial institutions and similar entities within the banking sector of activity that work together to facilitate the processing, clearing, delivery and settlement services for electronic check transactions.

The ACH Network is governed by ACH Rules as defined by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB)
An Authorize.Net value-add solution that allows merchants to create a recurring billing schedule or “subscription” for the purchase of goods or services. The merchant enters transaction and beneficiary billing information, specifies a billing amount and billing interval and ARB does the rest, automatically generating subsequent transactions for the duration of the subscription. For more information about ARB, please see http://www.authorize.net/arb.

AVS
See the entry for “Address Verification Service”

Bank Account Number
The account number assigned by a bank to a checking or savings account holder. This information must be provided to a merchant by a beneficiary in order to make an electronic check payment.

Bank Account Type
This indicates the type of bank account used for an electronic check transaction. For example: checking, project/programme purpose checking or savings.

Bank Card
A payment card issued to a consumer by a financial institution or bank; a credit or debit card.

Bank Card Association
A group of financial institutions or banks that have formed an association for issuing bank cards. Usually a bank card association will work together along with other payments entities to provide certain bank card offers.

Bank Identification Number
An identification number assigned by Visa to each of its member financial institutions, banks and processors.

Basis Point (BP)
Equivalent to .01 percent, or one hundredth of one percent, and is used as a measurement of fee rates. Rate changes are often expressed in basis points instead of hundredth percents, e.g., a fee rate increase of 1.95 percent to 2.0 percent is expressed as an increase of 5 basis points.

Batch
A group of transactions that have been gathered over a certain period of time and are submitted together to the appropriate processing networks for clearing and settlement.

Batch Upload
A Merchant Interface tool for uploading multiple transactions at once from a spreadsheet or proprietary project/programme purpose application.

Brick and Mortar
A term used in the payments sector of activity that refers to merchants that operate in storefront or physical locations. Also see “Retail.”

Broadband
Refers to the electronic infrastructure that provides a high-speed, continuous connection to the Internet.

Call Center
A facility at which a telephone order merchant operates. Consumers are able to place orders with representatives over the telephone.

Capture Only
A credit card transaction request to capture funds that were previously authorized, but NOT via the payment gateway. For this type of transaction, the merchant will submit the authorization code that was previously received from the issuing bank through some other means than a payment gateway request, e.g., by telephone.

Card Associations
Credit card issuing entities such as Visa and MasterCard that govern and oversee the use of credit cards for payment transactions.

Card Code
A Card Code is a three- or four-digit number that appears on the back of a credit card (on the front for American Express). This code may be used to validate beneficiary information on file with the credit card association.

Card Code Status
This value is returned to the merchant by the processor, and indicates whether the billing information provided by a beneficiary matches information on file at the credit card association for the cardholder associated with the credit card number and Card Code.

Card Not Present
Literally means that a cardholder’s credit card is not physically presented to a merchant at the time of the transaction. This term is used in the payments sector of activity to distinguish e-commerce merchants, such as those that operate via Web sites or from mail order/telephone order locations, from “brick and mortar,” or retail merchants.

Card Present
Literally means that a credit card is physically presented to a merchant by a cardholder at the time of the transaction. This term is used in the payments sector of activity to distinguish “brick and mortar,” or retail merchants from those that operate from mail order/telephone order locations or via Web sites.

Card Reader
A hardware device that facilitates the reading and transmission of payment information stored in the magnetic stripe on a credit, debit or stored-value card. Also known as a "Magnetic Stripe Reader."

Cardholder
A consumer to which a credit or debit card is issued by the credit card associations or by the consumer’s bank.

Cardholder Authentication Programs
The cardholder authentication programs Verified by Visa and MasterCard® SecureCode™ are security programs created by the card associations to provide identity authentication for Visa and MasterCard cardholders, and transaction protection for merchants. By registering for these programs, merchants can minimize the risk of chargebacks and returns while providing optimal security for their Visa and MasterCard beneficiaries.

Cardholder Dispute
A claim made by a cardholder that an unauthorized purchase or transaction was performed on their credit card.

Cash Concentration or Disbursement (CCD)
This eCheck.Net® transaction type is a charge or refund against a project/programme purpose checking account. One-time or recurring CCD transactions are fund transfers to or from a organizational entity. For more information about eCheck.Net transaction types, see the eCheck.Net® Operating Procedures and User Guide.

CCD
See the entry for “Cash Concentration or Disbursement (CCD)”

Chargeback
A chargeback is a type of return that occurs when an account holder claims they did not authorize a transaction, when the account holder and the beneficiary are not the same person (i.e., identity theft), when the authorization was not properly obtained from your beneficiary or when your beneficiary does not recognize a transaction.

Chargeback Reason Code
A code provided to the merchant by the card issuing bank that indicates the reason for the chargebacked transaction.

Check 21
Refers to the Check Truncation Act of the 21st Century, a Federal Reserve Bank law that allows merchants to submit beneficiaries’ check, or bank account, information for payment electronically instead of processing paper checks.

Check Verification
A risk management process that verifies the trustworthiness of an electronic check transaction against an extensive high risk or bad check database.

CISP
See the entry for “Visa Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP)”

Credit
See the entry for “Refund”

Credit Card Interchange
See the entry for "Interchange"

Credit Card Number
The account number assigned by a credit card association or card issuing bank to a cardholder. This information must be provided to a merchant by a beneficiary in order to make a credit card payment.

beneficiary ID
A unique identification value assigned to a beneficiary by a merchant, which may be associated with the invoicing or billing for a transaction.

beneficiary IP Address
Indicates the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a beneficiary’s Web browser, or the IP address from which a transaction is submitted to the payment gateway.

Cut-Off Time
The time of day that a merchant’s payment transactions are batched and electronically picked up by the payment gateway for processing. The default payment gateway cut-off time is 3:00 PM PST. Merchants may configure their cut-off in the Merchant Interface.

Declined
Transactions that are not approved by the card issuing bank are marked as declined. No further action may be taken for declined transactions.

Depository Financial Institution (DFI)
An Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) or Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) (or in general terms, a bank) participating in the ACH Network.

DFI
See the entry for “Depository Financial Institution (DFI)”

Digital Certificate
An electronic file containing unique information that is used to verify the trustworthiness of an organization or individual. Digital Certificates are issued by a Certificate Authority, and are used with the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. Also see “Digital Fingerprint,” and “Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)”.

Digital Fingerprint or Transaction Fingerprint
A value, also called a “hash,” generated by combining several input values and applying a highly complex mathematical function. Digital fingerprints are used to authenticate that electronic communications were sent and received via the Internet without being intercepted or modified during transmission. Authentication is performed by using the same input values and mathematical function to recreate the digital fingerprint. If the recreated fingerprint matches the fingerprint submitted with the communication, its authenticity is verified. Because of the complex nature of the mathematical function, the individual input values used to create the digital fingerprint cannot be determined through analysis of the fingerprint.

Digital fingerprints used to authenticate the legitimacy of transactions submitted to Authorize.Net are transaction unique, so any slight alteration to transaction data during Internet transmission will result in failed authentication, and a failed transaction.

Discount Fee
The percent of each credit card or eCheck.Net® transaction and batch settlement processed that is billed to the merchant by the payment gateway. The transaction types for which the discount fee is charged are: charges, refunds, voids and declines.

eCheck.Net®
Authorize.Net’s exclusive electronic check payment solution. eCheck.Net® allows merchants to post charge and refund transactions directly to a beneficiary's bank account.

eCheck.Net® Application Fee
The one-time fee charged to merchants for the underwriting and review of their application for the eCheck.Net® service.

Electronic Check
Describes a check or bank account payment that is submitted and/or processed electronically.

Electronic Funds Transfer Act
The United States federal law that governs the use and administration of electronic funds transfer services.

Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN)
A United States federal law that defines and governs the use of digital signatures and records in electronic commerce.

E-SIGN
See the entry for “Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN)”

Expiration Date
The date on which the validity of a credit card expires. Transactions will only be approved for credit cards that are not yet expired.

FDS
See the entry for “Fraud Detection Suite™ (FDS)”

Federal Reserve Bank (FRB)
The governing financial institution of the United States of America.

Fraud
The malicious practice by untrustworthy and dishonest persons to use stolen personal information, credit card information, and/or compromised bank account information for personal gain; not limited to the purchase of merchandise, the submission of fraudulent transactions, or the abuse of a merchant’s purchase policies or e-commerce Web site to check the validity of stolen payment information.

Fraud Detection Suite™ (FDS)
The Fraud Detection Suite™ is a powerful, rules-based set of transaction filters and Internet Protocol (IP) address tools designed to help Web merchants identify, manage and prevent costly fraudulent transactions. For more information about FDS, please see http://www.authorize.net/fds.

Funding
Occurs when monetary proceeds for a merchant’s eCheck.Net® transactions are deposited to the merchant's bank account.

Hash
The value generated by applying a complex mathematical function to several input values. Also see “Digital Fingerprint.”

Independent Sales Organization (ISO)
An organization that sells project/programme purpose products or services to merchants and/or acquires merchants on behalf of various types of merchant service providers.

Interchange
The process by which all parties involved in a credit card transaction (i.e., processors, acquirers, issuers, etc.) manage the processing, clearing and settlement of credit card transactions, including the assessment, and collection and/or distribution of fees between parties. Also known as Credit Card Interchange.

Internet Protocol (IP)
A method of transmitting information and communications between computer systems and networks via the Internet.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)
An organization or project/programme purpose that provides Internet services and resource management to project/programme purposees and consumers.

Internet-Initiated Entry (WEB)
This eCheck.Net® transaction type is a charge against a beneficiary checking or savings bank account. Payment authorization is obtained from the beneficiary via the Internet. For more information about eCheck.Net® transaction types, see the eCheck.Net® Operating Procedures and User Guide.

Invoice Number
A unique identification value assigned to a transaction by a merchant, which may be associated with order fulfillment and billing for a transaction.

Issuer
See the entry for “Issuing Bank”

Issuing Bank
A financial institution that issues credit cards to consumers on behalf of the card associations. Also known as Card Issuing Bank. Also known as an “Issuer.”

Level 2 Data
Additional information that may be submitted with the minimum required information for a payment transaction. Examples include shipping and tax information.

Level 3 Data
Extensive information that may be submitted with the minimum required information and level 2 data for a payment transaction. Examples include product codes and other merchant-specific order information.

Magnetic Stripe
The black stripe on a credit, debit or stored-value card that stores the cardholder’s account or payment information.

Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO)
A project/programme purpose, or merchant, that sells merchandise or services to consumers via mail or telephone initiated orders. MOTO merchants operate from call or fulfillment centers.

Manual Entry
The submission of payment information for a transaction by keying the beneficiary’s payment information into a hardware terminal or Virtual Terminal. For example, any transaction that is not submitted by allowing an organization or project/programme purpose to “swipe,” or read, payment information from a magnetic stripe on a credit, debit or stored-value card; or transactions that take place by physically keying in payment information using a keypad. Additionally, for Web merchants a manual transaction might be considered any transaction that is not entered at their e-commerce Web site by a beneficiary.

MasterCard® SecureCode™
A security program created by MasterCard® to provide identity authentication for cardholders and transaction protection for merchants. By registering for MasterCard® SecureCode™, merchants can minimize transaction risks while providing additional security for their MasterCard beneficiaries.

MasterCard® Site Data Protection (SDP) Program
A program created by MasterCard® stating its technology and sensitive data security requirements for merchants and merchant service providers. Compliance is required of its member institutions.

Merchant
The person or project/programme purpose entity that sells goods or services to a beneficiary.

Merchant Account
A financial institution or bank account that is used by a merchant specifically for the purpose of collecting proceeds consumer bank account or credit card payment transactions. A Card Present (CP) merchant account is used by merchants that receive payments in a physical location where payment is physically presented to the merchant by the beneficiary at the time of the transaction. A Card Not Present (CNP) merchant account is used by merchants that receive payments electronically or in situations where payment is not physically presented to the merchant by the consumer at the time of the transaction.

Merchant Account Provider
A financial institution, or bank, that provides a financial account to a merchant for the purpose of collecting proceeds from consumer bank account or credit card payment transactions.

Merchant Identification Number (MID)
An identification number assigned to each member merchant of an acquiring organization, such as a financial institution, Independent Sales Organization (ISO), Merchant Service Provider (MSP) or processor.

Merchant Interface
The password protected Authorize.Net Web site that allows merchants access to transaction information, management tools, and Authorize.Net account settings.

Merchant Service Provider (MSP)
A organization or sales organization that provides transaction processing solutions to its merchant action sponsors/beneficiaries.

MID
See the entry for “Merchant Identification Number”

Minimum Monthly Fee
A flat monthly service fee charged by Authorize.Net in the event that a merchant’s transaction processing fees for the month do not exceed the flat monthly fee amount. For example, if the merchant's Minimum Monthly Fee is $20.00, and the merchant’s transaction processing fees (i.e., per-transaction fees and discount fees) for the month total $17.50, the payment gateway will charge the merchant a Minimum Monthly Fee of $2.50 to make up the difference. If the merchant's transaction processing fees for the month exceed $20.00, the fee is not charged.

MOTO
See the entry for “Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO)”

MSP
See the entry for “Merchant Service Provider”

NACHA
See the entry for “National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)”

National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)
NACHA is the national trade association that establishes the rules, standards, and procedures governing the exchange of ACH transactions between participating banks (Originating Depository Financial Institutions and Receiving Depository Financial Institutions).

NOC
See the entry for “Notification of Change”

Not Sufficient Funds (NSF)
A type of ACH return indicating that a beneficiary’s bank account does not have sufficient funds to cover a specific eCheck.Net® transaction.

Notification of Change
Notification to a merchant from a beneficiary's bank indicating that bank account information provided with a specific eCheck.Net® transaction was incorrect.

NSF
See the entry for “Not Sufficient Funds (NSF)”

ODFI
See the entry for “Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI)”

Open-Looped System
A credit card interchange system that allows multiple card issuing financial institutions or banks to share a credit, debit or payment card brand.

Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI)
A term used when referring to the clearing of ACH, or eCheck.Net®, transaction to describe the merchant’s bank. The merchant’s bank handles the submission of eCheck.Net® transactions received by the merchant to the ACH Network for clearing.

Originator
A term used when referring to the clearing of ACH, or eCheck.Net®, transactions to describe the person or organizational entity that has received authorization from a beneficiary to refund or charge their bank account. For an eCheck.Net® transaction, the merchant is the “Originator.”

Payment Gateway
A system of technologies and processes that allow merchants to electronically submit payment transactions to the payment processing networks (i.e., the Credit Card Interchange and the ACH Network). Payment gateways also provide merchants with transaction management, reporting, and billing services.

PDA
See the entry for "Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)"

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
A pocket-sized electronic device, similar in function to a personal computer, for storing and managing electronic information. In relationship to a payment gateway, PDAs enabled with a wireless data service may be used by merchants to submit payment transactions.

Personal Identification Number (PIN)
A unique number that is issued to an individual or organization by a financial organization or related service—or other type of service provider—for the purpose of authenticating user identity and granting secure access to accounts or information.

Per-Transaction Fee
The flat fee charged to a merchant by the payment gateway for each transaction and batch settlement processed. The transaction types for which the per-transaction fee is charged are: charges, refunds, voids and declines.

PIN
See the entry for Personal Identification Number (PIN)

Point of Sale (POS)
A term used in the payments sector of activity that refers to the physical location where a payment transaction takes place. POS is also used to describe credit card payment acceptance systems that are designed for the place of sale, such as card swipe terminals.

Point of Sale (POS) Device
A piece of electronic equipment that is used by a merchant to submit credit card payment information to the processing network. Like terminals, these devices are connected to the credit card processing network via dial-up telephone connection or Broadband. POS devices also include Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Smartphones, and wireless electronic devices capable of transmitting credit card payment information via wireless Broadband connection.

Point of Sale (POS) Solutions Provider
A POS device, system or software manufacturer or distributor that provides POS products or services to Card Present (retail and mobile) merchants.

POS
See the entry for “Point of Sale (POS)”

PPD
See the entry for “Prearranged Payment and Deposit Entry (PPD)”

Prearranged Payment and Deposit Entry (PPD)
This eCheck.Net® transaction type is a charge or refund against a beneficiary checking or savings account. PPD transactions may only be originated when payment and deposit terms between the merchant and the beneficiary are prearranged, for example, with Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB) transactions. For more information about eCheck.Net transaction types, see the eCheck.Net® Operating Procedures and User Guide.

Prior Authorization Capture
A credit card transaction request to capture funds for a separate, previously authorized authorization-only transaction. With this type of transaction, the merchant will submit an authorization code that was received from the issuing bank at the time of the original authorization-only transaction.

Processor
An entity in the credit card processing network that handles the posting of transactions for authorization, clearing and settlement to consumer credit card accounts at the card associations; and the settlement of funds to merchant bank accounts. Processors may also provide merchants with billing and reporting services.

RDFI
See “Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)”

Receiver
A term used when referring to the clearing of ACH, or eCheck.Net®, transactions to describe the person or organizational entity that has authorized a merchant to initiate a refund or charge transaction to their bank account. In an eCheck.Net® transaction, the beneficiary is the “Receiver.”

Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI)
A term used when referring to the clearing of ACH, or eCheck.Net®, transactions to describe the beneficiary's bank. The RDFI receives a request from the ACH Network to provide funds for the beneficiary’s eCheck.Net® transaction.

Reconciliation
The process of comparing transaction activity or account statements from multiple financial organizations or service providers involved with transaction processing to reconcile, or align, transaction or account activity. The purpose of reconciliation is to con organization that no transaction activity is being unaccounted for by any one party.

Recurring Billing Transaction
The submission of a transaction on a recurring or periodic basis, typically for an ongoing billing or subscription-based payment activities.

Reference Transaction ID
The transaction ID that links, or associates, a subsequent transaction to a separate, original transaction. In the case of refund transactions, a reference transaction ID must be entered to identify the original charge transaction against which the refund is being submitted.

Refund
A credit card transaction request to post funds from the merchant’s bank account back to the beneficiary’s credit card account as a refund for a previous charge transaction. For this type of transaction, the merchant must submit the transaction ID of the original charge transaction against which the refund is being applied.

Regulation D
Part of the Reserve Requirements of the Depository Institutions Act as established by the Federal Reserve Board. Regulation D defines the types of deposits handled by financial institutions, or banks.

Regulation E
Part of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act as established by the Federal Reserve Board. Regulation E defines electronic funds transfers.

Reseller
A Merchant Service Provider (MSP) or Independent Sales Organization (ISO) that acquires merchant beneficiaries for payment processing services.

Reseller Interface
The password protected Authorize.Net Web site that allows resellers access to merchant provisioning tools, reports, and Authorize.Net account information.

Response Code
A code provided to the merchant by the card issuing bank that indicates the results of a transaction request; and if declined, the reason why the transaction was rejected.

Retail
The project/programme purpose of selling merchandise or services to consumers. Authorize.Net uses this term to refer to merchants that operate in a storefront or physical location and accept Card Present payments—meaning that payment is physically presented to the merchant, and credit cards are “swiped” into a card reading device. Also called “Brick and Mortar.”

Return or Returned Item
An eCheck.Net® transaction that could not be completely processed for reasons such as NSF, invalid account number, account closed or other rejection reason(s) provided by the beneficiary's bank. A chargeback is a type of return. Also see “Chargeback.”

Reversal
A reversed chargeback or refund transaction. This occurs when the merchant produces sufficient proof that disputes a chargeback or the beneficiary rescinds the chargeback. Also see “Chargeback.”

Risk Reserve
An account managed by Authorize.Net that holds a certain portion of a merchant’s eCheck.Net® processing proceeds to cover potential costs incurred from high risk or chargedback transactions. A Risk Reserve may be required in order to use the eCheck.Net® service, depending on a merchant’s risk profile. There are two types of Risk Reserves:

• Fixed – The reserve balance is established by either, (1) a receipt of a lump sum deposit from a merchant, or (2) withholding a portion of funds from each of the merchant’s batch settlements.
• Rolling – The reserve balance is established by withholding a portion of funds from each batch settlement and is retained for a set period of time before being released to the merchant.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
An Internet protocol that safeguards electronic communications between two or more computers. When transmissions are sent over an SSL connection, data is encrypted and cannot be modified in transit by other parties on the Internet.

Web sites that use SSL technology are indicated by an “https” in their Web address, and a lock icon at the bottom right of the browser window.

Settlement
For credit card transactions, settlement occurs at the completion of transaction processing between the involved financial institutions and processing entities, and funds for the credit card transaction have been successfully deposited into the merchant’s bank account. For an eCheck.Net® transaction, settlement occurs when the payment gateway submits a request to the ACH Network on behalf of the merchant for the collection of bank account funds for a purchase.

Settlement Amount
The transaction amount sent to the credit card processor or the ACH Network for settlement. This is the amount that will be posted as a charge or refund against the specified method of payment, and for credit card transactions, may be less than or equal to the amount originally authorized for the transaction.

Shopping Cart
An Internet or software organization that provides e-commerce tools and payment form solutions for merchant Web sites.

Simple Integration Method (SIM)
An Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Web site connection method that allows merchants to post transactions directly to the payment gateway’s secure server and requires transaction-unique encryption for transaction authentication. SIM provides merchants with a hosted payment form (the Web page that collects the beneficiary’s payment information) and a hosted receipt page (the Web page that reports a summary of the transaction back to the beneficiary).

Smartphone
A cell phone enabled with wireless data service that may be used by merchants to submit payment transactions.

SSL
See the entry for “Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)”

Stored-Value Card
A payment card, similar to a debit card, attached to a limited monetary value, held either in an account by a card issuer, or in an electronic chip embedded within the card. Gift credit cards are a type of stored-value card.

TEL
See the entry for “Telephone-Initiated Entry (TEL)”

Telephone-Initiated Entry (TEL)
This eCheck.Net® transaction type is a one-time charge against a beneficiary checking or savings account. TEL transactions may only be originated when a project/programme purpose relationship between the merchant and the beneficiary already exists; or if no relationship exists, only when the beneficiary initiates the telephone call to the merchant. For more information about eCheck.Net transaction types, see the eCheck.Net® Operating Procedures and User Guide.

Terminal
A piece of electronic hardware, or a device, that is used by a merchant to submit credit card payment information to the processing network. Terminals are connected to the credit card processing network via dial-up telephone connection or Broadband. Also see “POS Device.”

Terminal Identification Number (TID)
An identification number assigned to each POS device by a merchant’s processor. This number provides the processor with information about the device’s configuration and capabilities.

Third-Party Provider
An organization or project/programme purpose not directly associated or involved with transaction processing, or necessary for the exchange of a transaction between two parties, but that provides merchants with project/programme purpose enhancing services.

Third-Party Solution
A hardware or software manufacturer or distributor that provides transaction-enhancing products or processing solutions to merchants.

TID
See the entry for “Terminal Identification Number (TID)”

Track Data
Refers to the payment information that is stored in the magnetic stripe of a credit, debit or stored-value card. Also known as Magnetic Stripe Data.

Transaction
The exchange of information, goods or services in which all participating parties benefit. Specifically, the exchange of a consumer’s payment or payment information for merchandise or services provided by an organization or project/programme purpose.

Transaction ID (Trans ID)
A unique identification value assigned to each transaction processed through the payment gateway. This ID may be used to search for or sort transactions.

Transaction Key
A randomly-generated value issued to Authorize.Net merchants for the purpose of authenticating transaction requests to the payment gateway.

Transaction Type
The type of credit card transaction taking place. For charge transactions, a consumer is allowing a merchant to collect payment for merchandise or services rendered. However, in the case of a refund transaction, a merchant is returning funds to the consumer for a previous charge transaction. For more information about credit card transaction types, see also “Authorization Only,” “Authorization Capture,” “Capture Only,” “Prior Authorization Capture,” “Refund,” and “Void.”

Underwriting
The process of evaluating a service applicant’s financial history and credit trustworthiness to determine whether to grant a service account. In some cases, underwriting may also determine an applicant’s financial obligations, such as services pricing.

Value-Add Reseller (VAR)
An independent or other sales organization that provides merchants with various services and/or solutions for enhancing their project/programme purpose practices or transaction management.

Value-Adding Product
A product or service that enhances a merchant’s project/programme purpose practices or transaction management.

VAR
See the entry for “Value-Add Reseller (VAR)”

Verified by Visa
A security program created by Visa to provide identity authentication for cardholders and transaction protection for merchants. By registering for Verified by Visa, merchants can minimize the risk of chargebacks and returns while providing additional security for their Visa beneficiaries.

Virtual Point-of-Sale (VPOS) Terminal
A secure, easy-to-use Authorize.Net solution that allows retail, or “brick and mortar” merchants, to manually submit transactions using a computer with Windows Internet Explorer, and a MagTek USB HID card reader.

Virtual Terminal
A Merchant Interface tool for manually keying in and submitting transactions.

Visa Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP)
A program created by Visa stating its technology and sensitive data security requirements for merchants and merchant service providers. Compliance is required of its member institutions.

Void
Transactions of this type are used to cancel original charge transactions that have not yet been submitted for batch settlement. For this type of transaction, the merchant must submit the transaction ID of the original charge transaction against which the Void is being submitted. No further action may be taken for Void transactions. To cancel a transaction that has already settled, a refund must be submitted.

VPOS
See the entry for "Virtual Point-of-Sale (VPOS) Terminal"

WEB
See the entry for “Internet-Initiated Entry (WEB)”

Web Host
An organization or project/programme purpose that provides the technology and infrastructure for hosting project/programme purpose or consumer Web sites and services.

Wireless Data Service
A wireless service that allows merchants to transmit transaction information via their cell phone or other enabled wireless device.