Payments 101
Payments terminology can be confusing at the best of times. With that in mind, our experts have put together this glossary to help you traverse the A-Z.
The process of receiving a response from an Issuing Bank regarding the status of a Card Payment or Deposit.
The processing network that pulls or pushes money to a bank account utilizing a batched nightly process.
Automated Clearing House, or ACH, is a type of transaction that utilizes a Routing and account number to pull or push funds to a bank account. Also called an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) or eCheck (Electronic Check).
The consumer or business who owns the bank account utilized in an ACH Payment
The first six digital of a Card which will identify the Issuing Bank
Card Verification Value, also called Card Verification Code (CVC), refers to the 3 or 4 digit number on a Card.
A Payment that has been challenged by the Cardholder or Issuing Bank. Also known as Dispute.
The consumer or business who owns the card utilized in a Card Payment
The 15 or 16 digit card number (PAN), expiration date, CVV, and billing address of the cardholder. Some elements of Card Data are required to be stored securely per PCI DSS requirements (such as the PAN), and some cannot be stored at all (CVV).
Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express (or other accepted card brand) credit or debit card account.
The process of finalizing the submission of a card payment.
The grouping of fees collected from the Merchant or Platform and paid to the Card Brands for costs associated with managing and maintaining the card networks.
A Card or ACH Payment that has been challenged by the Cardholder, Account Holder, Issuing Bank, or RDFI.
Money movement from the Merchant Ledger to a Merchant.
Demand Deposit Account is the checking or savings account utilized in an ACH Payment.
EuroPay, Mastercard, and Visa is a microchip based authentication method utilized for in-person Card Payments.
A Payment that has been made available to the Merchant for Deposit
An accelerated deposit to a Merchant
A Payment that has been made available to the Merchant for Deposit
The financial institution who issued the card to the Cardholder
Generally expressed as a percentage of volume and per item fee on card volume, Interchange is collected from the Merchant or Platform and paid to the Issuing Bank via the Card Brands for costs associated with servicing the Cardholder. There are 1,000+ interchange categories assessed based on Merchant type, card type, entry method, and data elements included with the transaction.
The record of money movement or transfers for a particular entity or account.
Method for authenticating a user utilizing two or more factors. These factors generally include something the user has, something the user knows, or something the user is or does.
Merchant Identification Number is the identifying number of a Merchant Account
The amounts charged to the Merchant for moving money through its account.
The account created for a Merchant for the purposes of processing Payments
A business using a Platform's software to move money
A Non-Sufficient Funds is a type of ACH return due to the account not having sufficient funds for a particular Payment.
Notification of Change is a notice provided by the RDFI indicating that information on the ACH Payment should be updated prior to submitting additional transactions to the same DDA.
A Merchant Deposit that is net of Merchant Billing.
National Automated Clearing House Association is the entity that oversees the ACH network.
An amount charged to the Merchant by the Platform as a part of a Payment
A SaaS platform utilizing Rainforest for payment functionality
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a set of requirements around data security. For more information visit https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org.
Money movement to or from a User on behalf of a Merchant, including Payins and Payouts
Money movement from a User to a Merchant
Used to describe the collection of fees that are charged to the Platform and directly passed to Card Brands for Interchange and Dues, Fees, and Assessments (DFA).
Primary Account Number, referring to the 15 or 16 digit Card number.
Real Time Payment is a processing network that pushes money in real-time to a bank account.
The 9-digit number that routes transactions to a particular bank for the purposes of processing an ACH or RTP Payment or Deposit.
The Merchant Billing amounts paid to a Platform after deducting costs.
Additional information regarding the nature of a Dispute or Return.
Receiving Depository Financial Institution is the Account Holders bank for an ACH Payment.
The financial institution who is responsible for Payments activity initiated by, or on behalf of, the Merchant
Money movement from a Merchant or third-party into a Merchant Ledger
The process of replacing sensitive information, such as a PAN or ACH Account, with a surrogate value.
Money movement from a Merchant or third-party into a Merchant Ledger
The process of replacing sensitive information, such as a PAN or ACH Account, with a surrogate value.
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