Glossary

A bank card is a payment card issued by a bank to its customers. The term bank card often refers to either an ATM card, used solely for making transactions at the bank's ATMs, or a debit card that can be used to make purchases anywhere. However, it may also be used to refer to payment cards in general.

A Bank Identification Number or BIN is the first four to six digits of a debit or credit card number. These digits identify the bank and card network responsible for issuing the card. They may also be referred to as the Issuer Identification Number or IIN, since institutions other than banks may issue credit cards. Read more >>>

A bank rate is the interest rate a country's central bank charges when loaning money to private banks in the country. The bank rate can be lowered to encourage borrowing and increase economic activity or raised to combat inflation. In the United States, the bank rate is set by the Federal Reserve, and may also be referred to as the discount rate.

Basis points (BPS) are a unit for measuring and describing interest rates. On basis point is .01%. Basis points are usually used to describe changes in interest rates. This removes the potential for ambiguity that can arise when discussing a change in a percentage and makes it easier to grasp changes that often occur in small fractions of a percent.

Batch processing is a method for processing a large group of transactions at the same time, often after the close of business each day. Transactions can also be processed individually immediately after authorization, but batch processing often reduces the total processing fees a merchant will be charged by their processor.

BIN attack fraud is a method of payment fraud in which a large number of possible card numbers are generated from an existing bank identification number (BIN). These numbers are then tested to identify account numbers that are active. Active numbers are used to make fraudulent purchases for financial gain. Read more >>>

Biometric payments are a method of payment that uses biometric data to authenticate the customer, in some cases bypassing the need to enter payment credentials at all. Authentication may be conducted using a fingerprint scan, palm scan, facial identification, or similar method. The biometric data may be linked to stored payment credentials. Read more >>>

A brick-and-mortar business is one that operates one or more retail shops to serve local customers. The opposite of a brick-and-mortar business is an e-commerce business, which accepts purchases online rather than in person. In the payments industry, a similar distinction may be made using the terms "card present" and "card not present." Many businesses have both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is an alternative payment method that allows customers to sign up for short-term payment plans rather than paying for their purchases up front. These plans often don't charge interest to customers who make their payments on time, instead charging the merchant a percentage of the sale. Read more >>>

Buy online, pick up in store, also referred to as BOPUS or BOPIS, is a sales method that allows customers to make a purchase online and pick it up at a nearby retail location rather than having it shipped to them. BOPUS allows brick-and-mortar retailers to offer the convenience of online shopping without the inconvenience of waiting several days for the shipment to arrive. Read more >>>