Glossary

Filter by first letter

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Search by keyword

P2P Payment App

A peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app is an application designed to facilitate the transfer of funds between individuals. These P2P payments are typically intended for use between friends, family members, or co-workers. However, the popularity of apps like Venmo and Cash App has led these companies to create options for merchants to accept payments through them as well. Read more >>>

Payment Authorization

Payment authorization is the process through which merchants request approval for a credit or debit card transaction from the customer's bank. The bank verifies that the account is active and has enough credit or funds to make the transaction. Then the bank sends a response code to the merchant, which indicates whether the transaction has been approved or declined. Read more >>>

Payment Capture

Payment capture is the process to complete a credit or debit card purchase by capturing or settling the funds for the transaction. After the payment has been authorized, the capture request can be submitted by the payment gateway to the issuing bank either immediately or at a time of the merchant's choosing. Read more >>>

Payment Dispute

A payment dispute occurs when a cardholder contacts their bank to dispute a charge on their account. The cardholder may not recognize the charge and therefore beleive it to be fraudulent, or may have had an issue with their purchase that they were unable to resolve with the merchant. If the issuing bank determines that the dispute meets certain requirements, they will initiate a chargeback on the cardholder's behalf. Read more >>>

Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is software designed to collect payment information from customers in order to authorize payments and submit them to the merchant's payment processor. The payment gateway can be integrated into a point-of-sale terminal or can exist as software on a computer. Payment gateways are often provided by processors, but merchants can also use a third-party payment gateway so long as it's compatible.

Payment Limit

A payment limit is a cap on the maximum value of a single transaction or on the total value of all transactions within a specified time period. Payment limits can be either permanent or temporary, and are typically put in place to limit the amount of fraudulent spending that can take place if the account is compromised.

Payment Processing Error

A payment processing error is a mistake made by a merchant or a member of their staff when processing a payment. Such mistakes often result in chargebacks. Examples of common payment processing errors include processing a transaction twice, processing a canceled transaction, and processing a transaction for an incorrect amount. Read more >>>

Payment Processor

Payment Processors process credit and debit card payments for merchants. While processing services are often provided by acquiring banks, they are also offered by third-party merchant services companies and independent sales organizations (ISOs) who handle the processing of payments before sending the funds to a separate merchant account. Read more >>>

Payments Industry

The payments industry consists of a wide variety of companies and other organizations involved with making, processing, and accepting non-cash payments. This includes the credit card brands, the banks that issue those cards, the merchants that accept them, and the processors who route funds from one account to another, among others.

PCI DSS

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security requirements that any organization that stores payment information must comply with. These standards are laid out in the form of twelve high-level requirements organized under six objectives. Organizations can be certified for PCI DSS compliance at 4 different levels, depending on their size. Read more >>>

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

A personal identification number (PIN) is a code chosen by a user that can be used to later confirm their identity. While they can take a variety of forms, the most common format for a PIN is a sequence of four or five numbers. PINs are commonly used in debit transactions, and are used in credit card transactions as well in countries other than the United States. Read more >>>

Point of Sale (POS)

The point of sale (POS) is the location where a customer made a payment for goods or services. In a typical brick-and-mortar store, the point of sale would be the checkout counter where customers scan their cards using the merchant's POS system. Such systems may be self-contained payment terminals or software on a phone or computer equipped with an EMV reader.

Point of Sale (POS) Solutions Provider

A point of sale (POS) system is a combination of software and hardware that allows a merchant to accept payments. For card-present merchants, this typically includes an EMV reader, a checkout system, and a receipt printer. In e-commerce, however, a merchant's POS system may be entirely software-based. POS systems are often provided by a merchant's processor, but may also be obtained separately.

Post-Authorization Tools

Post-authorization tools are tools designed to prevent chargebacks after a transaction has been authorized. While fraud prevention tools can prevent chargebacks that would result from fraud, post-authorization tools attempt to prevent other kinds of chargebacks, such as those caused by merchant error. Examples include inquiry tools, chargeback alerts, and chargeback deflection tools like Order Insight. Read more >>>

Pre-Arbitration

Pre-arbitration is the part of the chargeback process where the merchant must decide to either accept liability for the chargeback or escalate the case to arbitration by the card network. This occurs after the merchant has already pursued representment, providing evidence against the chargeback claim. If the dispute isn't resolved in representment, pre-arbitration follows. Read more >>>

Pre-authorization Settlement

Pre-authorization settlement is a term for the settlement of funds from a transaction that was subject to a pre-authorization, otherwise known as an authorization hold. Authorization holds are often used when the transaction must be processed before the final amount can be determined. Once the final amount is determined, the transaction is settled, meaning funds are transferred. Read more >>>

Prepaid Card Fraud

Prepaid card fraud refers to any fraudulent activity conducted using a prepaid card. Prepaid cards are often an end goal for fraudsters, allowing them a more straightforward route to convert stolen payment credentials into cash. However, prepaid cards themselves are also vulnerable to theft, fraud, and sometimes even physical tampering. Read more >>>

Price Matching Fraud

Price matching fraud occurs when a fraudster creates a fake advertisement or listing for a product at a price significantly lower than MSRP, then shows that information to a retailer with a price-matching policy in order to obtain the item for a steep discount. One common method is to create an Amazon seller account and list an item for sale at the desired price. Read more >>>

Prior Authorization Capture

prior authorization capture is a request sent by a merchant's payment gateway to settle a transaction that was previously authorized through an "authorize only" request. The merchant may be required to manually enter a code given during the initial authorization, or the payment system may include this information automatically. Merchants have a limited time to submit a prior authorization capture request after the initial authorization, though the exact time limit may vary. Read more >>>

Processing Fees

Processing fees are the fees merchants pay each time they accept a debit or credit card payment. Payment processors have different pricing models, which may include a flat fee per transaction, a percentage of each transaction, or both. The type of transaction also affects how much the processing fee will be, with e-commerce transactions carrying higher fees than those made by using an EMV chip at a payment terminal.

Promo Abuse Fraud

Promo abuse fraud refers to dishonest behavior intended to take advantage of a promotional offer for financial gain. It often involves a single user creating multiple accounts in order to take advantage of referral bonuses, free trials, or special offers for first-time users. Certain types of promotional offers, such as rewards in cash or credit for referring new customers, are especially prone to abuse. Read more >>>

Purchase Return Fraud

Purchase return fraud is a type of fraud involving the theft or cloning of an active POS terminal. The fraudster can use this terminal to process fraudulent purchase returns to a prepaid card. Because these prepaid cards can be difficult to trace, the fraudster can often get away with a significant amount of money. Read more >>>

Purchasing Card (P-Card)

A purchasing card or P-card is a commercial credit card that can be used by a business to make purchases. These cards are often used to make small purchases for which the invoicing process would be inconvenient. Unlike typical corporate credit cards, P-cards aren't linked to an employee expense account, but instead are used to make purchases on behalf of the company itself.