Payments Glossary

Browse 12 payments terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

12 Payments Terms

Billing Platform
The system or vendor responsible for pricing logic, invoices, subscriptions, usage measurement, collections, and related revenue operations. In SaaS businesses...
Card Not Present Fraud
Payment fraud involving a card transaction where the physical card is not presented, such as online, phone, or in-app purchases. Because the merchant cannot...
Holdback
A portion of purchase price or payment intentionally withheld until certain conditions are met, often to cover post-close claims or performance requirements....
Idempotency Key
A unique identifier sent with an API request that allows the server to recognize and ignore duplicate requests, ensuring operations like payments are only...
Payment Processing
The systems and services that authorize, route, settle, and reconcile payments between buyers, merchants, and financial institutions. For many startups,...
PCI
In security and compliance contexts, shorthand for the payment card industry environment and its associated security requirements for handling cardholder data....
PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a compliance framework for protecting cardholder data. It shows up in application security, identity,...
PCIDSS
Short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the control framework that organizations handling payment card data must follow to protect cardholder...
PIN Entry
The process or interface through which a user enters a personal identification number to authenticate a transaction, device, or account. PIN entry security...
Point of Sale
The place and system where a transaction is completed, whether in-store, on a device, or through modern checkout software. Point-of-sale systems often combine...
Point-to-Point Encryption
Encryption applied from the point where sensitive data is captured to the point where it reaches a trusted decryption environment, commonly used in payment...
POS Security
The protection of point-of-sale terminals, payment flows, attached devices, and backend systems against card theft, malware, tampering, and fraud. POS security...

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