Payments Glossary
A complete reference of payments terms from participant types to transaction processes.
SEPA Credit Transfer
SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) is the standard euro bank transfer instrument across 36 European countries.
Total Cost of Acceptance
Total Cost of Acceptance (TCA) captures all costs of accepting payments including interchange, fraud, chargebacks, and operational overhead.
Chargeback Representment
Chargeback representment is the merchant evidence-submission process that challenges a chargeback decision to recover transaction funds.
Settlement Timing
Settlement timing determines how quickly captured transaction funds reach the merchant's account, expressed as T+N business days.
Failover
Failover in payments automatically reroutes transactions to an alternative acquirer when the primary path fails.
ISO
An ISO (Independent Sales Organisation) is a registered company that resells acquiring services to merchants on behalf of acquirers.
PCI SAQ
A PCI SAQ is the self-assessment questionnaire merchants use to validate PCI DSS compliance for their specific integration type.
Real-Time Payments
Real-time payments settle transactions immediately, 24/7, making funds available to the recipient within seconds.
Stored Credential
A stored credential is a saved payment instrument used for merchant-initiated transactions, with scheme rules governing setup, consent, and maintenance.