Payments Glossary
A complete reference of payments terms from participant types to transaction processes.
Payment Processor
A payment processor routes card data between acquirer, card networks, and issuer, and manages clearing and settlement.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a forced transaction reversal initiated by a cardholder through their issuing bank.
Soft Decline
A soft decline is a temporary authorisation rejection that can be recovered through retry or step-up authentication.
Net Settlement
Net settlement is when merchants receive payment proceeds minus all fees in a single disbursement.
Payment Aggregator
A payment aggregator pools merchants under one acquiring account, enabling fast onboarding without a direct acquirer relationship.
Payment Facilitator Compliance
Payment facilitator compliance covers the KYC, AML, scheme registration, and monitoring obligations PayFacs must meet to onboard sub-merchants.
BIN Attack
A BIN attack generates and tests card numbers within a specific issuer BIN range to find valid cards.
Rolling Reserve
A rolling reserve withholds a percentage of merchant settlement as protection against future chargebacks and is released after a defined holding period.
Card Not Present
Card Not Present (CNP) is a transaction classification for e-commerce, MOTO, and recurring payments where the physical card is not read.