Processing and Acquiring
Acquirer
Also known as Acquiring bank
An entity, typically a financial institution, that enables merchants to accept card payments and processes those transactions under payment-brand rules.
View DefinitionPayment Glossary
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Payment Terms
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41 Payment Terms
41 Payment Terms
A
Payments and Authorization
Address Verification Service
Also known as AVS
A fraud-screening service that compares submitted billing-address information with issuer records and returns a match result.
View DefinitionPayments and Authorization
Authorization
Also known as Payment authorization
The request-and-response process through which an issuer or authorized processor approves or declines a payment before clearing and settlement.
View DefinitionPayments and Authorization
Authorization Code
Also known as Approval code
A response value returned with an approved authorization. It shows approval at that moment but does not guarantee settlement or prevent a later dispute.
View DefinitionRefunds and Settlements
Authorization Reversal
Also known as Auth reversal
A message that cancels all or part of an authorization so the issuer can release the associated hold. It is not the same as refunding a settled transaction.
View DefinitionC
Fraud and Abuse
Card Testing
Also known as Account testing
Patterned authorization attempts used to determine whether stolen or generated payment credentials are valid.
View DefinitionEcommerce and Subscriptions
Card-Not-Present Transaction
Also known as CNP
A transaction in which the physical card is not presented to the merchant, such as an ecommerce, app, mail, or telephone order.
View DefinitionEcommerce and Subscriptions
Card-on-File Transaction
Also known as COF
A transaction using a payment credential previously stored by a merchant or service provider with the cardholder’s permission.
View DefinitionDispute Alerts
Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network
Also known as CDRN
Verifi’s network for delivering eligible disputes to merchants for review and merchant action before a chargeback is initiated.
View DefinitionChargebacks and Disputes
Chargeback
Also known as Card chargeback
A payment reversal processed through the card-dispute system after a cardholder, issuer, or payment-network dispute condition is raised.
View DefinitionRepresentment and Evidence
Chargeback Evidence
Also known as Dispute evidence
Transaction, order, customer, fulfillment, refund, authentication, or communication records used to address a specific chargeback claim.
View DefinitionChargebacks and Disputes
Chargeback Reason Code
Also known as Reason code
A card-network code that classifies why a payment dispute entered the chargeback process and identifies the applicable dispute condition.
View DefinitionRepresentment and Evidence
Chargeback Representment
Also known as Representment
The process through which a merchant or acquirer responds to a chargeback with evidence supporting the transaction.
View DefinitionRefunds and Settlements
Clearing
Also known as Transaction clearing
The exchange and reconciliation of transaction data after authorization and before or alongside settlement.
View DefinitionRepresentment and Evidence
Compelling Evidence 3.0
Also known as CE3.0
Visa’s framework for qualifying card-absent fraud disputes under Condition 10.4 using specified historical transaction and identity evidence.
View DefinitionE
Dispute Alerts
Ethoca Alert
Also known as Ethoca Alerts
An alert created through Ethoca’s issuer-and-merchant network that shares confirmed fraud or dispute information so a merchant can take earlier action.
View DefinitionF
Fraud and Abuse
First-Party Misuse
Also known as First-party fraud
An invalid dispute involving a legitimate transaction in which the cardholder or another authorized person participated but later challenges the payment.
View DefinitionFraud and Abuse
First-Party Misuse and Friendly Fraud
Also known as Friendly fraud
A dispute on a legitimate transaction in which the cardholder or an authorized person took part but later challenges the payment through their issuer.
View DefinitionFraud and Abuse
Friendly Fraud
Also known as Friendly chargeback fraud
A dispute involving a legitimate transaction that the cardholder does not recognize, misunderstands, or later challenges despite participating in or benefiting from it.
View DefinitionH
Payment Optimization
Hard Decline
Also known as Permanent decline
A decline associated with a condition unlikely to be resolved by repeating the same payment attempt without a meaningful change.
View DefinitionI
Processing and Acquiring
Issuer
Also known as Issuing bank
The financial institution or authorized entity that issues a payment card or account credential and approves or declines transactions for the cardholder.
View DefinitionM
Ecommerce and Subscriptions
Merchant-Initiated Transaction
Also known as MIT
A transaction initiated by a merchant under a prior cardholder instruction or payment agreement without the cardholder’s active participation at the time of payment.
View DefinitionP
Payment Optimization
Payment Approval Rate
Also known as Authorization rate
The percentage of attempted payment transactions approved within a defined transaction population and period.
View DefinitionPayments and Authorization
Payment Decline
Also known as Card decline
A response indicating that a payment was not approved by the issuer, processor, gateway, network, or another control in the payment flow.
View DefinitionChargebacks and Disputes
Payment Dispute
Also known as Cardholder dispute
A formal challenge to a transaction raised through the cardholder’s issuer. A dispute may be resolved before or after a chargeback is created.
View DefinitionProcessing and Acquiring
Payment Gateway
Also known as Gateway
Technology that passes payment data and transaction requests between a merchant’s checkout or system and its processor or acquirer.
View DefinitionProcessing and Acquiring
Payment Processor
Also known as Processor
A service provider that transmits and processes payment messages among merchants, acquirers, card networks, and issuers.
View DefinitionPayment Optimization
Payment Retry Strategy
Also known as Decline retry strategy
A controlled approach to reattempting eligible failed payments based on decline context, timing, customer consent, network rules, and processor guidance.
View DefinitionRepresentment and Evidence
Pre-Arbitration
Also known as Pre-arb
A later dispute stage in which a party challenges the result of an earlier chargeback or representment decision before possible arbitration.
View DefinitionDispute Alerts
Pre-Dispute Alert
Also known as Chargeback alert
An early notification of eligible fraud or dispute activity that may let a merchant investigate or resolve the case before chargeback escalation.
View DefinitionPopular Payment Terms
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Chargeback
A card payment reversal initiated through the cardholder’s bank after a transaction is disputed.
View Chargeback DefinitionFriendly Fraud
A dispute involving a legitimate transaction that the cardholder later challenges or fails to recognize.
View Friendly Fraud DefinitionPre-Dispute Alert
An early notification that may let a merchant resolve an eligible payment dispute before chargeback escalation.
View Pre-Dispute Alert DefinitionChargeback Representment
The process of responding to a chargeback with evidence supporting the legitimacy of the transaction.
View Representment DefinitionVisa Acquirer Monitoring Program
Visa’s monitoring framework for fraud reports, disputes, transaction volume, and elevated merchant or acquirer risk.
View VAMP DefinitionPayment Decline
A response indicating that an issuer, processor, gateway, or payment system did not approve a transaction.
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