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ABA
American Bankers Association - the trade
association of American bankers. This body also has the registration authority to assign identification numbers.
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ABA Routing Number
A unique nine-digit number assigned to each banking institution, used to identify the bank and direct ACH debits and
credits. The ABA routing number is usually found at the bottom of a personal or business check.
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ACH
Automated Clearing House - group of
processing institutions linked by a computer network to process electronic payment transactions between financial
institutions.
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Acquirer, Acquiring Bank
A financial institution that is a member of Visa and/or MasterCard and maintains the merchant credit card processing
relationship. The acquirer receives all transactions from the merchant to be distributed to the issuing banks.
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Altered Card
A card on which the original embossed or encoded information has been altered for fraudulent purposes.
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American Express
A company that specializes in the issuance of Travel and Entertainment (T&E) cards. American Express services the
cards it issues, serving as its own transaction processor with its own processing network.
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API
Advanced Programming Interface - APIs
allow users to program to a pre-constructed interface, instead of individually programming a device or piece of
software.
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Approval Response
An affirmative reply following a transaction authorization request.
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Arbitration
A procedure used by an acquirer on behalf of the merchant to resolve a chargeback-related dispute with a card
issuer.
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ARC
Accounts Receivable Conversion. An electronic debit created from a consumer check processed in a lockbox, drop box, or other
payment receivable processing environment.
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ASP
Application Service Provider - an
organization that hosts software applications on its own servers within its own facilities. Customers access the
application via private lines or the Internet. Also called a "commercial service provider."
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Association
MasterCard International, Visa U.S.A. or Visa International, which are licensing regulatory agencies for bankcard
activities.
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ATM
Automated Teller Machine - an unattended
computer terminal that performs basic teller functions when a cardholder inserts a card into the ATM and enters the
correct PIN. Typical functions include dispensing cash, accepting deposits
and loan payments, and accepting account transfers and inquiries. Also used by credit cardholders for receiving cash advances.
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ATM/Debit Card
The plastic card used in an ATM for deposits, cash withdrawals, account transfers and other related
functions. A PIN must be entered to withdraw cash and access account functions. An ATM card may also be used to make
a debit purchase if the merchant has a PIN pad to accept the key entry.
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Authorization
The process by which a transaction is approved by the issuer, or by Visa/MasterCard on behalf of the issuer. Permission
is given to (or denied) the merchant, via the acquirer, to accept a specific transaction from the
cardholder account. An authorization indicates only that the card is valid and that sufficient funds are available on the
cardholder's credit limit at the time the request is made.
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Authorization Approval Code
The numerical code designated by the issuer, assigned to a sales
transaction as verification that the sale is authorized.
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Authorization Only (Auth Only)
Used to reserve an amount against a credit card's available credit limit for intended purchases. Authorization Only is
most frequently used in the lodging (check-in), restaurant (tab) and car rental (pick-up) industries, where an approval
is received for an estimated amount prior to the finalization of the charge amount.
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Authorization Request
A merchant's request for an authorization to accept a cardholder's sales transaction. An authorization request can occur
electronically via a credit card processing terminal or via telephone as a voice authorization.
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Auto Representment
Automatically sending information to resolve a chargeback on a
merchant's behalf without the need for merchant intervention.
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Average Ticket
The average dollar amount of sale for credit card transactions.
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AVS
Address Verification Service - a service supported
by Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express that verifies the cardholder's billing address against the one on file with
the issuer. AVS is designed to help combat fraud in non-face-to-face
transactions. For a list of AVS response codes, click here.
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