Resources / Glossary
Plain-English payment terms, explained for travel operations
Understand the payment, reconciliation, chargeback and finance terms that appear when travel teams are trying to solve real operational problems.
Glossary topics
Priority termsLiveThe most-used card, risk and settlement terms now have their own pages.
FormatPlain EnglishDefinitions should help teams act, not just decode acronyms.
How it connects
CDCard data — AcquirerCards
PYPayment rails — Open bankingRails
RCReconciliation — SettlementOps
RSRisk — ChargebacksRisk
Sample view — Glossary topics
Every term, in plain English.
// 01 — The library
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A13
Glossary term
Acquirer
The financial institution or payment provider that enables a merchant to accept card payments.Read termGlossary termAcquiring bank
The bank that holds the merchant account and processes card payments on the business’s behalf.Read termGlossary termAct of God
A clause for events outside human control, often referenced in travel cancellation and payment terms.Read termGlossary termAggregator model
A payments model where many sub-merchants accept payments under a single acquirer relationship.Read termGlossary termAirline payment solution
A payment setup designed for the specific demands of airline ticket sales and ancillary revenue.Read termGlossary termAISP (Account Information Service Provider)
A regulated provider that can read bank account information with the customer’s consent under PSD2.Read termGlossary termAlternative payment method (APM)
Any payment method other than the major international card schemes.Read termGlossary termAnticipated settlement date
The expected date a processed payment will arrive in the merchant bank account.Read termGlossary termAPI (Application Programming Interface) in travel payments
A defined interface that lets travel and finance systems exchange payment and booking data programmatically.Read termGlossary termAuthorisation
The step where a card issuer approves or declines a payment request.Read termGlossary termAuthorisation code
The reference number a card issuer returns when it approves a transaction.Read termGlossary termAuthorisation hold
A temporary reservation of funds on a card before the merchant captures the payment.Read termGlossary termAVS (Address Verification System)
A fraud check that compares the billing address with the address the issuer holds for the cardholder.Read termB7
Glossary term
B2B (business-to-business) payments in travel
Payments between travel businesses rather than between a travel business and a consumer.Read termGlossary termBack-office reconciliation
The process of matching payment activity, settlement and booking records so the finance picture is consistent.Read termGlossary termBank transfer
A payment made directly between bank accounts rather than over a card scheme.Read termGlossary termBatch settlement
Settlement of multiple transactions grouped together and paid out in one consolidated movement.Read termGlossary termBeneficiary
The party receiving the funds from a payment or transfer.Read termGlossary termBIC (Bank Identifier Code)
A standardised code that identifies a specific bank for international payments.Read termGlossary termBIN (Bank Identification Number)
The first digits of a card number that identify the issuing institution.Read termC16
Glossary term
Card issuer
The bank or financial institution that issued the customer’s card.Read termGlossary termCard scheme
The card network, such as Visa or Mastercard, that sets rules and routes card transactions.Read termGlossary termCard verification
Checks used to confirm a card is genuine and the user has legitimate access to it.Read termGlossary termCard-not-present (CNP) transaction
A card payment taken without the card being physically presented to the merchant.Read termGlossary termChargeback
A reversal of a card payment initiated by the cardholder’s issuing bank.Read termGlossary termChargeback fraud
A dispute raised by a cardholder who did receive the goods or services they paid for.Read termGlossary termChargeback ratio
The number of chargebacks against a merchant relative to their total transactions, by value or count.Read termGlossary termChargeback reason code
The scheme-defined code that explains why a chargeback was raised.Read termGlossary termClearing
The process of exchanging transaction information between banks before settlement.Read termGlossary termClearing house
The institution that processes the exchange of payment instructions and balances between banks.Read termGlossary termCompliance
The set of legal, regulatory and scheme rules a payment process has to follow.Read termGlossary termContactless payment
A payment made by tapping a card or device on a reader without entering a PIN.Read termGlossary termCross-border fees
Fees applied when the cardholder country differs from the merchant country.Read termGlossary termCurrency conversion
The conversion of one currency into another during a payment, settlement or refund.Read termGlossary termCustomer authentication
The process of confirming the customer making a payment is who they claim to be.Read termGlossary termCVC (Card Verification Code)
A short security code printed on a card that is checked during card-not-present payments.Read termD7
Glossary term
Decline code
The scheme code an issuer returns when it refuses to authorise a payment.Read termGlossary termDecline ratio
The proportion of authorisation requests that end in a decline.Read termGlossary termDeferred payment
A payment whose collection is scheduled for a later date than the moment of sale.Read termGlossary termDigital wallet
A payment method that stores card or account credentials on a device or in an app.Read termGlossary termDispute resolution
The process of resolving a disagreement between a customer, merchant and issuer over a payment.Read termGlossary termDynamic Currency Conversion (DCC)
Offering the customer to pay in their home currency at the point of sale.Read termGlossary termDynamic routing
Routing each payment to the acquirer or method most likely to give the best outcome.Read termE3
Glossary term
EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa)
The global standard for chip-and-PIN and contactless card payments.Read termGlossary termEncryption
The process of scrambling data so only authorised parties can read it.Read termGlossary termExchange rate
The price of one currency in terms of another.Read termF4
Glossary term
Fee schedule
The published list of fees an acquirer or processor charges per transaction type and card product.Read termGlossary termFlexible payment plans
Payment options that let the customer pay over multiple instalments rather than upfront.Read termGlossary termFraud detection
The process of identifying potentially fraudulent payments before or shortly after authorisation.Read termGlossary termFraud prevention
Designing controls, processes and product flows to reduce the likelihood of fraud succeeding.Read termG3
Glossary term
Gateway fee
A per-transaction or monthly fee charged by a payment gateway for connecting the merchant to processing.Read termGlossary termGateway timeout
When a payment gateway fails to respond within the expected time window during processing.Read termGlossary termGross settlement
Settlement where the full transaction value is paid out before fees are deducted separately.Read termH2
Glossary term
Holdback
Funds held back by an acquirer against future risk such as chargebacks or refunds.Read termGlossary termHosted payment page
A payment page hosted by the payment provider rather than embedded in the merchant’s site.Read termI4
Glossary term
Insolvency protection
Schemes that protect customer money if a travel business fails before travel is delivered.Read termGlossary termInterchange fee
A fee paid by the acquirer to the issuer on each card transaction, set by the scheme.Read termGlossary termInternational Bank Account Number (IBAN)
A standardised account number used for international bank transfers.Read termGlossary termIssuer
The bank or financial institution that issues a card to a cardholder.Read termK1
L2
Glossary term
Liability shift
When responsibility for a fraudulent transaction moves from one party to another under scheme rules.Read termGlossary termLocalisation
Adapting the payment experience to local language, currency, methods and regulation.Read termM7
Glossary term
MCC (Merchant Category Code)
A four-digit code that describes the type of business a merchant is, assigned by the acquirer.Read termGlossary termMerchant account
The bank or acquirer account into which a merchant’s card-payment settlements are paid.Read termGlossary termMerchant Discount Rate (MDR)
The total fee a merchant pays per card transaction, expressed as a percentage of value.Read termGlossary termMerchant of record (MoR)
The legal entity responsible for processing a payment and dealing with disputes and compliance.Read termGlossary termMobile payments
Payments initiated and authenticated through a mobile device.Read termGlossary termMOTO (mail order / telephone order)
Card payments taken without the card being present, typically over the phone or by post.Read termGlossary termMulti-currency pricing
Presenting and capturing prices in multiple currencies rather than a single base currency.Read termN1
O2
Glossary term
Omnichannel payments
A unified payment experience across web, mobile, agent and in-person channels.Read termGlossary termOpen banking
Regulated APIs that let licensed third parties access bank accounts on a customer’s behalf.Read termP16
Glossary term
Payment aggregator
A provider that consolidates payments for many sub-merchants under one acquirer relationship.Read termGlossary termPayment facilitator (PayFac)
A regulated entity that lets businesses accept payments under its own merchant account.Read termGlossary termPayment gateway
The technology layer that connects a merchant to the acquirer and processor.Read termGlossary termPayment link
A shareable link that lets a customer make a payment for a specific amount and purpose.Read termGlossary termPayment portal
A customer-facing portal where customers can view and pay outstanding amounts on their bookings.Read termGlossary termPayment processor
A provider that moves payment data between the merchant, acquirer, scheme and issuer.Read termGlossary termPayment rails
The underlying networks that move money between accounts.Read termGlossary termPayment reconciliation
Matching payment records across systems so each payment, refund and settlement is accounted for.Read termGlossary termPayment scheduling
Setting up future payments to be taken automatically against a booking on agreed dates.Read termGlossary termPCI DSS compliance
A security standard for any organisation that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data.Read termGlossary termPending transaction
A transaction that has been authorised or initiated but not yet finalised.Read termGlossary termPISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider)
A regulated provider that can initiate payments from a customer’s bank account with consent.Read termGlossary termPoint of sale (POS)
The system used to take payment in person at the moment of sale.Read termGlossary termPre-authorisation
An authorisation that reserves funds on a card before the final amount is captured.Read termGlossary termPrincipal provider
A licensed provider that holds direct membership of the card schemes.Read termGlossary termPSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2)
EU regulation that introduced strong customer authentication and opened bank accounts to licensed third parties.Read termR4
Glossary term
Recurring billing
Taking a payment from the same customer on a repeated schedule.Read termGlossary termRefund
Money returned to the customer after a payment has been taken.Read termGlossary termRight of withdrawal
A statutory right for some consumers to withdraw from a contract within a defined period.Read termGlossary termRolling reserve
A reserve of funds held by the acquirer that releases on a rolling schedule.Read termS10
Glossary term
SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area)
A pan-European framework for euro bank payments treated as if they were domestic.Read termGlossary termSettlement
The movement of processed payment funds into the merchant account or bank account.Read termGlossary termSmart routing
Routing payments to the acquirer or method most likely to give the best business outcome.Read termGlossary termSoft decline
A decline that may succeed on retry under different conditions.Read termGlossary termSplit payments
Splitting a single transaction’s funds across multiple parties at settlement.Read termGlossary termStanding order
A customer-instructed bank payment that repeats on a fixed schedule.Read termGlossary termStrong Customer Authentication
A regulatory authentication requirement for many electronic payments under PSD2.Read termGlossary termSubscription payments
Recurring payments taken for an ongoing service or membership.Read termGlossary termSurcharge
An additional charge added to a payment to cover the merchant’s processing cost.Read termGlossary termSWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)
A global messaging network used to send international payment instructions between banks.Read termT6
Glossary term
Tokenisation
Replacing card data with a non-sensitive token that can be used in its place.Read termGlossary termTransaction fee
A fee charged per transaction by the gateway, processor or acquirer.Read termGlossary termTransaction ID
A unique identifier assigned to a payment by the gateway, acquirer or scheme.Read termGlossary termTravel payment gateway
A payment gateway specifically built for the shapes of travel commerce.Read termGlossary termTravel payments system
The end-to-end system of payment, reconciliation and reporting around travel bookings.Read termGlossary termTrust account
An account where customer funds are held in trust until the underlying service is delivered.Read termU2
Glossary term
UK merchant acquirers
The institutions licensed to process card payments for merchants in the United Kingdom.Read termGlossary termUniversal Payment Identifier Code (UPIC)
An identifier that lets businesses receive electronic payments without exposing real bank-account details.Read termV1
W2
Priority glossary terms
// 02 — section
Start with the definitions most often referenced from our payment, fraud, settlement and reconciliation articles.
01
Acquirer
The payment provider or financial institution that enables a merchant to accept card payments.
Explore03
Strong Customer Authentication
Authentication requirements that help prove the payer is genuine.
Explore05
Payment link
A secure link that lets a customer pay for a booking without giving card details over the phone.
Explore06
Settlement
The movement of processed payment funds into the merchant account or bank account.
Explore07
Gross settlement
Settlement where the full transaction value is paid out before fees are deducted separately.
Explore10
Card scheme
The card network, such as Visa or Mastercard, that sets rules and routes card transactions.
ExploreStart with the term, then drill into the workflow.
// 03 — section
The glossary is a route into practical payment understanding. Priority definitions now resolve as full entries so blog readers can keep their context.
01
Payment fundamentals
Acquirers, issuers, card schemes, payment gateways, merchant accounts and transaction fees.
02
Travel finance operations
Reconciliation, settlements, trust accounts, protected funds, rolling reserves and refunds.
03
Risk and compliance
Chargebacks, fraud prevention, PCI DSS, SCA, 3DS and dispute handling.
Use definitions to make better decisions.
// 04 — section
A good definition should help a team choose the next operational step, not just decode an acronym.
01
Cost terms
Understand fees, interchange, surcharges, gateway charges and settlement deductions.
02
Risk terms
Make sense of authentication, disputes, fraud checks, chargebacks and liability shift.
03
Movement terms
Follow authorisation, capture, settlement, refunds, reserves and bank transfers.
04
Travel protection terms
Connect payment language to trust accounts, protected funds, PTR and reporting evidence.
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