APACS - the UK payments association

Glossary of Terms

P

payment card

A generic term for any plastic card (credit, debit, charge etc.) used on its own to pay for goods and services.

PIN (personal identification number)

A set of characters, usually a four-digit sequence, used by cardholders to verify their identity at a point-of-sale or at a customer-activated device such as an ATM. The number is generated by the card issuer when the card is first issued and may be changed by the cardholder thereafter.

phishing

Phishing is the name given to the practice of sending e-mails at random purporting to come from a genuine company operating on the Internet, in an attempt to trick customers of that company into disclosing information at a bogus website operated by fraudsters. These e-mails usually claim that it is necessary to "update" or "verify" your customer account information and they urge people to click on a link from the e-mail which takes them to the bogus website. Any information entered on the bogus website will be captured by the criminals for their own fraudulent purposes.

platinum card

See premier card.

Plus

A Visa brand signifying global ATM acceptance.

POS (point-of-sale)

A physical location where a customer makes a purchase.

POS terminal

An electronic device used to process card payments at point-of-sale.

POS transaction

A transaction taking place at point-of-sale.

Post Office card account

A service available from April 2003. The account can receive state benefit, pension and tax credit payments only. Account holders can get cash over post office counters using the card and a PIN to identify themselves.

premier card

A credit or charge card usually with a higher credit limit than a standard card and sometimes providing a wider range of benefits such as travel insurance. Includes gold and platinum cards.

prepayment card

Also known as an electronic purse. A stored-value payment card used to pay for goods and services. It is an alternative to cash. The card can be disposable or re-loadable. The stored value is reduced as payments are made.

purchasing card

A payment card issued to businesses, companies or government departments to make supplier and/or trade payments. Also known as a procurement card.

R

recurring transaction

An authority to charge a transaction to a credit or charge card at regular intervals (typically monthly), granted by the cardholder to a merchant, retailer or other service provider. The term 'recurring transaction' may apply equally to one of the transactions or to the authority under which these are charged. Formerly known as a continuous authority transaction.

remote ATM

Refers to the location of BBS ATMs that are not situated at or within the premises of banks or building societies.

remote banking

A generic description for any type of service enabling users to access banking facilities remotely, e.g. by phone, Internet or mobile phone.

remote transaction

See card-not-present and card-remotely-present.


Trade Association Forum - Committed to Best Practice - Member 2005
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