Glossary of Terms
The following definitions should help you further understand the terms used in the merchant services industry.
| Authorization Response | An electronic response sent by a card issuing entity to a financial services provider in response to an authorization request. This response is forwarded by the financial services provider to the agency. Responses include approvals, declines and referrals (soft declines). |
| Authorized User | State agencies and departments, public authorities, political subdivisions and other entities authorized by statute to utilized Office of General Services contracts. |
| Batch Authorization | An off-line authorization process used for a large number of transactions, which are batched and transmitted to a financial services provider on a scheduled basis. Batch authorization is best suited for non-face-to-face transactions. |
| Batch Processing | A group of credit card transactions made by an agency during a specific period of time, usually one business day. Batches may include transactions awaiting settlement or authorization and settlement. |
| Cardholder | The person to whom a credit card is issued. The cardholder uses a payment card that has been granted by an issuer. |
| Card Issuer | The entity which issues the credit or debit card to the cardholder. American Express and Discover directly issue cards to their cardholders. Visa and MasterCard cards are issued by financial institutions (issuing banks) which are members of the Visa and/or MasterCard association. Debit cards are issued to cardholders by the financial institutions in which they maintain their account. |
| Card Present Transactions | Face-to-face transactions in which the credit card is present and the card information is captured from the magnetic strip by swiping the card into a point-of-sale device or, by entering the card information into the agency's payment device. |
| Card Not Present Transactions | A transaction made without the presence of a credit card. Examples include: telephone order, mail order, or Internet order |
| Chargeback | Dispute procedure that occurs when a cardholder or card issuer questions the validity of a previously settled transaction. When the dispute is found in favor of the cardholder or card issuer, Chargeback also refers to the reversal of a charge by which the cardholder is credited for the amount of the disputed transactions and the agency is invoiced for the amount. |
