#
- 3DS (3-D Secure)
- An additional security layer for online card transactions.
A
- Account-to-account (A2A) payments
- Payments that move directly between bank accounts, usually over an instant-payment rail, without a card or wallet in between.
- Agentic commerce
- Purchases that an AI agent browses, selects, and pays for on a shopper’s behalf, from product discovery through checkout.
- Alternative payment methods (APMs)
- Any payment method that is not a traditional credit or debit card, including bank transfers, eWallets, mobile money, cash-based methods, BNPL and more.
B
- Bank transfers
- Electronic payments made directly from one bank account to another.
- Biometric authentication
- Verifying a payment using a fingerprint, face scan, or other physical trait instead of a password or PIN.
- BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)
- A payment option that stands apart from traditional installment loans by primarily offering zero-interest installments, without requiring a credit card.
C
- Card-on-file
- A saved card credential a merchant stores (often tokenized) to charge automatically for future or recurring purchases without the shopper re-entering their details.
- Cash payment
- A payment method that allows a shopper to place an online order, receive a barcode or unique PIN, and complete the transaction in cash at an affiliated retail location.
- Cash-on-delivery
- Transaction method where payment is made at the time of delivery rather than in advance.
- Chargeback
- A forced reversal of a card payment, initiated by the cardholder’s bank, that returns funds to the shopper and debits the merchant.
- Cross-border payments
- Transactions between entities in different countries, typically involving currency exchange and additional regulatory or processing complexities.
E
- eCommerce
- Online purchases of goods and services. In this handbook, eCommerce includes transactions made using any device or payment method (both local and cross-border) processed through official checkouts across all product and service verticals.
- eWallets
- Digital wallets that allow users to transfer funds instantly through linked bank accounts, cards, mobile money, and in some cases, cash top-ups or other local funding sources.
I
- Installments
- Splitting the cost of a single purchase into multiple scheduled payments, usually through a credit card or a BNPL provider.
- Interoperability
- The ability for different banks, wallets, and payment schemes to send and receive payments from one another.
K
- Know Your Customer (KYC)
- Regulations requiring businesses to verify customer identity.
L
- Local acquiring
- Processing a card or payment transaction through an entity licensed in the shopper’s own country, often required to avoid declines or added fees.
- Local card schemes
- Debit or credit cards issued by domestic banks for use within a country or region.
M
- Mobile money
- A local payment method where users can deposit cash at registered agents and send funds using an account linked to their mobile number, without needing internet access.
N
- Network tokenization
- Replacing sensitive data (like credit card numbers) with a secure token for future use.
P
- P2P vs. P2B payments
- Person-to-person transfers (sending money to another individual) versus person-to-business payments (paying a merchant).
Q
- QR code payments
- A checkout flow where scanning a code with a banking or wallet app triggers an instant payment.
R
- Real-time payments (RTP)
- Electronic transfers that move funds instantly between bank accounts, enabling immediate access to money.
S
- Smart routing
- AI-driven transaction routing to the best-converting processor.
- Stablecoins
- Cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset, often used for low-volatility digital payments.
- SuperApps
- Multi-service mobile apps that combine payments, messaging, shopping, and more in one platform.
T
- TPV (Total Payment Volume)
- The total value of transactions processed through a given payment method or merchant over a period of time.
- Tokenized APMs
- Alternative payment methods secured by replacing sensitive data with unique digital tokens.
U
- Unbanked / underbanked
- Consumers who lack full access to, or rarely use, formal banking services.