Payments glossary

AAcquiring

Accepting card payments on behalf of a merchant through an acquiring bank. Local-method processing is the alternative where cards convert poorly.

AAcquiring bank

A bank that holds a merchant account and processes card payments under card-scheme rules.

AApproval rate

The share of payment attempts that succeed. Local methods usually lift it because customers pay the way they're used to.

CChargeback

A forced reversal of a card payment initiated through the card issuer. Local payment methods have no card chargebacks.

DDispute

A contested transaction — wrong amount, duplicate or a bank flag — resolved case by case using transaction references and records.

FFiat processing

Processing payments in government-issued currencies — INR, BRL, MXN and so on — as opposed to crypto.

HHigh-risk merchant

A business in a vertical banks consider risky — iGaming, betting, forex, crypto — often refused or cut off by card acquiring.

HHosted payment page

A ready checkout page provided by the gateway: the merchant redirects the customer to it, with no payment forms to build.

KKYC / KYB

Know your customer / know your business — identity and business checks a provider runs before onboarding.

LLocal payment method (APM)

A non-card way to pay that dominates a specific market — wallets like bKash or GCash, QR networks like QRIS, instant transfers like UPI or Pix.

MMDR

Merchant discount rate — the fee a merchant pays per transaction for accepting a payment.

MMerchant account

The account where a business's customer payments land before they are settled to the business.

MMobile money

A wallet tied to a phone number, such as M-Pesa or bKash, used to pay, receive and withdraw money without a bank card.

OOn-ramp / off-ramp

Converting fiat into crypto (on-ramp) and crypto back into fiat (off-ramp), typically through local payment methods.

PP2P processing

A payment model where a business accepts and sends payments through the local accounts of private people — traders — instead of a classic acquiring bank, with the balance settled in USDT.

PP2P trader

A person or team providing liquidity with local accounts: they receive and send payments, confirm them in a dashboard and earn commission.

PPayin

Incoming payment: a customer's deposit or purchase credited to the merchant.

PPayment gateway

The layer between a checkout and the money: it shows payment options, creates orders, tracks payments and notifies the merchant's backend.

PPayout

Outgoing payment from the merchant: a withdrawal, winnings, a refund or a partner payment.

PPix

Brazil's instant payment system run by the Central Bank; payments settle in seconds, 24/7.

PPSP (payment service provider)

A company that connects merchants to payment methods and bundles onboarding, risk, routing and reporting into one product.

RRouting

Choosing which account or channel processes each payment, to maximise approval and speed.

SSecurity deposit

Funds a trader keeps on the platform as a guarantee; they protect merchants and the platform against errors and disputes.

SSettlement

Transfer of the collected balance to the merchant. In P2P processing it is usually done in USDT.

SSPEI

Mexico's real-time interbank transfer system run by Banco de México; payments go to an 18-digit CLABE.

UUPI

Unified Payments Interface — India's real-time payment system; payments go from any bank app in seconds, 24/7.

UUSDT

A dollar-pegged stablecoin used as one settlement currency across countries; it moves 24/7.

UUTR

Unique Transaction Reference — the 12-digit ID of a UPI or IMPS payment in India, used to trace and confirm transfers.

WWebhook

A server-to-server notification the gateway sends to the merchant when a payment status changes.

WWhite / grey traffic

Affiliate and payments slang: white traffic comes from licensed, mainstream offers; grey traffic from high-risk verticals that card acquirers reject.

WWorking capital

The trader's balance on the platform that backs the payments routed to them.

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