Glossary
Key terms and acronyms used across the payment industry and within Payter specifically.
2FA
Abbreviation for Two-Factor Authentication.
Acquirer
A financial institution or bank that processes credit or debit card and payment instrument transactions on behalf of a merchant. The acquirer works with the merchant to accept payments and ensures that funds are transferred from the cardholder's bank. The acquirer is also responsible for managing risk and regulatory compliance.
Apollo
An unattended payment terminal from Payter: a secure contactless terminal that supports PIN entry, with a 3.5-inch customizable touchscreen UI. At IP65, Apollo carries the highest IP rating in the Apollo family, making it suitable for outdoor use. Learn more on the Apollo website.
Apollo Family
The Payter range of unattended payment terminals. The Apollo family includes ApolloX, Apollo, Apollo MAX, Apollo Polar, Apollo Lite, and ApolloX Lite. In most use cases, ApolloX or ApolloX Lite is the recommended device type.
Apollo Lite
A lower-cost variant of Apollo without WiFi, Bluetooth, the QR and barcode scanner (camera), the speaker, or the proximity sensor. It still supports PIN entry.
Apollo MAX
A compact, scalable, all-in-one variant of the Apollo family for self-service operations. It adds insert and swipe card capture to contactless and PIN-verified payments. Rated IP50, so not suitable for outdoor use.
Apollo Polar
An Apollo family variant with a resilient design for unattended outdoor conditions, rated IP54. It supports insert and swipe card capture in addition to contactless and PIN-verified payments.
ApolloX
The recommended Apollo family terminal for most use cases. ApolloX has the same features as Apollo: contactless payments with PIN entry, a capacitive touchscreen, and Ethernet, USB, WiFi, and MDB connections, with an optional 4G modem. It differs from Apollo in three ways: a built-in frame, a larger backup battery, and approval to the newer PCI PTS v6.2 standard.
ApolloX Lite
A lower-cost variant of ApolloX without WiFi, Bluetooth, the QR and barcode scanner (camera), the speaker, or the proximity sensor. It still supports PIN entry.
Authorization
The process an issuer uses to approve or decline a transaction. This usually involves verifying the cardholder's credentials and ensuring sufficient funds or credit are available.
Autoscan
A payment terminal mode that lets the payment terminal operate independently, without a host device such as a vending machine controller or cloud server. Commonly used for forecourt services such as air and water dispensers, donations, and other fixed-price payments. Often paired with a Pulse board to signal other equipment when a payment completes.
Card Not Present Transaction
A transaction where the cardholder and card are not physically present at the point of sale. Common examples include online e-commerce, mail order, and telephone order transactions. Processing fees for CNP are generally higher, as they are considered marginally higher risk. Also called a Cardholder Not Present transaction.
Card Present Transaction
A transaction where the cardholder physically presents a payment instrument to the
merchant at the point of sale, usually by tapping, inserting, or swiping it on a
payment terminal, and verifying identity with a PIN when required. Also called a
Cardholder Present transaction.
Payter transactions are all
Card Present.
Card Scheme
A network, such as Visa or Mastercard, that facilitates transactions between cardholders, merchants, and issuers. Card schemes provide the framework for processing card payments and near-global interoperability.
Cardholder
The individual who is issued a credit, debit, or prepaid card by a financial institution and is authorized to use it. The cardholder uses the card, or a payment instrument, to make purchases or withdraw cash.
Cardholder Not Present Transaction
Another term for a Card Not Present transaction.
Cardholder Present Transaction
Another term for a Card Present transaction.
CCA
Abbreviation for CreditCall, the former name of NMI.
CCV
A third-party payment gateway used in some Payter integrations. CCV is owned by Fiserv.
CDR
Acronym for Charge Detail Record.
Charge Detail Record
An OCPI record describing a concluded EV charging session. The CPO, or a third-party system on its behalf, generates the CDR. Most integrations do not send CDRs to Payter; you only share them to use Digital Receipts or fiscalization.
Charge Point Management System
Another term for a Charge Station Management System.
Charge Point Operator
The entity that controls and operates a given EV charge point. Typically, this is the entity whose branding is on the charger.
Charge Station Management System
The software or SaaS platform that manages an EV charge point. This is often provided by a third party contracted by the CPO, although some CPOs build their own internal solution instead. Also called a Charge Point Management System.
Closed User Group
A proprietary card scheme implemented as a closed wallet system, for example through PTH, without requiring changes to a payment terminal's firmware.
Cloud Payment Service
Payter's distributed integration method, where Payter's server handles and routes integration commands to terminals with connectivity.
CNP
Acronym for Card Not Present Transaction.
Completion / Commit / Charge
The step that confirms the final amount of a previously authorized transaction, so that the amount can be settled. The final amount can be higher or lower than the amount that was first authorized. The acquirer is responsible for the actual settlement to the merchant.
Contactless Payment
A payment method that lets a cardholder complete a transaction by tapping a contactless card, smartphone, or wearable device against a point-of-sale terminal. The device and terminal communicate over NFC.
Contract
Within Payter, "contract" usually refers to a technical artifact rather than a legal one: a binding configuration that pairs a payment terminal with another component and governs how they interact. This is distinct from a traditional commercial or legal contract, although it often carries billing implications too. Payter uses the term for several such pairings: a terminal to a payment gateway or acquirer; a terminal to a SIM card; a terminal to an OCPI instance; a terminal to a receipt service configuration; and a terminal to a fiscal service configuration. Where the traditional sense is meant, prefer commercial or legal contract to avoid ambiguity.
CPMS
Acronym for Charge Point Management System.
CPO
Acronym for Charge Point Operator.
CPS
Acronym for Cloud Payment Service.
CPS API
A cloud-based integration API for the Cloud Payment Service.
CreditCall
Former name of NMI.
CSMS
Acronym for Charge Station Management System.
CUG
Acronym for Closed User Group.
Data Object List
Data elements exchanged during an EMV card payment. In PSP, controllers can request specific DOLs to be
returned in the Start Session or Read Card command response, encoded as TLV (BER-TLV).
DOL
Acronym for Data Object List.
ELA
Abbreviation for Elavon.
Elavon
An acquirer. Learn more on the Elavon website.
Electric Vehicle
A vehicle powered wholly or partly by an electric motor and rechargeable battery, charged at a charge point operated by a CPO.
Electric Vehicle Charger
Another term for an EV charge point. The acronym EVC is also sometimes used as shorthand for EV charging as an industry or vertical.
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment
The OCPI term for the physical charging hardware at an EV charge point.
Electronic Point of Sale
A computerized system a merchant uses to record sales at the point of sale, replacing a traditional cash register or till. An EPOS system combines hardware, such as a touchscreen, receipt printer, and barcode scanner, with software that typically also handles stock control and sales reporting.
EMS
Acronym for European Merchant Services.
EMV
Acronym for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa.
EPOS
Acronym for Electronic Point of Sale.
Europay, Mastercard, and Visa
A global standard for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology, reducing fraud in card-present transactions. The standard is maintained by EMVCo. Payter solutions incorporate EMV Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 certified components as standard.
European Merchant Services
A third-party payment gateway used in some Payter integrations. European Merchant Services is now part of Fiserv.
EV
Acronym for Electric Vehicle.
EVC
Acronym for Electric Vehicle Charger.
EVSE
Acronym for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment.
Fiscalization
A country-specific legal requirement for point-of-sale transactions to be signed, recorded, and often reported to the tax authority in real time, typically through a certified fiscal provider, before a compliant receipt can be issued. Requirements vary by country, for example Italy, Austria, and Croatia each have their own certification and reporting rules.
HMI
Acronym for Human-Machine Interface.
Human-Machine Interface
A general term for any interface a person uses to interact with a machine, such as a touchscreen, display, keypad, buttons, keyboard, or mouse. A self-service solution can have more than one HMI, for example the payment terminal's own screen and the host machine's display.
ICC
Acronym for Integrated Circuit Card.
Incremental Authorization
An authorization that attempts to increase an existing pre-authorization by a chosen amount.
Ingress Protection Rating
An international standard (IEC 60529) rating how well a device's casing resists solids and liquids. Expressed as two digits, for example IP65: the first digit rates protection against solids such as dust, the second against liquids. Apollo and Apollo Polar carry high IP ratings for outdoor and unattended use.
Integrated Circuit Card
The formal EMV term for a chip-based payment instrument. A payment terminal reads the chip wirelessly in a contactless payment, or through its contact card slot when the card is inserted.
IP Rating
Acronym for Ingress Protection Rating.
Issuer
The financial institution or bank that provides a payment instrument such as a credit or debit card to consumers, and is responsible for the cardholder's account.
Mail Order/Telephone Order
A type of Card Not Present transaction where the card details are given by mail or telephone. MOTO transactions are rare today.
MCC
Acronym for Merchant Category Code.
MDB
Acronym for Multi-Drop Bus.
Merchant
A business or individual that accepts a payment instrument as a form of payment for goods or services. Merchants work with acquirers to process card transactions.
Merchant Category Code
A four-digit code used to classify the type of business a merchant operates. MCCs are used by card networks and issuers to determine interchange fees and other transaction terms. The MCC can also affect how a payment solution functions, as some capabilities are permitted or restricted for particular MCCs. For example, credit cards may not be permitted for merchants whose MCC classifies them in the gaming or gambling sector.
Merchant Identifier
Identifies the merchant to the acquirer in payment requests. Often paired with a TID for each payment terminal being activated.
MFA
Acronym for Multi-Factor Authentication.
MID
Acronym for Merchant Identifier.
MIFARE
A contactless smart card technology, distinct from bank card EMV, commonly used for closed-loop RFID cards such as loyalty or access cards. For Payter, MIFARE-based RFID cards are most commonly used as MSP/eMSP cards for payment in EV charging. PSP can read and write specific blocks within the MIFARE structure; CPS can only read the card's unique ID.
MNP
Abbreviation for MONET+.
Mobility Service Provider
Also eMSP. A business that operates a closed user group of identity cards, enabling registered users to pay for EV charging with their card. Users either pay in advance or, more often, are part of a corporate scheme and are invoiced afterward.
MONET+
One of Payter's third-party payment gateway partners. Payment terminals communicate with gateways as the first point of contact; gateways then communicate to the acquirer, who communicates to the card scheme, who, in turn, communicates to the card issuer. MONET+ is also known as SwitchIO.
MOTO
Acronym for Mail Order/Telephone Order.
MSP
Acronym for Mobility Service Provider.
Multi-Drop Bus
The standard protocol used by vending machines to communicate with payment and cash-handling devices. Although it is one of the older protocols, it is still maintained and remains the standard across the vending industry.
Multi-Factor Authentication
A way to verify a user's identity that requires at least two independent factors, each from a different category:
- Inherence: something the user is, such as a fingerprint or other biometric data.
- Knowledge: something the user knows, such as a password or a PIN.
- Possession: something the user has, such as a mobile device or a security token.
Organizations use multi-factor authentication to protect access to important tools, sites, and data. Two-factor authentication is multi-factor authentication with exactly two factors.
Card payments follow the same principle under Strong Customer Authentication. A contactless payment sometimes requires a PIN, which adds knowledge of the PIN to possession of the card. A mobile wallet, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, does not need a PIN, because the cardholder already unlocks the mobile device, which they possess, with biometric data or a password.
MyPayter
The Payter terminal management solution. You use MyPayter to configure and monitor your payment terminals. MyPayter has two editions:
- MyPayter: for terminals deployed in the field that process real payments.
- MyPayter Test: for test terminals that you use to develop and test an integration before you go live.
Near Field Communication
A short-range wireless technology that lets a payment instrument and a payment terminal exchange data when held close together. NFC is the technology contactless payment relies on.
Network Token
A token issued directly by a card scheme, rather than by Payter or another party. A network token replaces the card number in the same way as any other token.
NEXO
A European standard protocol for communication between payment terminals and payment hosts. Maintained by Nexo Standards.
NFC
Acronym for Near Field Communication.
NMI
NMI is a third-party payment gateway, formerly known as CCA or CreditCall. Some older Payter products and services still reference the CreditCall branding. Learn more on the NMI website.
OCPI
Acronym for Open Charge Point Interface.
Open Charge Point Interface
A widely adopted, open and transparent protocol built for electric vehicle charging. The protocol is defined and maintained by the EVRoaming Foundation.
P6X
A family of Payter unattended payment terminals including the P66, P66S, P67, and P68 models. These terminals support contactless payments, with optional insert-card and magstripe capture. Unlike Apollo, P6X terminals do not support PIN entry, making them suited to lower-value use cases such as vending, forecourt services, and gaming. Learn more on the Payter terminals page.
PAN
Acronym for Primary Account Number.
Payment Card Industry
Used in the names of the card security standards set by the PCI Security Standards Council, including PCI DSS, PCI PTS, and PCI P2PE. Each standard applies to something different: PCI DSS applies to an organization, while PCI PTS and PCI P2PE apply to products and services.
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
A security standard that applies to any legal entity that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data. Compliance covers the entity's technical systems and also its policies and procedures. Because PCI DSS applies to an organization, a product such as a payment terminal can't be PCI DSS certified. Payter operates a PCI DSS compliant service platform.
Payment Card Industry PIN Transaction Security
A technical security standard for devices that accept card data and PINs, such as payment terminals. PCI PTS applies to the product: each device model is approved against a specific version of the standard. The Apollo family is PCI PTS v6.x certified.
Payment Card Industry Point-to-Point Encryption
A technical security standard for solutions that encrypt card data from the point of interaction until it reaches a secure decryption environment. PCI P2PE applies to a complete solution or service, which is validated against the standard. A merchant that uses a validated P2PE solution can reduce the scope of its own PCI DSS assessment.
Payment Gateway
A service that securely transmits payment information from the merchant's point-of-sale system to the acquirer.
Payment Instrument
A physical or digital means of paying, such as a card, smartphone, or wearable, that is presented to a payment terminal to complete a card-present transaction.
Payment Processor
An entity that handles card transactions on behalf of a merchant or acquirer, providing services such as authorization, clearing, and settlement. The term is sometimes also used for a payment gateway. A processor is not an acquirer unless a card scheme defines it as one.
Payment Terminal
Hardware located at the point of sale that is designed and certified to capture card data in a compliant way so that it may be processed by an acquirer. Payter's own payment terminals include Apollo and P6X. A payment terminal is sometimes also called the POS or, in the UK, the PDQ machine.
Payment Terminal Provider
An OCPI-specific term for the entity that provides the payment terminal. Payter is a Payment Terminal Provider.
Payter
Payter designs, manufactures, distributes, operates, and supports card-present payment terminals specifically for unattended or self-service use. Payter also provides the CPS, PSP, and OCPI integration platforms that connect these terminals to vending, EV charging, and other self-service systems. Learn more at payter.com.
Payter Session Protocol
Payter's local integration method, where the payment terminal is controlled over a Serial or TCP/IP connection on a LAN.
Payter Transaction Host
A method for handling proprietary or CUG cards through a payment terminal. Integrators implement a SOAP 1.1 host that complies with the PTH protocol, defined by a WSDL file, to run a closed wallet system without changes to terminal firmware.
Payter Vending Protocol
A legacy Payter-defined protocol, no longer supported. A vending mode based on MDB.
PCI
Acronym for Payment Card Industry.
PCI DSS
Acronym for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
PCI P2PE
Acronym for Payment Card Industry Point-to-Point Encryption.
PCI PTS
Acronym for Payment Card Industry PIN Transaction Security.
PDQ Machine
UK term for a payment terminal.
Personal Identification Number
A code used to verify a cardholder during a transaction. Apollo supports PIN entry; P6X terminals do not.
PIN
Acronym for Personal Identification Number.
Point of Sale
The physical or virtual location where a merchant and cardholder complete a transaction. Payter's payment terminals, such as Apollo and P6X, operate at the physical point of sale. The term is sometimes also used for the payment terminal itself, or for the merchant's EPOS, cash register, or till system.
POS
Acronym for Point of Sale.
PPSE
Acronym for Proximity Payment System Environment.
Pre-Authorization
An authorization request that is not a final amount, but subject to change either up or down. If not completed, pre-authorized funds are released back to the cardholder after a variable period of time. This is typically 3 to 30 days, but depends on the issuer and the environment. For example, in fuel retailing, pre-authorized funds that are partially or fully released must be returned to the cardholder's balance within hours instead of days.
Primary Account Number
The account number encoded on a payment instrument, used to identify the cardholder's account during a transaction. Payter solutions never expose the full PAN to any merchant or third-party integrator. Only a masked PAN is shared through APIs and reporting portals. The full PAN is transmitted only in a secure, compliant, encrypted form, where needed to process the payment with payment gateways and acquirers.
Proximity Payment System Environment
The standard method a contactless EMV card advertises its available applications to a payment terminal during NFC contactless communication. Google's equivalent for VAS-style passes is ePPSE.
PSP
Acronym for Payter Session Protocol.
PTH
Acronym for Payter Transaction Host.
PTP
Acronym for Payment Terminal Provider.
Pulse board
A low-tech way to integrate with washing machines, access controls, forecourt air and water pumps, children's rides, pool tables, car washes, and more. A successful payment sends a pulse. P6X supports a pulse output directly, whereas Apollo requires an additional external pulse board.
PVP
Acronym for Payter Vending Protocol.
Radio-Frequency Identification
Contactless identity cards used in some EV charging use cases as an alternative to bank cards for starting a session.
Remote Terminal Protocol
A legacy Payter-defined protocol, no longer supported.
Return Merchandise Authorization
A reference number, provided by Payter in response to any request to return a Payter payment terminal for repair or replacement, in or out of warranty.
RFID
Acronym for Radio-Frequency Identification.
RMA
Acronym for Return Merchandise Authorization.
RTP
Acronym for Remote Terminal Protocol.
SAM
Acronym for Secure Authentication Module.
SCA
Acronym for Strong Customer Authentication.
SCAP
Acronym for Specific Selected Application Interface.
Secure Authentication Module
A hardware security component, installed in some payment terminals, that provides secure storage for the keys the terminal uses to encrypt and transmit data. P6X terminals use a SAM. Apollo stores its keys in embedded secure storage.
Secure Sockets Layer
The original encryption protocol for securing network connections, now deprecated and replaced by Transport Layer Security. Many people still say SSL when they mean TLS, for example when referring to SSL certificates.
Settlement
The final payout of funds from the acquirer to the merchant after a transaction has been cleared, typically 1 to 3 days after the original authorization and completion take place. Funds move from the issuer to the card scheme, from the card scheme to the acquirer, and from the acquirer to the merchant; settlement usually refers only to this last stage.
Specific Selected Application Interface
Variants include Scap-psp (Payter Session Protocol: local integration interface), Scap-autoscan (Autoscan interface), and Scap-mdb (Multi-Drop Bus interface).
SSL
Acronym for Secure Sockets Layer.
Strong Customer Authentication
A requirement under PSD2 that mandates multi-factor authentication for electronic payments, aimed at reducing fraud and improving the security of online transactions. Contactless payments sometimes require a PIN due to SCA rules. Learn more from the European Central Bank and the European Commission.
SwitchIO
Another name for MONET+.
Tag-Length-Value
A generic method of formatting data exchanged between two electronic systems, where each data item consists of a tag that identifies it, the length of its value, and the value itself. TLV is widely used for EMV data, for example as BER-TLV (Basic Encoding Rules) in the DOL responses PSP returns.
Terminal Identifier
An identifier that can identify a specific payment terminal to a payment gateway, an acquirer, or both. A TID is not always unique, and in some cases is not present at all. Often issued alongside a MID.
Terminal Management Solution
Payter's TMS is MyPayter, used to configure and monitor deployed payment terminals.
TID
Acronym for Terminal Identifier.
TLS
Acronym for Transport Layer Security.
TLV
Acronym for Tag-Length-Value.
TMS
Acronym for Terminal Management Solution.
Tokenization
The process of replacing sensitive payment data, such as a credit card number, with a unique identifier or token. This reduces the risk of sensitive data being exposed. A properly defined token can be stored without affecting PCI DSS compliance, and can be used to identify and track a cardholder and to support later activities such as repeat payments or refunds. Tokens issued directly by the card schemes are called network tokens.
Transport Layer Security
The encryption protocol used to secure a network connection, including a payment terminal's communication with Payter's cloud services. TLS replaced the now-deprecated Secure Sockets Layer protocol, and is still often referred to as SSL.
Two-Factor Authentication
A form of Multi-Factor Authentication that requires exactly two independent factors to verify a user's identity. A common combination is a password, which the user knows, and a code from an authenticator app on a mobile device, which the user has.
Value Added Services
Services that add capabilities to a payment terminal solution beyond core payment processing. Examples include tracking and processing loyalty schemes from a payment terminal, and accepting or issuing discount vouchers. Apple VAS is a specific protocol for transit and loyalty passes tapped on a payment terminal, alongside standard PPSE-based EMV contactless payments.
VAS
Acronym for Value Added Services.
Vending Machine Controller
The electronic controller inside a vending machine that manages product selection and pricing, and communicates with connected devices such as the payment terminal, coin and note acceptors, telemetry systems, and more. The VMC communicates with the payment terminal to authorize a vend, generally over the MDB.
VMC
Acronym for Vending Machine Controller.
Webmis portal
The reporting portal for NMI.