Glossary

E-Commerce

E-Commerce is shorthand for Electronic Commerce which may also be referred to by the acronym EC. This is the trade, buying and selling of goods and services on the internet or other electronic communications network via computer.

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange – The process conducting business electronically using a set of standardized forms and data formatting.

Electronic Authorisation

Obtaining authorisation for use of a credit card by electronic means, as via computer equipment and telephone line.

Electronic Commerce

A system of integrated communications, data management, and security services that allow business applications within different organizations to automatically interchange information.

Electronic Draft Capture (EDC)

EDC is a point-of-sale terminal that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe of bankcards. These terminals electronically authorize and capture transaction data, eliminating the need for a paper deposit.

Enciphering

Conversion of plain data into encrypted data (plaintext into ciphertext).

Encryption

Encryption is the process of disguising a message (using mathematical formulas called algorithms) in such a way as to hide its substance, a process of creating secret writing.

Encryption Key

When used in the context of encryption, a series of numbers which are used by an encryption algorithm to transform plaintext data into encrypted (ciphertext) data, and vice versa.

End-to-end Security

Application of security measures consistently across a whole data system or process, leaving no weak points.

Expired Card

A card on which the embossed, encoded, or printed expiration date has passed.