Glossary

Deciphering

Conversion of ciphertext back into plaintext.

Decryption

Decryption is the process of transforming ciphertext back into plaintext. It is the reverse of encryption.

Deposit

Process of transmitting a batch of transactions from the merchant to the acquiring institution in preparation for settlement.

Digital Signature

A data element allowing the recipient of a message or transaction to verify the content and sender.

Discount Fee

Fee paid by the merchant to the merchant bank or other contracted party for processing the merchants credit card sales (transactions).

Discount Rate

This is the percentage rate that a merchant institution charges the merchant giving deposit credit for handling merchant sales drafts or electronic sales transmissions. The discount fee is the currency amount charged.

Draft Capture

The act of electronically capturing transactions. See Electronic Draft Capture.

DSA

Also known as electronic draft capture (EDC) or draft capture. A data processing term for collecting, formatting, and storing data in computer memory according to predefined fields, for example, customer name, account number, and currency amount of purchase. When a terminal reads this information from a plastic card or from entries at a terminal, the information is stored in computer memory for later output as a hard copy printout or as soft copy on a CRT display.

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.

Floor Limit

An amount that Visa and MasterCard have established for single transactions at specific types of merchant outlets and branches, above which authorisation is required.

Fraudulent Transaction

A transaction unauthorized by the cardholder of a bankcard. Such transactions are categorized as lost, stolen, not received, issued on a fraudulent application, counterfeit, fraudulent processing of transactions, account takeover, or other fraudulent conditions as defined by the card company or the member company.