Glossary of Industry Terms

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PCI Related Terms Technical Terms

Face-To-Face

A face-to-face transaction is one at which the cardholder was present at the merchant location for the purchase. This is usually initiated by swiping a card through a terminal but may also be evidenced with a signed, imprinted draft or by manually keying a card number when the card magnetic swipe is unreadable (although the rate for processing a keyed transaction is not as good as a swiped transaction). (See also"Imprinter.")

Factoring

The purchase of debts owed, or "accounts receivable," in exchange for immediate payment at a discount.

In the payments industry this is the illegal practice of submitting authorization requests and/or Sales Drafts by a merchant for Card sales or Cash Advances transacted by another business. This typically occurs for e-commerce when a company offers to process credit card transactions through their own merchant account rather than having the merchant purchase their own merchant account. This is typically in exchange for a percentage of the transaction. This is will result in heavy fines. It is also known as credit card laundering.

Federal Information Processing Standards

(PCI)

Federal Information Processing Standards are publicly announced standards developed by the United States Federal government for use by all non-military government agencies and by government contractors. Many FIPS standards are modified versions of standards used in the wider community (ANSI, IEEE, ISO, etc.) Click here to see additional information on the standard.

Federal Tax ID Number

Also known as Employer Identification Numbers (EIN). Federal Tax IDs (9-digit numbers with a format of xx-xxxxxxx) are issued by the Internal Revenue Service to identify particular business entities for tax purposes. Some smaller merchants that are sole-proprietors may use their personal Social Security Number in place of a Federal Tax ID number.

FI

See Financial Institution.

FID

See Federal Tax ID Number.

File Transfer Protocol

(PCI) (Technical)

A mechanism used to transfer data files across a communication devices or devices. This protocol is used across the Internet or other communication devices (such as dial-up, Frame Relay, etc.) to transfer transaction information from a merchant to a processor, for example. Across the internet, a secure version of the protocol is used the transmit the data in an encrypted fashion (known as sFTP or FTPs).

Financial Institution

Any bank, credit union, savings and loan, or other institution organized by state or national laws that is capable of accepting deposits and making loans.

FIPS

(PCI) See Federal Information Processing Standards.

Firewall

(PCI) (Technical)

Hardware, software, or both that protect resources of one network from intruders from other networks. Typically, an enterprise with intranet access that permits workers access to the wider Internet must have a firewall to prevent outsiders from accessing internal private data resources.

Flat Rate

See Bundled Rate.

Fleet cards

Private label credit cards designed mainly for repairs, maintenance and fueling of business vehicles.

Floor limit

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

For example, for QSR:

Visa® $15 floor limit -- no signature or receipt required under $15- Full chargeback protection
MasterCard® $25 floor limit -- no signature or receipt required under $25 - chargeback protection available

Footer

In receipt printing: Text printed at the bottom of a sales draft. A merchant can typically customize the footer (i.e., Have a Nice Day, No Refunds, Thank You for Shopping With Us, etc.).

Fraud screening

All procedures intended to prevent customers from using fradulent or stolen credit cards.

Fraudulent Transaction

A transaction that has not been authorized 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.

Fraudulent User

An individual who is not the cardholder or designee and who uses a card (or, in a mail/phone order or recurring transaction, an account number) to obtain goods or services without the cardholder\'s consent.

Front-end

(Technical)

The systems utilized to authorize and capture credit card transactions for subsequent settlement processing (the back-end). This typically refers to the payment processing authorization platform and the back-end refers to the settlement of the cardholder funds to the merchants account. From a systems flow perspective, transaction processing is process through different systems that perform specific operations and are sometimes categorized as:

Front-End: Authorization/Capture of transaction data (interfaces with the point of sale)
Back-End: Settlement of transactions from issuing back (cardholder) to the acquiring bank (merchant)
Back-Office: Merchant boarding, fulfillment, chargeback processing, etc.

FTC Act

Passed in 1914, this law created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and vested in the commission responsibility for "protecting trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies" and protecting the public against unfair business practices.

FTP

(PCI) (Technical) See File Transfer Protocol.

Full Business Name

A firm’s full business name is the name that was entered onto the registration certificate it filed with the proper federal and state government agencies, as well as the IRS. See Federal Tax ID.

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Not only did PE Systems find that we were being overcharged, they pointed out very simple changes that we could do, that would keep us at the lower rates.
Clatsop Community College

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Clatsop Community College
1653 Jerome Avenue
Astoria, OR 97103-3698

To Whom It May Concern:

For years we suspected that we were being overcharged by our credit card processor. However, no one here had the time or knowledge to get at the details behind our monthly processor charges. PE Systems Inc. stepped in and found the information for us. They then negotiated with our processor to get us the lowest rates possible. Additionally, they got the credit card processor to refund some of the overcharges. Not only did PE Systems find that we were being overcharged, they pointed out very simple changes that we could do, that would keep us at the lower rates.

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