Call Center: A functional area within an organization or an outsourced, separate facility that exists solely to answer inbound or place outbound telephone calls. Usually refers to a sophisticated voice operations center that provides a full range of high-volume, inbound or outbound call-handling services, including customer support, operator services, directory assistance, multilingual customer support, credit services, card services, inbound and outbound telemarketing, interactive voice response and web-based services.

Cancellation Number: A number provided by a hotel/motel to verify a cardholder's notification to cancel a guaranteed reservation or advance resort deposit.

Capture: Converting the authorization amount into a billable transaction record within a batch. Transactions cannot be captured unless previously authorized and the goods or services have been shipped or transmitted to the consumer.

Capture Date: The date on which a transaction is processed by an acquirer.

Card Base: A population of cardholders, especially in the context of a single-card family.

Card Issuer: 1) The financial institution or retailer that authorizes the issuance of a card to a consumer (or another organization), and is liable for the use of the card. The issuer retains full authority over the use of the card by the person to whom the card is issued. 2) Any bank or organization that issues, or causes to be issued, bankcards to those who apply for them. 3) Any organization that uses or issues a personal identification number (PIN).

Card Verification Code (CVC): A unique value calculated from the data encoded on the magnetic stripe of a MasterCard card, validating card information during the authorization process.

Card Verification Value (CVV): A unique value calculated from the data encoded on the magnetic stripe of a VISA card, validating card information during the authorization process.

Cardholder: The person to whom a financial transaction card is issued or an additional person authorized to use the card.

Cardholder Bank: The bank that has issued a bankcard to an individual. The term is frequently used in conjunction with interchange arrangement to identify the card-issuing bank.

Cash Advance: An amount advanced by a bank teller (or ATM) to a bankcard holder against the cardholder's line of credit.

Cash Bank: A purchase for more than the amount of goods or services with the cardholder receiving the difference in cash.

Chain: A series of merchant locations which are managed/owned by the same entity.

Charge Per Transaction: A fee charged on any authorized transaction to cover costs usually associated with delivery of the authorization.

Chargeback: A transaction that is challenged by a cardholder or card issuing bank and is sent back through interchange to the merchant bank for resolution.

Chargeback Period: The number of calendar days (counted from the transaction processing date) during which the issuer has the right to charge the transaction back to the acquirer. The number of days varies according to the type of transaction from 45 to 180 days.

Chargeback Reason Code: A numerical code which identifies the specific reasons for the chargeback. VISA and MasterCard each have their own chargeback codes.

Chargeback Reference Number: A 10-digit number assigned to every chargeback, unique (in a 12-month period) for each individual chargeback. The first four digits of the chargeback reference number are the issuer's identification (BIN/ICA) number.

Check Card: A bankcard that enables the user to purchase goods and services and obtain cash disbursements against his or her asset account (generally a checking account). The check card is also called an 'offline debit card' or 'deposit access card.'

Check Guarantee: A service provided by a third party vendor who guarantees a customer's payment by check for a specified amount. Stipulations require that the merchant follow correct authorization procedures.

Check Verification: A service provided in which a merchant accesses a national negative file database through their terminal/register to verify or authorize the person has no outstanding bad check complaints at any of the member merchants. This is not a guarantee of payment to the merchant.

Check and List Payment: A paper-based processing method in which the biller is sent a single check representing multiple payments accompanied by a list of payments that it represents.

Checks By Phone(SM): A system that allows consumers to provide their checking account information to a merchant over the phone and a duplicate check (paper draft or electronic check) is created for payment.

Chip: A small square of thin semiconductor material, such as silicon, that has been chemically processed to have a specific set of electrical characteristics such as circuits storage, and/or logic elements.

Clearing: The process of exchanging financial transaction details between an acquirer and an issuer to facilitate posting of a cardholder's account and reconciliation of a customer's settlement position.

Clearing Account: An account at the clearing bank that will receive a member's credit or debit for net settlement.

Clearing Bank: A bank designated by the member to receive the member's daily net settlement advisement. The clearing bank will also conduct funds transfer activities with the net settlement bank and maintain the member's clearing account. This bank may be the member itself.

Closed System: A kind of payment card system in which one organization both issues cards and acquires merchants. American Express, Diners Club, and Discover are examples of closed systems.

Co-Branded Card: A credit card issued jointly by a member bank and a merchant that bears the 'brand' of both.

Compliance: The procedure a VISA or MasterCard member may use to resolve a dispute between members when no chargeback reason code applies. The challenging member must prove financial loss due to a violation of MasterCard and/or VISA rules by the other member.

Concentrator: A financial institution or a third party service provider that has been retained by a biller to handle payment and/or remittance data.

Confirmation Number: A number provided by a hotel or motel to verify a cardholder's guaranteed reservation or advance resort deposit.

Congestion: Density of traffic when the load exceeds the capacity of a data communication path.

Consolidator: A bill service provider (BSP) that consolidates bills from other BSPs or billers and delivers them for presentment to the customer service provider. Also referred to as a Bill Consolidator.

Convenience User: A cardholder who pays the balance in full on each payment due date.

Cookie: A small chunk of information, stored on your computer by a Web site you have visited, that's used to remind that site about you the next time you visit it.

Corporate Card: A bankcard issued to companies for use by company employees. The liability for abuse of the card typically rests with the company and not with the employee.

Correspondent Bank: A bank that accepts deposits and performs banking services for other banks. Correspondent banking arrangements exist between local banks and banks located throughout the world.

Counterfeit Card: A plastic card which has been fraudulently printed, embossed, or encoded to appear to be a genuine bankcard, but which has not been authorized by MasterCard or VISA or issued by a member. A card originally issued by a member but subsequently altered without the issuer's knowledge or consent.

Credit Card: A plastic card with a credit limit used to purchase goods and services and to obtain cash advances on credit for which a cardholder is subsequently billed by the issuer for repayment of the credit extended.

Credit Deposit: The value of a merchant's credit card purchases that are credited to its bank account after the acquiring bank buys the merchant's sales slips. The deposit is credited but is not funded until the acquiring bank gets the monetary value from the issuer during settlement. Also referred to as Deposit Credit.

Credit Limit: The maximum amount the cardholder may owe to the issuer on the card account at any time.

Credit Loss: The amount lost (charged off) as a result of failure of the cardholder to repay the amount owed on the account.

Credit Scoring: A method for predicting the credit worthiness of applicants for credit.

Credit Transaction: A claim for funds by a cardholder for credit against his or her account. At the same time, it provides details of funds acknowledged as payable by the acquirer, the card acceptor, or both, to the card issuer.

Current Risk: The risk exposure presented in the given month projected from the prior month's processing volumes.

Customer Consolidation: One of four models of electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP). Bill content and payment instructions and/or a payment mechanism are sent to the customer via e-mail. Other models include: Biller Direct, Thick Consolidator and Thin Consolidator.

Cyberspace: A term coined by the science-fiction novelist, William Gibson, in his fantasy novel, Neuromancer. Used to describe the 'world' of computers. Used as a reference to the 'Internet.'

Cycle: The grouping of cardholder accounts to provide for a distribution of workload and easier account identification.

Cycle Billing: The preparation of monthly cardholder statements by group (cycle) for the purpose of evenly distributing the workload and receipt of cardholder payments.

Cycle Period: A specific period of time during which both debit and credit transactions are accumulated from billing.