Glossary
account balance
The balance of funds held in a MultiSafepay account.
acquirer
A financial institution that processes card payments with issuers on behalf of merchants. MultiSafepay is an acquirer for Visa, Mastercard, and Bancontact.
acquirer reference number (ARN)
A unique number assigned to card payments as they move from the merchant's bank (acquiring bank) to the cardholder's bank (issuer). Banks can use ARNs to trace refunds.
affiliated merchant (affiliate)
A merchant (a legal entity that sells products and services to customers) managed by a partner account.
API endpoint
A specific URL in our API where merchants send requests to exchange information, e.g. about /orders, /gateways.
backend
The part of a merchant's integration not accessible to customers. Here you can connect with MultiSafepay, configure settings, process refunds, make API requests, and receive notifications.
BNPL
Buy now pay later methods let customers pay for their order after receiving it, and only for the items they keep.
cardholder
A customer who uses a card issued by a bank to make cashless payments to a merchant.
card scheme
A financial institution that issues credit or debit cards, provides infrastructure, and processes payments for a fee, e.g. Visa, Mastercard, American Express.
card verification code (CVC)
A 3 or 4 digit code customers enter as an additional layer of security for online credit or debit card payments. Not required for all cards, or for recurring payments.
collecting party
The party that receives the funds for a transaction directly from the customer, before transferring them to the merchant.
conversion rate
How often customers visiting a merchant's integration place an order and complete payment.
credit card
A card issued by a bank, building society, or card scheme that lets the holder pay for products or services on credit.
customer
A person or company that buys products and services from merchants.
debit card
A card issued by a bank that transfers funds directly from the customer's bank account.
developer
A software developer a merchant employs to work on the technical side of their integration.
direct flow
The customer selects the payment method in your embedded checkout and is connected directly to the payment method. Contrast with redirect flow below.
domestic transactions
A transaction occurring where the issuer and merchant are registered in the same country.
ecommerce platform
An online platform merchants use for accepting payments, e.g. website, mobile app, PWAs.
fraud
When a person tries to receive products without paying for them by tricking a customer or merchant.
integration
Software merchants use to sell products and services and accept payments, e.g website, mobile app, PWA. Merchants may use ecommerce platforms or build their own integration.
item
A product or service in a customer's shopping cart and/or order.
issuer
The customer's bank, which verifies transaction information and sends funds to the collecting party. For credit or debit card payments, the bank issues the card.
know your customer (KYC)
As a payment service provider and acquirer, MultiSafepay is legally required to perform KYC checks on the merchant and their site, business bank account, and the account holder.
merchant
A company (legal entity) that sells products and services to customers.
merchant of record
A legal entity that sells goods or services to an end customer, who must pay the merchant for their order. The merchant handles all payments and assumes liability for each transaction.
MultiSafepay account
A merchant's account with MultiSafepay, managed via a web dashboard .
order
A data element that contains all information about a single instance of products and/or services sold to a customer, which is linked to one or more transactions.
payment
The industry and the product MultiSafepay sells.
- For customers: When you confirm to transfer funds
- For merchants and collecting parties: When you receive funds
payment details
The payment information for a specific customer, e.g. card number, CVC code.
payment gateway
Transfers the customer's payment details to where the payment method is processed.
payment page
A webpage the customer is redirected to from the merchant's checkout where they complete payment. The page may be hosted by MultiSafepay (see payment pages, the issuer, or the payment method.
payment service provider (PSP)
MultiSafepay is a PSP and provides services that let merchants accept payments using different payment methods.
payout
When you transfer funds from your account balance to your business bank account.
See Payouts.
point of sale (POS) terminal
A terminal that accepts payments, usually by card or near-field communication (NFC), at a merchant's physical location, e.g. a store.
redirect flow
Redirect requests first send the customer to a payment page and then connect them to the selected payment method.
RESTful API (application programming interface)
The interface and set of protocols merchants use to exchange data with the MultiSafepay server. Our API reference specifies the content and format of requests to our server and the responses the server sends back.
reversal
When a customer cancels an order paid by credit or debit card and takes the funds back.
SEPA
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a European Union payment-integration initiative. Customers can quickly and securely transfer euros within the EU and to a number of non-EU countries.
settlement
When MultiSafepay collects the funds for a transaction and puts them in your account balance.
To withdraw funds, make a payout.
shopping cart
A container in the merchant's integration where customers place items for an order preparing for payment.
transaction
An instance of funds being transferred, e.g. customers paying merchants, merchants refunding customers. In our system, the transaction status changes as the funds move through the different stages of the payment flow.
we
MultiSafepay
you
Merchants, partners, and developers
Support
Email [email protected]
Updated about 1 year ago