Glossary

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

merchant

A company (legal entity) that sells products and services to customers.

MultiSafepay account

A merchant’s account with MultiSafepay, managed via a web dashboard.

MultiSafepay balance

The balance of funds held in a MultiSafepay account.

order

All information related to a single instance of products and/or services sold to a customer that 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 Activating MultiSafepay 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.

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.

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 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.

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