CyberSource

CyberSource is a real-time fraud-detection service that examines eCommerce transactions. It estimates the level of risk associated with each transaction and provides merchants with risk scores, enabling them to more accurately identify potentially fraudulent orders.

Credit Receipt

Credit receipt is a receipt that documents a refund or price adjustment a merchant has made or is making to a cardholder's account. A credit receipt is also known as a credit voucher.

Copy Request

Transaction copy request, or simply copy request, is a request by a card issuer to a merchant bank for a copy of a sales receipt for a disputed transaction. If the merchant bank stores the transaction receipts that their merchants generate, the bank will fulfill the copy request. If, however, the merchant stores its own transaction receipts, the merchant bank will forward the copy request to the merchant. The merchant then must produce a legible copy of the transaction receipt and submit it to the merchant bank within a certain time frame. A copy request is also known as a retrieval request.

Code 10 Call

Code 10 is a call made by a sales associate to the merchant's voice authorization center when he or she is suspicious about the validity of the card or of the legitimacy of the cardholder. The term "Code 10" is used so calls can be made without arousing suspicion while the cardholder is present. The sales associate will be routed to the card issuer's call center, where he or she will be asked to answer, with a "yes" or "no", a series of questions to determine the legitimacy of the transaction. Upon reaching a conclusion, the sales associate will be given instructions on how to proceed.

Chargeback

Chargeback is a card transaction that a card issuer returns as a financial liability to a merchant bank, usually because of a disputed transaction. The merchant bank may then return or "charge back" the transaction to the merchant.

Cash Disbursement

In the Payment Card Industry cash disbursement is a bankcard transaction involving the payment of cash or travelers checks to a cardholder. In general, only financial institutions are allowed to make cash disbursements.

Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP)

The Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) is a Visa program that establishes data security standards, procedures, and tools for all entities - merchants, service providers, card issuers, and merchant banks - that store Visa cardholder account information. CISP compliance is mandatory.

Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2)

Card Verification Value 2 (CVV2) is the three-digit number that is printed on the signature panel on the back of a Visa payment card, after the full account number or the last four digits of the account number. The number is generated when the card is issued, by hashing the card number and expiration date under a key known only to the card issuer. The CVV2 is used in card-not-present transactions to ensure that the card is valid. Card-not-present merchants ask the customer for the CVV2 and submit it as part of their authorization request. Merchants are prohibited from storing CVV2 information.

Card Security Features

The payment card industry defines the card security features as the alphanumeric, pictorial, and other design elements that appear on the front and back of all valid credit and debit cards. It is required that merchants operating in a face-to-face environment check these features when processing a card payment transaction at the point of sale to ensure that a card is valid.

Card Verification Code 2 (CVC2)

Card Verification Code 2 (CVC2) is the three-digit number that is printed on the signature panel on the back of a MasterCard payment card, after the full account number or the last four digits of the account number. The number is generated when the card is issued, by hashing the card number and expiration date under a key known only to the card issuer. The CVC2 is used in card-not-present transactions to ensure that the card is valid. Card-not-present merchants ask the customer for the CVC2 and submit it as part of their authorization request. Merchants are prohibited from storing CVC2 information.

Card-Present

Card-present is a merchant, market or sales environment in which transactions are completed only if both a valid payment card and cardholder are present. Card-present transactions include traditional retail outlets - department and grocery stores, electronics stores, etc. Card-present transactions also include cash disbursements and self-service situations, such as gas stations and grocery stores, where cardholders use unattended payment devices.

Card-Not-Present

Card-not-present is a merchant, market or sales environment in which transactions are completed without a valid payment card or cardholder being present. Card-not-present is used to refer to mail order, telephone order, and Internet merchants and sales environments.

Cardholder

Cardholder is a person to whom a payment card is issued. Upon the issuance of the card, the cardholder enters into a contract with the card issuer whereby the card issuer agrees to finance the purchases the cardholder has made with the card and to issue a monthly statement with a summary of the transactions that the the cardholder has participated in during the billing period. The cardholder, for his or her part, agrees to pay to the card issuer the monthly statement balance or another amount, including all applicable finance charges, as agreed to in the contract.

Card Expiration Date

Card expiration date is the date after which a payment card is no longer valid. The card expiration date is embossed on the front of all valid payment cards and is one of the card security features that must be checked by merchants to ensure that a card-present transaction is valid. Merchants operating in a card-not-present environment must always ask for the card expiration date and include it in the authorization request. See also: Good Through Date.

Card Acceptance Procedures

Card acceptance procedures are the procedures that merchants must follow at a physical point of sale or in a card-not-present environment to ensure that a card and cardholder are valid.

"Call" or "Call Center" Authorization Response

A "Call" or "Call Center" response to a merchant's authorization request indicates that the card issuer needs more information about the card or cardholder before a transaction can be approved. The merchant is required to call the card issuer's voice authorization center. It is also called a referral response.

Authorization

Authorization is the process by which a card issuer approves or declines a payment card transaction. In a card-present environment, the authorization occurs automatically when a card's magnetic stripe is swiped through a card reader. In a card-not-present environment, the authorization occurs when the card account's information is submitted online or over the phone. In both instances, the card information is routed to the card issuer through the respective Credit Card Association's network and then the card issuer's response is routed back through the same channel.

Address Verification Service (AVS)

AVS enables merchants that accept card-not-present transactions to compare the billing address (the address to which the card issuer sends its monthly statement for that account) provided by a customer with the billing address on the card issuer's file before processing a transaction. After comparing the provided address with the one they have on file for their cardholder, the card issuer responds by issuing an AVS Response code. Address verification and transaction authorization occur simultaneously and, within seconds, the merchant receives both results.