ACH – Automated Clearing House network:
A batch processing settlement system where transactions received by financial institutions during the day are stored and processed later in batch mode. Transactions are processes electronically between financial intuitions instead of using paper to carry necessary transaction information.
AFNOR:
French association for standardization.
ANSI (The American National Standards Institute):
A non-profit, privately funded membership organization that coordinates the development of
API:
Application Programming Interface Software used by an application program to request and carry out lower-level services performed by a computer's or telephone system's operating system.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange):
A standard code used by computer and data communication systems for translating characters, numbers, and punctuation into digital form. ASCII characters can be recognized by computer and communications devices using a variety of applications.
Base or Base station:
Either a communications and charging base, or just a charging base used in the same location as the i7770 terminal.
BIN:
Bank Identification Number.
BPS (Bits Per Second):
The unit of measurement for the rate at which data is transmitted.
Card Authentication Method.
CAT:
Credit Authorisation Terminal.
C-SET:
Chip Secure Electronique Transaction.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access):
A spread-spectrum approach to digital transmission. With CDMA, each conversation is digitized and then tagged with a code. The mobile phone is then instructed to decipher only a particular code to pluck the right conversation off the air. The process can be compared in some ways to an English-speaking person picking out in a crowded room of French speakers the only other person who is speaking English.
Check Guarantee:
A program where the amount of the check is guaranteed in the event that the check is returned unpaid to the merchant or fraudulent.
Check Verification:
A process that screens checks and check writers against a negative database of "bad check writers” at the point of sale.
Client-Server:
A computer network system in which programs and information reside on the server and clients connect to the server for network access.
CMC7:
A specific MICR font used by banks in
DDA :
Dynamic Data Authentication.
DES:
Data Encryption Standard.
Dial-Up:
The use of a standard telephone to create a telephone or data call.
DSA:
Digital Signature Algorithm.
DSS:
Digital Signature Systems.
ECR:
Electronic Cash Register device.
Electronic Check Conversion:
Also known as ECC. The process of scanning and electronically transmitting the MICR line of a check from the POS to the paying bank for settlement. Converted checks are routed through the collecting bank to the ACH system and on to the paying bank.
EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility):
The ability of equipment or systems to be used in their intended environment within designed efficiency levels without causing or receiving degradation due to unintentional electromagnetic interference. Proper shielding of devices reduces interference.
Encryption:
The transformation of data, for the purpose of privacy, into an unreadable format until reformatted with a decryption key. 'Public key' encryption utilizes the RSA (which stands for its developers, Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman) encryption key. PGP, or Pretty Good Privacy, is a cryptography program for computer data, e-mail, and voice conversation.
FCC (Federal Communications Commission):
The government agency responsible for regulating telecommunications in the United States.
Franking:
The printing of multiple lines of check information or depository information on the back of the check.
Frequency:
A measure of the energy, as one or more waves per second, in an electrical or light-wave information signal. A signal's frequency is stated in either cycles-per-second or Hertz (Hz). See also Hertz.
FTP:
File Transfert Protocole.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications):
A world standard for digital wireless transmissions. GSM is the most widely used standard in the world today with more than 150 million users worldwide. See also TDMA.
GUI (Graphical User Interface):
A name for any computer interface that substitutes graphics for characters.
Hertz:
A measurement of electromagnetic energy, equivalent to one 'wave' cycle per second. See also KHz, MHz, GHz.
HTTP:
HyperText Transfer Protocol.
IC Memory Card:
Integrated Circuit Memory Card.
IDEA:
International Data Encryption Algorithm.
Infrared:
A band of the electromagnetic spectrum used for airwave communications and some fiber-optic transmission systems. Infrared is commonly used for short-range (up to 20 feet) through-the-air data transmission. Many PC devices have infrared ports, called Infrared Serial Data Link (IRDA), to synchronize with other devices. IRDA supports speeds up to 1.5 Mbps.
Interconnection:
The routing of telecommunications traffic between the networks of different communications companies.
ISDN:
Integrated Services Digital Network.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization):
Iso is a global network that identifies what International Standards are required by business, government and society, develops them in partnership with the sectors that will put them to use, adopts them by transparent procedures based on national input and delivers them to be implemented worldwide.
IP (Internet Protocol):
See TCP/IP.
Java:
A programming language from Sun Microsystems which abstracts data on bytecodes so that the same code runs on any operating system. Java software is generally posted on the Web and downloadable over the Internet to a PC. HotJava is installed on a Web browser and enables Java programs to be delivered over the Web and run on a PC.
KHz (KiloHertz Thousands of Hertz):
Each wireless phone call occupies only a few KiloHertz. See also Hertz, MHz, GHz.
LAN (Local Area Network):
A data communications network, typically within a building or campus, to link computers and peripheral devices under some form of standard control.
LCD:
Liquid Cristal Display.
MHz (MegaHertz):
Millions of Hertz Cellular and ESMR systems operate in the 800 and 900 MHz bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. See also Hertz, KHz, GHz.
MICR:
MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, and is used to describe the numbers and symbols typically seen at the bottom of checks, and the technology and processes to produce and analyze these characters.
Mobitex:
A cellular land radio-based packet switched data communications system used by BellSouth's two-way packet data network and developed by Ericsson.
Modem (MOdulator/DEModulator):
A hardware device which converts digital data into analog and vice versa to enable digital signals from computers to be transmitted over analog telephone lines.
NACHA – National Automated Clearing House Association:
The Electronics Payments Association. Responsible for developing operating rules and business practices for the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network and for electronic payments in the areas of Internet commerce, electronic bill and invoice presentment and payment, check conversion, financial electronic interchange, international payments and electronics benefits transfer.
OCR A&B Font Recognition:
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is the automatic recognition and interpretation of text after it has been converted into digital form by a scanner. OCR A&B font recognition is a technology typically used with bill payment applications.
Operating System:
A software program that manages the basic operations of a computer system. These operations include memory apportionment, the order and method of handling tasks, flow of information into and out of the main processor and to peripherals, etc. Companies involved in wireless data operating systems include Microsoft and Symbian.
OPOS – (OLE For Retail POS):
OPOS was developed in 1995 by four companies (NCR, Microsoft, Epson, and PSI/ICL) to define an industry standard method of interfacing to POS peripherals.
Packet:
A bundle of data organized in a specific way for transmission. The three principal elements of a packet include the header, the text, and the trailer (error detection and correction bits).
PCI PED:
PCI PED stands for Payment Card Industry Pin Entry Device and is a standard developed by the major card issuers Visa and Mastercard to secure the EFT POS.
PCS (Personal Communications Services):
FCC terminology describing two-way, personal, digital wireless communications systems. Several traditional cellular companies now offer PCS services.
PIN (personal Identification number):
It is used as a security device on payment cards requiring this code to be entered for further verification.
POS:
Point of sale.
Protocol:
A specific set of rules for organizing the transmission of data in a network.
PSTN:
Public Switched Telephone Network.
RS232:
RS-232 (ANSI/EIA-232 Standard) is the serial connection found on IBM-compatible PCs. It’s used it for many purposes, such as connecting a mouse, printer, external modem, and various peripheral devices to a PC.
ROHS:
Restriction Of the use of certain Hazardous Substances.
SAM:
Secure Authentication Module.
SDA:
Static Data Authentication.
SEPP:
Secure Electronic Payment Protocol.
SET:
Secure Electronic Transaction.
SIM (Subscriber Identity Module):
A computer chip set in a handset that contains information needed to identify the subscriber when connecting to the network, especially for billing purposes.
Smart Card:
A credit card-sized card with a microprocessor and memory.
Spread Spectrum:
A modulation technique, also known as frequency hopping, used in wireless systems. The data is packetized and spread over a range of bandwidth.
SRAM:
Static Random Access Memory.
STT:
Secure Transactions Technology.
Substitute Check:
An electronic or paper reproduction of the original check that contains the front and back information of the original check and can be used in lieu of the original check.
SWIFT:
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
TBACS:
Token-Based Access Control System.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol):
The standard set of protocols used by the Internet for transferring information between computers, handsets, and other devices.
TFT:
Thin Film transistor.
UMTS:
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.
USB:
USB is a plug-and-play interface between a computer and add-on devices (such as keyboards, printers and other peripheral devices). With USB, a new device can be added to your computer without having to add an adapter card or having to turn the computer off.
VPN:
Virtual Private Network, (français)-RPV.
WAN (Wide Area Network):
A network that uses local telephone company lines to connect geographically dispersed sites. See LAN and MAN. WAP (Wireless Applications Protocol): A proposed protocol for wireless applications. The protocol is designed to simplify how wireless users access electronic and voice mail, send and receive faxes, make stock trades, conduct banking transactions and view miniature Web pages on a small screen.
WEEE:
Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment.