There is always an opportunity to keep learning! If there are any terms that you're not familiar with or acronyms whose meaning you'd like to know, you can refer to these glossary pages.

This glossary defines common terms used across payments, security, integrations, terminal management, and platform operations. Each entry includes a category badge and a concise description for quick reference.

Glossary entries

3D Secure (3DS) PAYMENTS / SECURITY

Online cardholder authentication step, commonly used in ecommerce, where the cardholder verifies identity with the issuer, for example through a bank challenge or SMS code.

Acquirer PAYMENTS

The acquiring bank or processor that provides merchant acquiring services and receives authorization, capture, settlement, refund, and reversal messages from Handpoint systems.

Agreement TMS

The TMS relationship that binds a merchant to an acquirer setup, including acquirer protocol, MID, currencies, credentials, and related processing settings.

API INTEGRATIONS

Application Programming Interface. A set of endpoints and contracts used by systems such as CloudPOS API, TMS API, SDKs, and gateway services to exchange data and trigger operations.

AVS PAYMENTS / SECURITY

Address Verification Service. A fraud-prevention and interchange-optimization check for card-not-present transactions where billing ZIP/postcode and sometimes street address are sent to the issuer for validation.

Batch PAYMENTS

A group of transactions accumulated for settlement. Batch close operations submit or finalize transactions so funds can move through clearing and settlement.

BIN PAYMENTS

Bank Identification Number. The leading digits of a card number used to identify the issuing bank and derive card type or routing information.

BIN list TMS / PAYMENTS

A table of BIN entries used to resolve card type information. Different BIN lists can contain identical BIN values while remaining independent lists.

Cardholder PAYMENTS

The person using a payment card or wallet to make a transaction.

Card-not-present (CNP) PAYMENTS

A transaction where the physical card is not presented to the reader, such as MOTO, ecommerce, or stored-token transactions.

Card-present (CP) PAYMENTS

A transaction where the card or wallet is physically presented to the payment reader by insert, swipe, or contactless tap.

Card reader config TMS / DEVICE CONFIGURATION

The configuration payload generated for a payment reader, including merchant/device settings, credentials such as shared secret, and supported transaction behavior.

Card token PAYMENTS / SECURITY

A non-sensitive substitute for card data that can be stored and reused for supported future transactions without exposing the PAN to integrators.

Card type PAYMENTS

The classification derived from card information, such as credit, debit, scheme, or other card attributes used for processing decisions.

Cardstream PAYMENTS / INTEGRATIONS

A gateway used in some Handpoint ecommerce or CNP setups.

Capture PAYMENTS

The operation that finalizes an authorization or pre-authorization so funds can be transferred from the cardholder’s account to the merchant’s account during settlement.

Cash Discount PAYMENTS / FEE MITIGATION

A pricing program where the cash price is discounted relative to the card price, used by merchants to offset card processing costs.

Chargeback PAYMENTS

A dispute process where a cardholder or issuer challenges a transaction and the merchant may be required to provide evidence or return funds.

Clearing PAYMENTS

The post-authorization process where transaction data is submitted to the payment network/acquirer for financial settlement.

CloudApiKey TMS / INTEGRATIONS

A key used by SDK or CloudPOS/TMS features to access cloud-backed configuration and related services. Recent designs add a system-owned per-merchant key delivered in reader configuration.

CloudPOS API / Cloud API INTEGRATIONS

Handpoint’s cloud REST API layer used by integrations to communicate with payment readers and manage cloud-mode transaction flows.

Console TMS / PRODUCT

The newer configuration management and portal layer intended to manage templates, parameters, and merchant/terminal provisioning flows.

Currency PAYMENTS / TMS

The monetary unit configured for a merchant, acquirer, or terminal, used when processing and displaying transaction amounts.

CVV PAYMENTS / SECURITY

Card Verification Value. A card security code commonly used in CNP flows to help verify that the customer has access to the card.

Decoupled flow ARCHITECTURE

Two independent operations where failure in one operation does not affect the outcome of the other; for example, Sale followed by a separate post-sale tokenization request.

Deferred / post-sale tokenization PAYMENTS / SECURITY

Token creation performed after a successful sale using the transaction GUID and secure card references inside PCI-compliant infrastructure.

DUKPT SECURITY

Derived Unique Key Per Transaction. A key-management method commonly used in payment environments to protect transaction data with unique transaction keys.

Dual Pricing PAYMENTS / FEE MITIGATION

A fee-mitigation program where card and cash prices are presented separately so card processing costs can be reflected in the card price.

EMV PAYMENTS

The chip-card payment standard used for card-present transactions, including chip insert and contactless flows.

Fee Mitigation PAYMENTS / PRODUCT

A set of pricing programs that allow merchants to offset card processing costs, including surcharging, cash discount, dual pricing, and admin fee.

Gateway / Viscus PAYMENTS / PLATFORM

Handpoint’s integrated payments gateway responsible for processing transaction requests, interacting with acquirers, handling protocol logic, and maintaining payment state.

Gateway config TMS / PLATFORM

The configuration used by the gateway to process a merchant’s transactions, including acquirer protocol, merchant/acquirer IDs, features, routing, and transaction behavior.

GUID PLATFORM

Globally Unique Identifier. A unique reference used to identify transactions or tokenization requests across systems.

Handpoint App / HiPOS app PRODUCT

Handpoint’s payment application running on supported smart terminals for standalone or integrated payment operations.

HAPI INTEGRATIONS / SDK

Handpoint API/SDK layer used by native integrations, especially Android, to interact with payment readers and gateway operations.

HMAC SECURITY

Hash-based Message Authentication Code. A mechanism used to authenticate messages using a shared secret.

Host capture PAYMENTS

A processing model where the host/acquirer captures or batches authorized transactions, often using identifiers such as host capture POS ID.

HSM SECURITY

Hardware Security Module. A secure device or service used to manage cryptographic keys and perform sensitive cryptographic operations.

Idempotency ARCHITECTURE

A property of an operation where repeated identical requests do not create duplicate effects, such as returning the same token for repeated tokenization of the same transaction.

Incremental authorization PAYMENTS

An additional authorization used to increase the amount of an existing pre-authorization, common in hospitality, rentals, and tabs.

Integrator INTEGRATIONS

A third party or internal team integrating with Handpoint systems through SDK, REST API, or other supported interfaces.

Interchange PAYMENTS

Card-network fee category or cost structure applied to transactions. Features such as AVS can help avoid more expensive downgrade categories in some markets.

Issuer PAYMENTS

The bank or financial institution that issued the card to the cardholder and approves or declines authorization requests.

ISO 8583 PAYMENTS / PROTOCOL

A financial messaging standard used for authorization, reversal, and other card-payment messages between gateways, acquirers, and processors.

ISV INTEGRATIONS

Independent Software Vendor. A software company integrating Handpoint payments into its own product or platform.

JWT SECURITY / INTEGRATIONS

JSON Web Token. A compact signed token format used for authentication and claims exchange between systems.

KYC / AML OPERATIONS / COMPLIANCE

Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering checks performed during merchant onboarding and compliance review.

MCC PAYMENTS / TMS

Merchant Category Code. An acquirer-required merchant field used to classify merchant activity and influence interchange or routing behavior.

Merchant PAYMENTS / TMS

The business accepting card payments through Handpoint products or integrations.

Merchant assignment TMS

The TMS relationship assigning a terminal or reader to a merchant so the device can receive the merchant’s configuration.

MID PAYMENTS / TMS

Merchant ID. An acquirer-assigned merchant identifier used in authorization, settlement, reporting, and gateway configuration.

MOTO PAYMENTS

Mail Order / Telephone Order. A card-not-present flow where the merchant manually keys card details, typically for phone or mail orders.

mPOS PRODUCT

Mobile point of sale. Payment acceptance through mobile or smart-terminal applications, often integrated with a merchant or ISV app.

Omnipay PAYMENTS / ACQUIRER PROTOCOL

An acquiring/processing platform supported by Handpoint for transaction processing and settlement flows.

PAN PAYMENTS / SECURITY

Primary Account Number. The card number printed or encoded on a payment card. PAN is sensitive cardholder data and must be protected under PCI DSS.

Partial reversal PAYMENTS

A reversal of only part of a transaction or authorization amount, reducing the original approved amount rather than cancelling it completely.

Partner TMS / BUSINESS

An organization that owns or manages merchants and terminal estates in TMS, such as an ISO, SWP, or commercial partner.

Partner assignment TMS

The TMS relationship that associates terminals or other entities with a partner estate.

PayFac PAYMENTS / BUSINESS

Payment Facilitator. A regulated entity that processes payments on behalf of sub-merchants and takes responsibility for their payment activity.

PCI DSS SECURITY / COMPLIANCE

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. The security standard governing systems that store, process, or transmit cardholder data.

POI PAYMENTS / DEVICE

Point of Interaction. The payment acceptance environment or device where a cardholder presents payment credentials.

POS PAYMENTS / INTEGRATIONS

Point of Sale. The merchant system used to initiate sales, refunds, reversals, and related payment operations.

Pre-authorization / Pre-auth PAYMENTS

A transaction that requests approval for an estimated amount before the final amount is known. Funds are held until captured, reversed, or released by scheme rules.

Protocol PAYMENTS / TMS

The acquirer or gateway-specific message format and processing behavior used to route and process transactions, such as TSYS or Omnipay.

Publish TMS

The action of generating and sending updated configuration so a terminal or reader can use the latest merchant, gateway, and card reader settings.

Queen / Txn Feed PLATFORM / ANALYTICS

Handpoint analytics and transaction feed components used to store, expose, and report transaction data.

Reader DEVICE

A payment terminal or card reader identified by terminal type/model and serial number.

Refund PAYMENTS

A transaction that returns funds to the cardholder after an original sale or capture.

REST API INTEGRATIONS

A web API style used by CloudPOS and other Handpoint services to expose operations over HTTP endpoints.

Reversal / Void PAYMENTS

An operation that cancels or releases a transaction before settlement or clears an authorization hold, depending on transaction state and acquirer support.

ROC / AOC SECURITY / COMPLIANCE

Report on Compliance and Attestation of Compliance. PCI DSS assessment documents evidencing compliance status.

SaF / Store-and-Forward PAYMENTS / PRODUCT

Offline transaction processing where a terminal securely stores transaction data when connectivity is unavailable and forwards it once the network is restored.

SDK INTEGRATIONS

Software Development Kit. Handpoint libraries used by ISVs and apps to interact with readers and payment services, such as Android SDK, iOS SDK, JavaScript SDK, or .NET SDK.

Settlement PAYMENTS

The process by which approved/captured transactions are submitted and funds are transferred through the acquiring and card-network ecosystem to the merchant.

Shared secret SECURITY / TMS

A per-merchant credential delivered in configuration and used to authenticate or protect communication between Handpoint components.

SmartPOS PRODUCT / DEVICE

A smart payment terminal platform that can run payment and business applications.

Sub-merchant PAYMENTS / PAYFAC

A smaller merchant operating under a Payment Facilitator model rather than holding a fully independent acquirer relationship.

Surcharging PAYMENTS / FEE MITIGATION

A pricing program where a card fee is added to a transaction to help the merchant offset card processing costs, subject to scheme and regulatory rules.

SWP BUSINESS / INTEGRATIONS

Software Partner. A partner or software provider that refers merchants or integrates Handpoint payments into its solution.

Tax ID TMS / COMPLIANCE

A merchant fiscal identifier stored as merchant metadata and, for some flows, propagated into gateway or settlement data.

Template TMS / CONSOLE

A reusable configuration object that applies global policy or behavior to many readers, allowing batch updates through shared parameters.

Terminal config TMS / DEVICE CONFIGURATION

The TMS-generated configuration associated with a terminal, typically including device assignment and runtime settings.

Terminal status TMS / DEVICE

The operational state of a terminal or reader as tracked by TMS or related device-management systems.

TID PAYMENTS / TMS

Terminal ID. An acquirer-assigned or host-specific identifier for a payment terminal, used in gateway and acquirer messages.

Tip adjustment PAYMENTS

A post-authorization update to add or adjust a tip amount before final settlement, where supported by the acquirer and transaction type.

TMS TMS / PLATFORM

Terminal Management System. Handpoint’s system for managing partners, merchants, terminals, assignments, configuration, and publishing.

Tokenization PAYMENTS / SECURITY

The process of replacing sensitive card data with a token that can be used for supported follow-up transactions while keeping PAN inside PCI-controlled systems.

Transaction GUID PLATFORM / PAYMENTS

The unique identifier of a successfully processed transaction, used for reporting, linking operations, and post-sale tokenization.

TSYS PAYMENTS / ACQUIRER PROTOCOL

A payment processor/acquirer protocol used by Handpoint in US processing flows, including batch, MOTO, pre-authorization, and reversal scenarios.

Viscus Web TMS / PLATFORM

The web interface and API layer used to manage TMS entities such as partners, merchants, terminals, CloudPOS keys, and configuration.