Hello, and welcome to First Data’s Support Glossary. These terms will give you explanations and clarifications that will set your business up for success. We have a wide variety of definitions and terms that will cover everything from general industry terms to fee breakdowns. We hope this is a great step toward running your business successfully with First Data.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Adjustments
“Adjustments” are the total dollar amount credited to, or deducted from, your account to resolve processing and billing discrepancies.
Authorization Code
An “Authorization Code” is a numerical or alphanumerical code provided directly by a credit card provider or issuing bank. This code relates to and authorizes a specific sales transaction.
B
Batch or Batching
“Batch” or “Batching” refers to a group of credit card transactions.
Bank Deposits
“Bank Deposits” are the funds transferred into your checking account.
Batch Number
The “Batch Number” is the numeric code associated with the batch in which the transactions were submitted.
Batch Submit Date
The “Batch Submit Date” is the day the batch of transactions was submitted to Merchant Services.
Batch Summary
The “Batch Summary” is the section that shows the count and amount breakdown by batch for transactions processed.
Batching Out
“Batching Out” occurs when a merchant moves the funds they’ve collected to their processing company. You will not receive the funds from these transactions until you have batched out. First Data recommends you batch out on a daily basis.
C
Card Expiration Date
The “Card Expiration Date” is the month and year the debit or credit card expires.
Card Type
The “Card Type” is the brand associated with the debit or credit card.
Card Usage
The “Card Usage” shows the count and amount breakdown by card type for transactions processed.
Cardholder Number
The “Cardholder Number” is the series of digits used to identify the cardholder, issuer and card brand.
Chargebacks
A “Chargeback” occurs when a customer disputes a transaction, product or service. This can result in a bank-initiated refund for that credit card sale.
Chargeback Amount
The “Chargeback Amount” is the total dollar amount disputed.
Chargeback Description
The “Chargeback Description” describes why the chargeback has occurred.
Chargeback Fee
“Chargeback Fees” occur when a customer disputes a transaction, product, or service provided by the merchant. This will result in a charge assessed to the merchant.
Chargeback-Case Number
A “Case Number” is an alphanumerical code associated with a specific chargeback.
Chargeback-Due Date
A “Chargeback Due Date” is the deadline that you must respond by, in order to dispute a chargeback.
Chargeback-Open Status
An “Open Status” is when a chargeback has not been responded to and the due date has not yet expired.
Chargeback-Reversed
“Reversed” is the status assigned to a chargeback when the funds have been given back to the issuing bank.
Chargeback-Status Date
The “Status Date” is the last day the dispute department has taken action on your case.
D
Deposit
“Deposit” is the total dollar amount funded to your business checking account.
Dip Slot
“Dip slot”, commonly referred to as the “chip reader”, is used to read chip-enabled credit cards. This is how chip-enabled cards will be taken for payment.
Dipping
“Dipping” is when a customer or a merchant inserts there credit card into a terminal “Dip Slot”, aka “Chip Reader.”
Disputes
A “Dispute” is when a merchant disagrees with the chargeback issued to the customer. For example, if a refund request was made outside of the parameters of the merchant's refund policy, the merchant may dispute the chargeback. If the merchant wins this dispute he or she is issued a reversal.
E
Entry Mode
The “Entry Mode” is the code used to identify how the cardholder account information was entered or captured at the point of sale.
External Merchant ID
The “External Merchant ID” is an additional merchant number associated with each business location.
F
Forced Transactions
Occasionally, credit card software will not authorize a credit card transaction to complete the sale. This is common and you have nothing to worry about. To complete these transactions, the merchant will simply call the card issuer's bank and the bank will give the merchant an authorization code , which will then be manually entered by the merchant.
Funding Hold
A “Funding Hold” occurs for a variety of different reasons and is a normal occurrence for many merchants. If your money has not been moved into your account within 2 business days of batch closure, you can then call your Customer Support Help Desk for additional information.
G
H
I
Interchange Fee
“Interchange Fees” are standard credit card processing charges. This is your agreed upon per transaction percentage and fee.
Interchange-Debit Network Fees
“Interchange Debit Network Fees” are charges billed to clients that accept pin-based debit cards.
J
K
L
Leasing Fee
“Leasing Fees” are the subscription charge associated with leasing your Point of Sale (POS) System period.
Location ID
The “Location ID” is used to identify where the transaction was processed during a sale.
M
Merchant ID (MID)
“Merchant ID” commonly referred to as “MID”, is a unique account number assigned to every merchant and merchant location. You can find your “MID” at the top of your statement. If you ever need to call the Customer Support Help Desk it is important to have this handy.
N
O
Offline Transaction
An “Offline Transaction” is when merchants process sales while their POS device is not connected to the internet.
P
PCI Compliance
“Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance” refers to meeting a set of standards developed to ensure that the credit card industry is securing customer data uniformly. Visa®, Mastercard®, Discover® and AMEX® established the PCI Security Standards Council to help regulate the credit card industry and manage PCI standards in an effort to improve payment security.
PCI Compliance Fee
“PCI Compliance fees” are industry-standard charges that are billed to merchants who are not PCI Compliant. These charges are associated with increased security risks due to being non-compliant. These can be viewed on your statement as daily or monthly fees.
Q
R
Reference Number
The “Reference Number” refers to the 23-digit Outgoing Acquirer number. This is typically used when a merchant needs to lookup specific transactions.
Reversal
“Reversal” is the amount credited to merchants after they have successfully won a dispute. For example, if a chargeback was issued incorrectly over a refund request, the merchant may win this dispute and will be credited the dollar amount of the transaction.
Reference Number
This refers to a code used to provide additional information to the receiving clearing member regarding the nature of a chargeback, subsequent presentment, fee collection, funds disbursement, or request for a source document.
S
Statement
A “Statement” is the document you receive at the end of every month via email or standard postal delivery. Statements detail your transactions processed within that month. To change your statement delivery method contact your Customer Support Help Desk.
Statement Fee
“Statement Fees” occur when a merchant opts in for paper delivery. Some clients receive a summary statement for multiple stores; these are considered separate business locations and the merchant will be charged the associated fee for each statement. To change your statement delivery method contact your Customer Support Help Desk.
Statement Period
“Statement Period” is the summary of financial transactions accrued during a specific period of time, typically one month. These transactions are represented as a statement.
Settlement Error
This refers to a transaction status denoting an error that occurred during processing that is now preventing settlement of the transaction.
Settlement Statement
A document issued to the merchant, indicating the sales and credit activity, billing information, discount fee, and chargebacks (if any) occurring during a particular time frame (one week, one month).
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes
A four-digit code assigned by the United States government for classifying industries used to identify the nature of a business.
Store & Forward Mode
“Store & Forward Mode” is a setting utilized in the terminal to process offline transactions. Your terminal will automatically go into store and forward mode when it has low or zero online connectivity. Transactions taken while in this mode will be processed when you batch out.
Submitted Transactions
“Submitted Transactions” are all your credit and debit card transactions that total daily sales volumes.
T
Terminal Identification Number (TID)
Unique numerical identifier that denotes the specific Point-of-Sale device or computer where a payment transaction initiated, used by merchants, card associations and others to source the origin of fraud transactions.
Third-Party Transaction Fees
“Third Party Transactions” charges are the fees for activity passed directly to Third Party Service Providers for processing and funding.
Total Amount Processed
“Total Amount Processed” commonly referred to as “Net Total” or “Net Sales” is your total sales amount minus any applicable chargebacks/reversals, adjustments, third-party transactions and/or fees. This sum is the total dollar amount to be credited to your account.
Total Amount Submitted
“Total Amount Submitted” is the total sales of the funds collected during a statement period. This amount is not adjusted for refunds or discounts, and doesn’t include taxes and tips collected on sales.
Transaction
In payments, a “Transaction” refers to an agreement between a buyer and seller to exchange an asset for payment of goods or services. A transaction involves the change in financial status between the two parties. One example of a transaction is the process that takes place when a consumer makes a purchase at a retail store using a credit card.
Transaction Amount
A “Transaction Amount” is the total dollar amount of a sale or refund.
Transaction Date
This refers to the actual date on which a transaction occurs that is used in recording and tracking transactions.
Transaction Fees
Service costs charged to a merchant on a per-transaction basis.
Transaction ID
“Transaction ID” commonly referred to as “Trans ID” is a unique identification code assigned to a specific credit or debit transaction, used for sorting transaction data.
Transaction Status
Refers to the specific state in which a transaction currently is in the processing cycle. Various transaction states include Authorized/Pending Capture, Captured/Pending Settlement, Credit/Pending Settlement, Declined, Voided, Credited, General Error, Communication Error, Settled Successfully, Under Review, and Review Failed.
Transaction Type
A “Transaction Type” is the numeric code that identifies the transactions as a sale.
U
Unauthorized Transaction
During a purchase, the use of a credit or debit card, or via another method, to make a payment not authorized by that account holder, often the result of fraud or cybercrime. Note that this does not refer to an issuer declining authorization for payment on a transaction.
Under Review/Security Hold
The payment processor practice of reviewing a potentially fraudulent or high-risk transaction prior to submission for processing, usually resulting in a minor delay.
V
Void Transaction
A credit or debit transaction canceled by the seller, or merchant, after authorization but prior to completion and settlement.