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ABA Routing Number
Also referred to as a Transit Routing Number. Directs electronic ACH deposits to the proper bank institution.

agreement
The agreements among Client, Processor and Bank contained in the Application, the Program Guide and the Schedules thereto and documents incorporated therein, each as amended from time to time, which collectively constitute the Agreement among the parties.

application
The application executed by Client, Processor and Bank, which is one of the documents comprising the Agreement.

acquirer
A financial institution that maintains the merchant credit card processing relationship and receives all transactions from the merchant to be distributed to the Cardmember Banks.

address verification
A service in which the merchant verifies the cardmember's address. Primarily used by Mail/Telephone order merchants. Not a guarantee that a transaction is valid.

arbitration
The procedure an Acquirer may use to resolve a complaint with a Card Issuer on behalf of the establishment.

associations
MasterCard International, Visa U.S.A., or Visa International, which are licensing regulatory agencies for bankcard activities.

association rules
The rules, regulations, releases, interpretations and other requirements (whether contractual or otherwise) imposed or adopted by any Association.

authorization
Approval by, or on behalf of, the card issuer to validate a transaction for a merchant or another affiliate bank. An authorization indicates only the availability of the cardmember's credit limit at the time the authorization is requested.

authorization center
A department that electronically communicates a merchant's request for authorization on credit Card transactions to the Cardmember's bank and transmits such authorization to the merchant via electronic equipment or by voice authorization.

authorization approval code
A number issued to a participating merchant by the Authorization Center that confirms the authorization for a sale or service.

automated clearing house (ACH)
A method of transferring funds between the banks and financial institutions via the Federal Reserve System.

average ticket
The average dollar amount of your credit card transactions.

auto-representment
Chargebacks (credit not issued, transaction not authorized, etc.) that were automatically resolved on the merchants behalf without their knowledge or intervention.

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balance sheet
A financial statement that shows assets, liabilities, and net worth as of a specific date.

bank
The bank identified on the application signed by you.

bankruptcy code
Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended from time to time.

Batch
Usually a day's worth of transactions, including sales and credits to be processed by the Card processor.

batch header ticket
The identifying form used by the electronic submission merchant to indicate a batch of sales/credit slips (usually one day's work).

business Day
A day (other than Saturday or Sunday) on which Bank is open for business.

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card
A valid credit Card or valid off-line debit Card bearing the service mark of VISA or MasterCard and, to the extent the Schedules so provide, a valid Card issued by any other Associations specified on such Schedules.

card issuer
Financial organizations authorized by a regulatory organization to issue credit cards to individual cardholders. Also see Cardmember Bank.

cardholder
Also referred to as cardmember. The authorized user to whom a credit card has been issued.

cardmember bank
The bank that issued a bankcard to an individual. The term is frequently used in conjunction with interchange arrangements to identify the card-issuing bank.

chargeback
A returned transaction resulting from the lack of adherence to the conditions of the Sales Agreement, Association regulations or these Operating Procedures and the resultant debiting of your merchant account.

check guarantee
A service provided through a merchant's POS equipment which guarantees payment up to a defined limit, provided the merchant follows proper steps in accepting the check.

check verification
A service provided in which a merchant accesses a national negative file database through its terminal/register to verify or authorize that a person has no outstanding bad check complaints at any of the member merchants. This is not a guarantee of payment to the merchant.

client
The party identified as "Client" on the Application. The words "you" and "your" refer to Client.

client's chargeback percentage
The actual monthly percentage calculated by dividing Client's total monthly VISA and MasterCard Chargeback items in any line of business by the number of Client's total monthly VISA and MasterCard transactions in such line of business.

client reference number
An 8-digit number supplied with a credit card transaction. This number is given to the Acquirer along with a retrieval request.

compliance
Compliance to the Visa and MasterCard regulatory bylaws.

credit
A refund or price adjustment given for a previous purchase transaction.

credit draft
A document evidencing the return of merchandise by a cardmember to a merchant, or other refund made by the merchant to the cardmember.

credit limit
The credit line set by the Card Issuer for the Cardmember's account.

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data encryption
The scrambling of information sent over the Internet. Only the intended users can read and understand encrypted information

DDA
Demand Deposit Account. The individual business bank account that is credited or debited for deposits, fees, and adjustments.

debit card
An on-line debit card which bears one or more logos of a debit/ATM network (such as Honor, Pulse, MAC, etc.)

dial-up terminal
An authorization device which, like a telephone, dials an authorization center for validation of transactions.

discount rate
The amount a merchant processor charges a merchant to give credit for depositing and handling merchants' daily credit card transactions.

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electronic benefit transfer (EBT)
The credit line set by the Card Issuer for the Cardmember's account.

electronic draft capture (EDC)
A process which allows a merchant's dial-up terminal to receive authorization and capture transactions, and electronically transmit them to a Card processor. This eliminates the need to submit paper for processing.

entitlements
Also known as card types. The credit card processing services provided to an establishment.

exceeded timeliness
Transaction was deposited late. The authorization date, compared to the processing date, exceeded the time frame allowed for the interchange level for which the merchant is priced.

expiration date
The date embossed on the credit card beyond which the card is not acceptable by the establishment at the point-of-sale.

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food stamps
The credit line set by the Card Issuer for the Cardmember's account.

force/post authorization
The entry of a purchase resulting from a referral ("call Authorization Center") message or a downtime interruption of service from a network, which enables the merchant to enter (as a force/post authorization) the transaction and the approval code into the EDC batch.

fraud investigation
The process of identifying suspicious merchant and/or cardholder activity.

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general terms
Section of the Program Guide, including any amendments of modifications.

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hard copy / tissue copy
The actual physical document of a transaction, such as sales drafts, credit slips, etc.

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imprinter
A manual or electric machine used to physically imprint the merchant's name and ID number as well as the Cardmember's name and Card number on Sales Drafts.

issuing bank
Cardmember's bank, or the bank which has issued a MasterCard or Visa card to an individual.

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media
The documentation of monetary transactions (i.e., sales drafts, credit slips, computer printouts, etc.).

media retrieval requests
Media retrieval is the process of obtaining paper documents from a centralized location. You can obtain two types of media retrieval requests: 1) requests for sales record from cardholders and 2) requests for documentation in defense of the chargeback from card issuers. You must fulfill media within 12 days of receipt. If you fulfill media after 12 days of receipt, the status is fulfilled late. If you cannot fulfill the media, the status is expired.

magnetic stripe
A stripe of magnetic information affixed to the back of a plastic credit or debit Card. The magnetic stripe contains essential Cardmember and account information.

media
The documentation of monetary transactions (i.e., Sales Drafts, credit slips, computer printouts, etc.)

merchant identification card A plastic embossed Card supplied to each merchant to be used for imprinting the batch header ticket or Sales/Credit Summary. Embossed data includes merchant account number, name and sometimes merchant ID code and terminal number.

merchant
Store owner or seller of products.

merchant account number
A number that numerically identifies each merchant to the merchant processor for accounting and billing purposes.

merchant category code (MCC)
A code assigned by an Acquirer to identify a merchant's type or mode of business and the merchandise sold.

merchant services See Processor.

merchant station plate
A metal embossed plate to be attached to the imprinter machine and used for imprinting sales slips and batch headers/summaries. Embossed data includes merchant name, account number, city, state and may include service entitlement number or checking account number.

MID
A unique identification number assigned to a merchant by the Acquirer.

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operating guide
Means the then-current manual prepared by Processor, containing operational procedures, instructions and other directives relating to Card transactions. The current Operating Guide are set forth in the Program Guide.

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primary account number (PAN)
The cardholders account number to which transactions are to be charged.

point of sale (POS)
The point at which a product is purchased and delivered.

processor
The entity identified on this application (other than the Bank) which provides certain services under this Agreement.

program guide
The booklet which contains Operating Guide, General Terms and an Application, all of which constitute this Agreement with Processor and Bank.

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recurring transaction
A transaction that is periodically charged to the cardholder's account for ongoing goods or services, for which written permission has been granted by a cardholder to a merchant.

referral
The message received from an issuing bank when an attempt for authorization requires a call to the Voice Authorization Center .

regulation E
The Electronic Funds Transfer Act and any amendments or interpretations that have been made since its original enactment. "Reg E", as it is commonly known, includes specific rules for all parties involved governing the processing and usage of on-line debit cards.

reserve account
A fund established and managed by us to protect against actual or contingent liability arising from Chargebacks, adjustments, fees and other charges due to or incurred by us.

roll printer
A dot matrix printer connected to a POS terminal and used to print receipts and reports on carbonless roll paper. Not an imprinter.

representment
A transaction presented to the issuer by the Acquirer when the establishment requests a reversal of a chargeback.

retrieval request
A request to an merchant for either a legible copy or an original sales record.

reversal
A request by the establishment to represent a chargeback to the card issuer.

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SIC code
The Standard Industry Classification assigned by an Acquirer to identify a merchant's business type.

sales draft
Evidence of a purchase of goods or services by a Cardmember from Client using a Card, regardless of whether the form of such evidence is in paper, electronic or otherwise, all of which must conform to Association Rules.

sales/credit summary
The identifying form used by a paper submission merchant to indicate a batch of sales/credit slips (usually one day's work). Not a batch header, which is used by electronic merchants.

Schedules
The attachments, addenda and other documents, including revisions thereto, which may be incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.

services
The activities undertaken by Processor and Bank to authorize, process and settle all United States Dollar denominated VISA and MasterCard Card transactions undertaken by Cardmembers at Client's location(s) in the United States, and all other activities necessary for Processor and Bank to perform the functions required by this Agreement for all other Cards covered by this Agreement.

settlement account
An account at a financial institution designated by Client as the account to be debited and credited by Processor or Bank for Card transactions, fees, Chargebacks and other amounts due under the Agreement or in connection with the Agreement (i.e., fines, penalties, attorneys' fees, etc.)

split dial
A process which allows the authorization terminal to dial directly to different card processors (e.g., Amex) for authorization. In this instance, the merchant cannot be both EDC and Split Dial. Split Dial is also utilized for Check Guarantee companies.

split dial/capture
Process which allows the authorization terminal to dial directly to different Card processors (e.g., Amex) for authorization and Electronic Draft Capture.

submission
The process of sending batch deposits to the Acquirer for processing.

summary adjustment
A correction to an establishment's deposit made by the Acquirer when there is an error in the submitted deposit.

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TID
A unique identification number assigned to a specific point of sale device by the Acquirer.

transaction
A credit card sale or refund between the cardholder and merchant, or the processing of the exchange by the Acquirer.

transaction fees
Service costs charged to a merchant on a per transaction basis.

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us
Bank and Processor collectively

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valid date
The date embossed by the card issuer on the credit card. An establishment cannot accept a card for payment of goods or services prior to this date.

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we
Bank and Processor collectively.

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you
See Client.