Scope reduction
Tokenization, hosted fields, and point-to-point encryption help merchants shrink PCI scope.
Validation levels
Requirements differ by transaction volume and whether a merchant stores card data.
Sources
FAQ
Any entity that handles cardholder data, including merchants and many payment vendors.
Related terms
Explore related definitions
Payment Orchestration
Payment orchestration is the practice of routing each transaction through the optimal acquirer, method, or gateway path based on rules such as cost, authorization rate, geography, and redundancy requirements.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a forced reversal of a card transaction initiated by the cardholder through their issuer, usually citing fraud, non-delivery, or billing disputes, and debited from the merchant through the acquirer.
Cross-Border Payment
A cross-border payment is a transaction where the payer, merchant, acquirer, or settlement currency spans different countries, triggering FX conversion, local method requirements, and compliance checks.
Payment Facilitator (PayFac)
A payment facilitator aggregates many sub-merchants under one master merchant identification, enabling platforms to onboard sellers quickly while the PayFac manages underwriting, compliance, and settlement on their behalf.
Foreign Exchange Spread
Foreign exchange spread is the markup between the market reference rate and the rate applied to a merchant or payer during currency conversion, often combined with explicit FX fees in cross-border payments.
Settlement (Card Payments)
Settlement in card payments is the process of transferring cleared transaction funds from acquirers to merchants after authorization and clearing, net of fees, chargebacks, and rolling reserves.
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