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Payment Processing Glossary

payment processing glossary merchant services terms definitions

This payment processing glossary covers the terms, definitions, and concepts that appear on your merchant statement, in your processing contract, and throughout your card acceptance setup. Understanding these terms helps you evaluate pricing models, identify overcharges, and make informed decisions about your merchant services.

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Using This Payment Processing Glossary

Each term links to a full definition page with examples, how it affects your costs, and how it relates to other payment processing concepts. If you see a term on your processing statement that is not covered here, contact Brookside Payments and we will explain it. The Federal Reserve publishes average interchange fee data useful for benchmarking your current costs. See also CFPB guidance on card payments for consumer protection context.

For a deeper understanding of how these terms affect your actual processing costs, use the Effective Rate Calculator or request a free cost analysis. Learn more about payment processing consumer protections from the CFPB.

Get a Free Cost Analysis

All Glossary Terms (A–Z)

Every term in the Brookside Payment Processing Glossary. Click any entry for the full definition and guide.

ACH (Automated Clearing House) Acquirer (Acquiring Bank) Assessment Fee Authorization Average Ticket Size Batch Settlement BIN Number Card Brand / Network Card Entry Method Card-Not-Present (CNP) Card-Present Cash Discount Chargeback Chargeback Ratio Contactless Payment Convenience Fee Credit Card Decline Codes Credit Card Surcharge Debit Routing Discount Rate Dual Pricing Durbin Amendment Effective Rate EMV Chip Card End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Flat-Rate Pricing Fraud Detection Hosted Payment Page Interchange Fee Interchange-Plus Pricing Issuing Bank Keyed Transaction Level 2 / Level 3 Data MCC (Merchant Category Code) Merchant Account Nacha (ACH Rules Body) Payment Decline Payment Facilitator (PayFac) Payment Gateway Payment Processor Payment Refund Payment Settlement PCI DSS Point-of-Sale (POS) System Tiered Pricing Tokenization Virtual Terminal