Reference
Payments dictionary.
Payment terms and abbreviations in plain language, searchable and filterable by topic.
By Nagesh Koritala Reference Last verified: November 2026
Payments people talk in abbreviations. This dictionary decodes them in plain language. Search for a term, or filter by topic. Where a term is taught in a lesson, the entry links to it.
One abbreviation, many meanings
| You hear | It might mean | How to tell |
|---|---|---|
| PA | Partial authorization (partial approval) · Payment Application (as in the retired PA-DSS) | Gift or prepaid cards that cover part of a bill: partial authorization. Security audits: payment application. |
| CD | Credit posted as card sale (a Discover dispute code) · Cardholder data (usually written CHD) | Disputes: the Discover code. PCI audits: cardholder data. |
| RA | Return authorization (RMA) · Reauthorization (most teams say “reauth”) · Risk assessment / analysis · Remittance advice | Fulfillment of late shipments: reauthorization. Returns desk: return authorization. Fraud team: risk assessment. Finance: remittance advice. |
| CA | Card acceptor (the merchant, in network messages, as in card acceptor ID) · Certificate authority (encryption) | Network message fields: card acceptor. Apple Pay certificates and TLS: certificate authority. |
| TID | Terminal ID · Transaction ID | In-store hardware: terminal. Online and stored credentials: transaction. |
| ISO | Independent sales organization (resells merchant accounts) · International Organization for Standardization (ISO 8583, ISO 20022) | Sales and contracts: the reseller. Message formats: the standard. |
| MAC | Merchant advice code (Mastercard retry guidance) · Message authentication code (cryptography) | Declines and retries: advice code. Encryption keys: authentication code. |
Dictionary
Sources for this guide
Card network rules change. Time limits, fees, and authorization windows here reflect published rules and provider documentation as of late 2026; confirm details with your processor before you build against them.
Sources
- Visa authorization and clearing time frame changes, April 2024 (TD Bank summary)
- Checkout.com: Visa authorization processing time frames
- Stripe: Place a hold on a payment method
- Revolut: Clearing windows by card brand
- Moov: Card-not-present best practices
- Adyen: Dispute timeframes
- Cybersource: Stored credential framework (CIT, MIT, standing instructions)
- VGS: DPAN vs MPAN
- Stripe: Apple Pay merchant tokens
- Google Pay: Payment data cryptography (PAN_ONLY and CRYPTOGRAM_3DS)
- Checkout.com: Google Pay authentication methods and liability shift
- Solidgate: Why the Apple Pay card number differs from the card
- Spreedly: Payment Account Reference (PAR)
- Visa: Authorization and reversal processing best practices
- Visa: Authorization framework time frames (2024)
- Visa: Declined transaction resubmission rules
- Visa: Dispute management guidelines for merchants
- Visa: VAMP fact sheet
- Visa: Account Updater FAQ
- Mastercard: Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition
- Mastercard AN 5524: CIT and MIT indicators (via AIB Merchant Services)
- Mastercard Gateway: Cardholder and merchant initiated payments
- Adyen: Mastercard Transaction Link Identifier
- American Express: US Disputes Reference Guide
- American Express: International Merchant Regulations
- Adyen: Adjust authorisation (validity by brand)
- Apple: Merchant tokens (MPANs)
- Apple: Payment token format reference
- Apple: Merchant Token Notification Services
- Google Pay: Merchant-initiated transactions
- Google Pay: Token lifecycle management
- Stripe: PaymentIntent lifecycle
- Stripe: Refund object
- Stripe: Dispute object
- Stripe: Subscription object
- Stripe: Decline codes
- PCI SSC: Future-dated requirements of PCI DSS v4.x
- Report URI: SAQ A changes in PCI DSS 4.0.1
- SecureTrust: PCI DSS SAQ types
- Chargeback Gurus: Regulation II and card-not-present debit
- Baymard Institute: Cart abandonment rate statistics (updated September 2025)
- Baymard Institute: The current state of checkout UX (2025)
- Baymard Institute: Checkout optimization and average form fields (2024)
- Baymard Institute: Inline form validation
- Baymard Institute: Adaptive validation error messages
- Adobe: 2025 US holiday shopping season
- US Department of Justice: Guidance on web accessibility and the ADA
- W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
- Apple: Human Interface Guidelines, accessibility
- Stripe: How to increase checkout conversion
- Stripe: The checkout process, reducing friction
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