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Glossary

Acquirer: Card acquirers, such as Barclaycard Business, are banks or financial institutions which are members of card schemes such as Visa or MasterCard. Acquirers enter into agreements with merchants to process card transactions on their behalf.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR): APR indicates the amount of interest payable on outstanding balances. It represents the annual cost of the credit as a percentage. Barclaycard Business Charge Card Accounts do not have an APR as balances are settled in full each month, so no interest is charged.
APACS: Association for Payment Clearing Services. Set up in 1985 to oversee and manage payment clearing and money transmission services within the UK. APACS also sets industry standards for its members to which they have to conform when processing data.
Authorisation: Authorisation confirms that the card number is valid and that the funds were available at the time the transaction took place. It is not a guarantee of payment.
Auto Auth: A facility available on some PDQ terminals and EFTPoS equipment. The terminal is connected to a telephone line and when authorisation is required the terminal automatically makes a call to the relevant authorisation centre.
Cardholder Not Present: This refers to card transactions that are requested by mail, telephone or over the Internet when the cardholder is not present at the point of sale.
Card Schemes: Card schemes such as Visa or MasterCard promote the use of various card types which carry their logos. Banks and financial institutions have to apply for membership of the appropriate card scheme before they can issue cards or acquire transactions.
Card Security Code & address verification service.: An extra security precaution for card-not-present transactions. This service works by first electronically checking the security code (the last 3 numbers on the cardholder's signature strip and for AMEX for the 4 digits on the front of th card), and then checks the numerics of the address. The data check response helps you decide whether or not to proceed with the transaction.
Card Types: There are different types of card:
Credit cards - cardholders can spend up to a limit agreed with their card issuer, and have to repay at least the minimum required each month.
Debit cards - a cardholder's bank account can be debited to the limit of their balance or agreed overdraft.Charge cards - cardholder spend has to be repaid in full when a statement is received.
Purchasing cards - used by businesses, rather than individuals, to purchase goods and services from their suppliers.
Cash Advances: Any Automated Telling Machines (ATMs) displaying a VISA sign can be used to get cash advances using a Business Card or Corporate Card if authorised by the company. There are additional handling charges that may become payable for cash advances. Silver and standard cards are limited to withdrawals of £300 per day and Gold cards of up to £500 per day.
Charge Card: Can be used just like a normal credit card, only no interest is charged as balances are settled in full at the end of each month using Direct Debit.
Chargeback: Occasionally, a cardholder will dispute a transaction shown on his or her statement and take the matter up with the card issuer. If the cardholders complaint is valid and the acquirer has been unable to substantiate the transaction, the amount of the transaction may be charged back to the retailer. Processing irregularities and incomplete documentation can also result in a chargeback.
Chip and PIN: Face-to-face credit and debit card transactions at the point of sale which are authorised by the customer keying in a Personal Identification Number (PIN) rather than by signing a receipt.
Credit card account: Designed for day-to-day business expenses, like petrol, train tickets and stationery. Ideal for owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses with an annual sales turnover of up to £500,000. The card comes with a whole range of services. Used like a normal personal credit card, it offers 56 day interest free credit and the flexibility to pay off the minimum payment, the full balance or any amount in between.
Corporate charge card account: Designed for day-to-day business expenses like petrol, train tickets and stationery. Ideal for owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses with an annual sales turnover of up to £500,000. The card comes with a whole range of services. Can be used just like a normal credit card, only no interest is charged as balances are settled in full at the end of each month using Direct Debit.
EFTPoS Equipment: Electronic funds transfer point of sale equipment.
Floor Limit: Floor limits are set by Barclaycard Business and the card schemes, and will be set according to the type of business, fraud risk, and the average spend per customer transaction. When a transaction is above your floor limit (which may also be called a fallback limit), it is vital the transaction is authorised.
Gold Card: Both our Corporate cards and business credit card can be upgraded to gold card versions. This brings a range of benefits including full worldwide travel insurance.
Host Authorisation: Host Authorisation provides the most sophisticated, high speed means of handling large volumes of authorisation requests. Integrating with your existing Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) equipment, it operates via a direct telecommunications line to Barclaycard Business and your central computer.
Hot Cards: Hot cards are cards which, due to fraudulent use or cardholder overspending, the card issuer has decided to prohibit from further transactions. When records show a hot card has been used in a certain outlet, a warning notice is issued to the Barclaycard Business customer in question.
Hotel Tracker: Barclaycard Business Hotel Tracker offers a straightforward solution, based on more accurate and timely information about your hotel spend.
Interchange: Interchange is the fee paid by acquirers to card issuers for each transaction. The fee is determined by the nature of the business and the processing procedures followed. Rates are determined by the card schemes who assess the level of risk and expense involved in processing a transaction.
Interest: Interest is payable on outstanding balances and is calculated using the APR for the Business credit card. Interest is also payable on overdue balances for the Charge Card Accounts.
Issuer: An issuer is a bank, building society or financial institution which issues plastic cards.
Lodge Account: Designed for large organisations with a high level of travel expenditure, especially air travel. An account is created with your preferred travel supplier so all travel bookings and expenses can be charged to one account.
Management Information (MI): Allows you to see detailed breakdowns of your spending. This helps you not only keep track of your employees spending but also to identify cost savings. MI is a benefit for Corporate Card and Purchasing Card customers.
Merchant Service Charge: The merchant service charge is a fee payable by merchants on each transaction processed. This fee is agreed individually between you and Barclaycard Business.
Multinational organisations: We are able to offer our multinational clients one global programme together with the flexibility of local support and management. This is achieved by utilising the excellent relationship which Barclaycard Business have built with best of breed banks around the globe.
OneTouch: Lightning quick, card payment technology from Barclaycard Business which means that your customers can pay in less than a second, completely securely, for anything that costs £10 and under.
Online Services: Get all the information you need on your card accounts online. No matter the size of your business, small or large, Online Services allows you to keep track of your spend and provides access to reports helping you manage your card accounts.
PDQ Terminal: PDQ is the electronic processing system used by Barclaycard Business customers. There are various types of PDQ terminals, and different services, including on line processing, where transactions go through the system as they are undertaken, and off-line processing, where transactions are stored for a period of time and then released together.
PIN: Personal Identification Number (PIN) enables cardholders to get cash advances from ATMs and over the counter in banks. PINs are only issued if requested. If a card is reported lost or stolen a new PIN will be issued. In order to prevent fraud and theft cardholders should never disclose their PIN number or keep a record of it with their card.
Polling: During the night provided you have completed the 'end of day' procedure correctly, details of card payments will be collected via your equipment through a phone line. This process is known as polling, and relates to off-line terminals only.
Purchasing Card: Designed to streamline low value, high volume procurement processes, especially for companies with an annual sales turnover of £10m or more. Staff can purchase supplies directly using the Purchasing Card - reducing bureaucracy and pressure on procurement staff. The 'Evidence for VAT' report is accepted by HM Revenue & Customs which cuts down on the volume of paper receipts and invoices that you must be keep.
Reciprocity: Mutual agreement between card companies for the initialising of card types such as American Express and Diners, onto PDQ terminals.
Referral: An authorisation request results in a referral when the card company's computer recognises that there is something wrong. For example, the card is stolen or the cardholder has exceeded their credit limit.
Retrieval: A retrieval is a request for information that has been issued by an acquirer because a card issuer has disputed a transaction that has been entered into with one of their cardholders. It is not a chargeback as no money has been debited.
Silver Card: Barclaycard Business' Silver cards is a charge card with the advantage of additional benefits.
Spending Limits: Individual spending limits for each cardholder can be set by the company. We usually recommend monthly spending limits to be six weeks requirement for cardholder to cover the overlap between statement issue and final payment.
Statements: Statements are issued once a month and detail all the transactions made on the relevant account since the previous month. They keep track of employee spending.
VISA: Barclaycard Business is part of the international VISA payment system. This means a Barclaycard can be used anywhere there is a VISA sign to buy goods or services, and for cash advances (if authorised) through ATMs displaying the VISA sign.