Glossary
Payments, in plain English.
A short, opinionated dictionary of the terms you'll run into across our platform and the industry.
- ACH
- Automated Clearing House — the US batched bank-to-bank network for low-cost transfers, typically settled in 1–2 business days.
- AML
- Anti-Money Laundering — the rules and program designed to prevent the financial system from being used to disguise illicit funds.
- BIN
- Bank Identification Number — the first 6–8 digits of a card that identify the issuer.
- FedNow
- The Federal Reserve's instant payment service in the US — 24/7/365, final settlement in seconds.
- FX
- Foreign exchange — converting one currency to another. Mid-market is the true rate between buy and sell.
- IBAN
- International Bank Account Number — a standardized account format used across Europe and beyond.
- KYC / KYB
- Know Your Customer / Know Your Business — identity verification required before opening a financial account.
- MCC
- Merchant Category Code — a 4-digit code classifying a merchant's line of business. Used for spend controls and rewards.
- PCI DSS
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — the security rules anyone storing or transmitting card data must follow.
- PIX
- Brazil's instant payment system, operated by the Central Bank — 24/7, free for individuals, near-instant settlement.
- SEPA
- Single Euro Payments Area — euro-denominated transfers across 36 European countries on a unified standard.
- SWIFT
- The global financial messaging network banks use to instruct cross-border wires.
- Travel rule
- FATF Recommendation 16 — the requirement to share originator and beneficiary information on transfers above a threshold.
- USDC
- A fully-reserved US dollar stablecoin issued by Circle, redeemable 1:1 for USD.
- WMTX
- World Mobile's utility token, used to settle telecom and connectivity services on the World Mobile network.