Expiry Year
The year a card ceases to be valid.
Tag
#basics
Expiry Month
The month a card ceases to be valid.
Card Validity Period
The duration a card remains active from issuance.
Cooling Period
Time after billing to reconsider a purchase or cancellation.
Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC)
A standardised disclosure of card terms by the issuer.
Cardholder Agreement
The legal contract between cardholder and issuer.
Zero Liability Policy
No cardholder cost for unauthorised transactions.
Stand-In Processing (STIP)
A network-level backup when issuer is unreachable.
Real-Time Authorisation
Instant transaction approval at the point of sale.
Authorisation
The approval step for a card transaction.
Clearing
The exchange of transaction records between banks.
Settlement
The final transfer of funds for a card transaction.
Payment Aggregator
A third party that aggregates payments for merchants.
Payment Processor
A backend system that handles transaction processing.
Payment Gateway
A service that processes online card payments.
Issuing Bank
The bank that issues the card to the cardholder.
Acquiring Bank
The merchant's bank in a card transaction.
Acquirer Bank
The bank that processes card transactions for a merchant.
Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)
A fee charged to merchants for accepting cards.
Interchange Fee
A fee paid between banks for each card transaction.
Card Network Fee
A fee paid by issuers to card networks like Visa.
Fast-Track Status
Accelerated path to elite status via a premium card.
Status Jumping
Earning elite status via credit card fast-track offers.
Mileage Run
A trip taken solely to earn airline miles or status.
Travel Hack
Using rewards and miles strategically to save on travel.
Churner
A person who frequently opens cards for rewards.
Churning
Repeatedly applying for new cards for welcome bonuses.
Manufactured Spending
Generating credit card spend via purchases you can return.
Card Cycling
Repeatedly opening and closing cards to maximise rewards.
Luhn Algorithm
A checksum formula used to validate card numbers.