ATM Card

Also known as a cash card. A payment card used in an ATM (or cash machine) for cash withdrawals and other bank services

Authentication

The process of verifying the identity and legitimacy of a person, object or system

Authorisation

The process whereby a merchant (or a cardholder through an ATM) requests permission from the card issuer for the card to be used for a particular transaction

Biometrics

Biometric methods of identification work by measuring unique human characteristics as a way to confirm identity, for example, finger or iris scanning or dynamic signature verification

CNP

Cardholder-Not-Present. A transaction where the merchant does not have physical access to the card (e.g. through telephone, mail order or internet transactions)

Card Issuer

The bank or building society or company which issues a payment card to the customer, and which has financial responsibility for a card originated transaction

Card Schemes

Organisations which manage and control the operation and clearing of transactions. Banks and building societies must be members of the appropriate scheme to issue cards and acquire card transactions. Examples of schemes are: Visa, MasterCard, Switch (now called Maestro), American Express and Diners Club International

Charge Card

A payment card, the terms of which include the obligation to settle the account in full at the end of a specified period

Cheque Guarantee Card

A card issued by a bank or building society for the purpose of guaranteeing the payment, or supporting the encashment, of a cheque up to a specified value (£50, £100 or £250)

Chip

An integrated circuit (e.g. for use in a payment card)

Chip Card

Also known as an integrated circuit (IC) or smart card. A chip card holds details on a computer chip, which can store and process information securely. Chip cards can be recognised by the gold or silver coloured contact plate on the top left corner of the front of the card

Chip & PIN Card

A chip card that uses a personal identification number (PIN) as the preferred method of cardholder verification at the point-of-sale (not only at ATMs)

Chip & PIN Programme

The UK Programme to convert all credit and debit cards to chip cards with PIN cardholder verification between 2003 and 2005

Counterfeit Card

A dummy or fake card which has been printed, embossed or encoded so as to appear to be a legitimate card.

Credit Card

A payment card that enables the holder to make purchases and to draw cash up to a pre-arranged limit

Debit Card

A payment card linked to a bank or building society account, used to pay for goods and services by debiting the holder's account, usually also combined with other facilities such as ATM and cheque guarantee functions

EMV

The internationally agreed standards for chip payment cards, originally agreed by Europay, MasterCard and Visa. EMV standards are maintained by EMVCo, an organisation owned and managed by MasterCard, Visa and JCB

Magnetic Stripe

The magnetic stripe that currently appears on the back of all payment cards issued by financial institutions. It contains essential customer and account information, most of which is usually also embossed on the card

PIN

Personal Identification Number. A set of numeric characters, usually a four-digit sequence, used by the cardholder to verify identity at the point-of-sale or a customer activated terminal, such as an ATM. The number is generated by the card issuer using a secure computerised process when the card is first issued and may be changed by the cardholder thereafter (see PIN change)

PIN Change

The ability of a cardholder to select a different PIN to that generated by the card issuer which is possible at most ATMs

PIN Lock

The process by which a card is blocked from further use following a specified number of consecutive incorrect or unsuccessful PIN entries, typically three (see also PIN unlock)

PIN pad

The numeric PIN pad into which a cardholder keys their PIN to verify a transaction. PIN pads may be fixed or portable. PIN pads are also referred to as 'PIN Entry Devices' (PED)

PIN Services

The services (PIN change and PIN unlock) provided to cardholders to enable them to manage their PINs. PIN change enables cardholders to change the PIN to something more memorable and offers reassurance where there is concern that their PIN may have been compromised. PIN unlock ensures that cardholders can quickly and conveniently re-establish access to card payments

PIN Unlock

A process to unlock the PIN on the card. This will normally only be possible at an ATM

PoS

Point-of-Sale or Point of Service. Location where a customer makes a purchase

PMO

Programme Management Organisation responsible for co-ordinating the chip and PIN project on behalf of retailers, acquirers and issuers. The group was disbanded in January 2005 and many of their functions have been taken on by APACS

Skimming

The most prevalent form of counterfeit fraud whereby a genuine card's magnetic stripe details are electronically copied and put onto another card without the legitimate cardholder's knowledge