GLOSSARY
Acquirer
Bank or payment institution that signs merchants and routes their card transactions into the card networks.
An acquirer (merchant bank) contracts with a merchant, provides acquiring BINs, and routes transactions through a card network to issuers. It handles settlement, chargebacks, and scheme compliance.
Acquirers pass through costs like interchange fees and scheme fees, often bundled with processor pricing. Multi-acquirer setups can optimize approval rates and costs across regions.
In the product
Where this term matters in operation.
The glossary is not meant to be academic. It explains the language teams use in Kotao while selling, planning, paying, reporting, and automating.
In sales
Terms like this appear inside POS, checkout, bookings, offers, and customer communication.
In back office
Finance, inventory, HR, and reporting need the same meaning so reports do not drift apart.
In integrations
APIs, imports, webhooks, and exports work better when teams use the same definitions.
Related terms.
Apple Pay
Mobile wallet by Apple that tokenizes cards for contactless and in-app payments.
Card Fraud
Unauthorized card use or theft of credentials to initiate transactions.
Card Network
Payment network (e.g., Visa/Mastercard) that sets rules and routes card transactions between issuers and acquirers.
Chargeback
A forced payment reversal initiated by the cardholder’s bank after disputing a transaction.