GLOSSARY
Issuer
Bank or fintech that issues payment cards to cardholders and authorizes their transactions.
An issuer provides cards and credit/debit accounts to cardholders and decides whether to approve a transaction. It connects to card networks to receive authorizations and charges interchange fees to acquirers.
Issuers manage risk (fraud, credit), card lifecycle, and benefits. Approval rates improve with fresher credentials (network tokenization, Apple Pay, Google Pay) and accurate risk signals.
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.
Acquirer
Bank or payment institution that signs merchants and routes their card transactions into the card networks.
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.