Cross-border payments glossary
Orchestration, tokenization, network tokens, cascade, 3DS, chargebacks, card updates — the terms you can’t avoid, in one line each.
Payment Orchestration
A "neutral brain" between you and multiple acquirers/PSPs: one integration, one unified API, routing each transaction to the best channel and auto-rerouting/retrying on failure.
Tokenization
Swapping the real PAN for a meaningless "token." The real PAN goes to a PCI-compliant vault; your system keeps only tokens, plaintext never touching your servers.
Network Token
A token maintained by the card networks (Visa/Mastercard). It stays valid when a card expires or changes, usually improving renewal success and fraud performance.
Account Updater
A card-network service that auto-syncs new card details to the merchant when a card changes — avoiding mass renewal failures.
Cascading / Fallback
When channel A declines, auto-try B, then C. With a different acquirer/link, the issuer sees different characteristics — and often approves.
Smart Routing
Automatically choosing the optimal channel per transaction by region, card type, cost, historical success rate, and more.
Soft / Hard Decline
Soft declines (temporary risk, insufficient funds) are good for reroute/retry; hard declines (cancelled card, theft, wrong number) won’t pass elsewhere — retrying only triggers risk controls.
Authorization Rate
The share of transactions the issuer approves. Cross-border runs lower than domestic — a core metric orchestration optimizes.
Chargeback
A reversal the cardholder initiates through their issuer. A rate above the networks' line (usually 0.9%–1%) brings fines, throttling, or shutdown.
Friendly Fraud
A user buys, then tells their bank they didn’t, filing a chargeback. Fight with a clear descriptor, smooth refunds, and 3DS records.
3DS2 / SCA
3DS2 is the issuer’s extra cardholder verification with a "frictionless" flow; SCA is Europe’s PSD2 mandate — unavoidable when charging European cards cross-border.
PCI DSS
The card industry’s data-security standard. Storing plaintext PANs yourself requires Level 1; a compliant tokenization base shrinks your scope dramatically.
MIT / CIT
Merchant-initiated transaction (MIT, e.g. renewal) vs cardholder-initiated transaction (CIT, a user-initiated payment). They differ in risk logic and authentication.
Acquirer / PSP
The institution that brings money in and connects to the card networks. Orchestration sits above several and lets you switch any time.
BIN
The first 6–8 digits of a card number, identifying issuer, card type, and country. Used for routing, risk, and BIN enrichment.
We package these capabilities into one set
Book a demo and we’ll walk you through it.