Glossary

A

Account API

The API that enables a user or client to execute specific card related function.

Account Number:

Eight digit account number in the bank or Contis.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256

A symmetric, 128-bit block data encryption technique that works on multiple network layers simultaneously.

Agency

A person, group or a company empowered to act on behalf of its customers or clients.

AgencyAccountNumber

The agency’s main or primary account number. An agency account may have many secondary accounts for its clients.

Agency Banking:

A third-party retail banking agent authorised by the bank to provide selected banking products and service on the behalf of bank.

Agreement:

A set of agreed financial terms between Contis and client.

AgreementCode:

Unique identifier of an agreement. An agreement code is same for primary and secondary account(s).

Authentication:

The process that confirms a user’s identity.

Authorization:

The process of allowing user to access resources based in the user’s identity.

Application Programming Interface (API):

A set of code specifications and rules that software programs follow to communicate with each other on different devices.

B

BACS:

Banker’s Automated Clearing Services. It is used to make a direct payment from one bank account to the other for high value transactions.

Bank Account:

The external bank account linked to the consumer’s account in Contis.

Bank Identifier Code (BIC):

Alphanumerical string that identifies the name, country and branch of bank. Used for quick, accurate and automated money transfer.

Bank Identification Number (BIN):

The four to six-digits on the card that uniquely identifies the card’s issuing bank.

Beneficiary Account:

The third-party or external bank account that receives payment.

BankSortCode:

The sort code of the consumer’s bank account.

Building Society:

A financial institution that provides banking and financial services to its members.

BuildingSocietyNumber:

A unique number made up of numbers and letter that identifies a specific Building Society.

C

Card:

The plastic payment card used in place of cash to make payment.

Card Activation Code:

Three-digit code for card activation.

Card API:

The API that enables user or client to execute a specific card related function.

Consumer:

The consumer who owns a Visa debit card.

ConsumerID:

Unique identifier of the consumer who owns a payment card.

CardID:

Unique identifier of the payment card.

Card Issuer:

A bank, credit union or a financial institution that issues a debit or credit card, processes payment, maintains transaction history and issues statements to the Consumer. The issuer is responsible for the relationship between a Consumer and their accounts.

CanUseFundFromAccount:

A Boolean that identifies whether funds can be debited from the account if there is insufficient funds available during execution of a Direct Debit or Standing Order via an envelope.

CredEcard:

A personal account with Visa debit card offered by Contis to consumer as alternative to a bank account

Credit Union:

A type of financial co-operative institution that is structured to serve the financial needs of its participants from a specific industry, region or group.

Consumer :

A person who uses Contis products, payment service or APIs.

Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS):

Money transfer method to send money from one bank to other on the same day.

Client Scheme Account:

The main or buffer account for the client with multiple sub-accounts. The buffer account and sub-accounts have same scheme agreement settings.

Client:

The customer of an agency.

ClientRequestReference:

Customer provided reference number for tracking/auditing.

ClientSSOReferenceNumber:

The client’s Single Sign On (SSO) registration number, provided by the client to Contis.

CardActivationCode:

Three-digit code for activation of the card.

Consumer:

A person who uses Contis products, payment service or APIs.

Culture ID:

Unique identifier of the response language. UK English is the default language.

CVV2:

Three-digit number printed on the back of the VISA card.

D

Debit Card :

A payment card that debits a specified amount from an account to pay for a purchase.

DepartmentCode :

Look up value that identifies the department within a company.

DepartmentHeadConsumerID:

Unique identifier of the Head of Department (HOD).

DepartmentID:

Unique identifier of a department within a company.

DeviceToken:

A unique string that individually identifies each mobile device.

DirectDebitInstructionID :

Unique identifier of a Direct Debit instruction.

Direct Debit :

An instruction from you to your bank or building society. It authorises the organisation you want to pay to collect varying amounts from your account – but only if you’ve been given advanced notice of the amounts and dates of collection. Once you have agreed those, the money is deducted automatically. If the organisation you are paying wants to change an amount or date of collection, they must tell you about it first.

Driving Licence Number:

The driving license number of the Consumer used for identity verification during the Know Your Customer (KYC) process.

E

Envelope:

A virtual envelope in the account, where funds are reserved for payment of rent, utilities and grocery bills.

F

Faster Payment :

The same day money transfer service.

FriendlyName :

The name of the account that usually identifies the type or purpose of the account.

H

Hash:

A method of encrypting confidential data, for example card numbers, sent across networks.

Hash Card Number:

An encrypted (hashed) version of a 16-digit card number.

Home Office Sanction Check (HOSC):

The Home Office Sanction database stores the names of persons blacklisted by the Home Office Treasury for their involvement in financial crimes, frauds and nefarious activities. Contis downloads the updated file from Home office site on a regular basis. You or your client’s name is screened against the database. The first and/or last name is checked in the HOSC database. If the name matches, it is kept in the suspected list and marked as “pending”. Once it verified with NBS, it is either given a new status – “Match” or “No Match”. If the status of the application is ” Match”, the application is rejected.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) :

The World Wide Web protocol that governs how messages are transmitted between servers and browsers and what actions should be taken by them in response to various commands.

I

IBAN:

A unique 34-alphanumeric characters code that identifies banks across national borders. It has a country code; two check digits; and a number that includes the domestic bank account number, branch identifier, and potential routing information.

Internet Key Exchange (IKE):

The key management protocol used to set up a security association in using IPsec.

IPSec:

Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) is a framework of open standards for ensuring private, secure communications over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, using cryptographic security services.

IsFullBalanceTransfer:

A Boolean that identifies whether the full balance in the account can be or cannot be transferred.

IsPrimaryConsumer:

A boolean that identifies whether a consumer is the primary consumer.

IsSkipCardIssuance:

A boolean that identifies whether a card is to be issued for a specific consumer or not.

IsSkipKYC:

A Boolean that identifies whether to skip or execute the KYC process for the specified consumer.

K

Know Your Business (KYB):

The process of verifying the credentials of a company and its business.

Know Your Customer (KYC):

The process of verifying the identity and credentials of a customers.

L

Load Limit:

The maximum, total amount that can be transferred into an account.

Land line number:

The landline telephone number of a Consumer.

LocationID :

Unique identifier of the area or address where a company or its department is located.

M

m-PIN:

Four to six-digit Mobile Banking Personal Identification Number needed for mobile transactions.

N

NationalIDCard:

The national ID card number of the account holder used for KYC verification during the account creation process.

NewHODConsumerID:

Unique identifier of the consumer who is made the new Head of Department.

O

Obscured Card Number:

The 16-digit card number with readable first and last four digits and obscured eight digits in the middle.

P

PCIDSS:

An autonomous body set up by major card brands like VISA, American Express, MasterCard, Discover to encourage adoption of security standards and regulations by merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers and service providers for card data processing, transmission and storage.

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI):

The authentication method that uses digital certificates to prove a user’s identity.

PUTTY:

A free Telnet and SSH terminal software for Windows and Unix platforms that allows two remote users to securely exchange of data on top of unsecured network.

RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman):

An asymmetric cryptography method that uses a public and a private key to encrypt a data before it is transmitted and decrypt it on its reception at the receiving end point.

PIN:

The four-digit, Personal Identification Number known only to the Consumer for ATM/POS transactions.

PIN Block:

The block of data composed of PIN, PIN length and PAN data, used to retrieve the PIN.

PAN:

16-digit Permanent Account Number for a card, used for e-commerce and online transactions.

Passport number:

The passport number of the consumer used to verify their identity during the account creation process.

PayPoint:

Over-the-counter bill payment service provided through a network outlet. Provides account top up and payment services to pay utility companies, local authorities and housing associations.

Pre-Shared Key (PSK):

A randomly generated new key shared between the client and server in a secret way before an operation is performed.

Pagesize:

The number of rows to be accommodated in a single page for display of the list or statement of transactions.

ParentConsumerID:

Unique identifier of the primary consumer.

PromotionalCode:

Series of letters and numbers that enable a consumer to get discount.

Payer:

A consumer who sends money to another consumer in Contis or an accountholder in an external bank.

Payee:

The recipient consumer or an accountholder in an external bank who receives the money from the payer.

Prepaid Card:

A card pre-loaded with funds but not linked to an account.

Preissued Cards:

Agency-branded payment cards issued to the clients of any agency.

R

RequestID:

Unique identifier of the consumer’s request.

RecipientReferenceID:

Unique identifier of a recipient or payee who receives money.

RecipientBankReferenceID:

Unique identifier of a recipient bank which receives funds via Standing Order.

Reference Number:

Unique number that identifies a specific transaction.

Representational State Transfer (REST):

An architectural style of client-server communication that is stateless and cacheable.

ResponseCode:

The look up value that identifies the type of response. It can also be an error message.

S

Sandbox

An API development testing environment.

Secure Shell (SSH) :

A cryptographic protocol and interface for secure exchange of data between two remote users connected by an unsecured network.

Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA):

A singular cross-border electronic payment system within the European Union region that is as inexpensive and easy as payments within one country.

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP):

An XML based application communication protocol, independent of a platform, used for sending and receiving messages

Sort code:

Six-digit number that identifies the branch of the bank where consumer holds account.

Scheme:

Configurable template that defines card design and functionalities.

Scheme code:

Unique identifier of the scheme.

Scheme Client Account Number:

The main or master account of client in a scheme.

Standing Order:

Instruction for post-dated, automatic money transfer to a beneficiary account.

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP):

A method for secure transfer of files between two or more computers.

SHA

An encryption algorithm used to securely encode (or hash) information such as card numbers. Contis uses the industry standard SHA-2.

Single Sign-On (SSO):

An authentication service that allows the user to log in to multiple applications using the same credentials. SSO enables the user to switch from one application to the other in the same session, without having to repeatedly enter a username and password.

T

Token:

Unique identifier of an application requesting API access.

TransactionReferenceID:

Unique transaction number assigned by Contis. Used to identify and track specific debit or credit transactions.

TransferMethodID:

Look up value that identifies the money transfer method, e.g. SEPA, International Urgent, Same Day, Bank transfer.

Token:

The authentication key generated after successful login to the Contis API system. The token is used when to authenticate the user every time a call is made to the Contis server.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2:

A security protocol that guarantees integrity and privacy of data exchanged between client/server applications over Internet. TLS 1.2 is required for PCIDSS compliance.

U

Universal Transformation Format (UTF)8:

A method of converting Unicode characters, which are 16 bits each, into 8-bit characters.

Username:

Client’s username needed to log in to the Contis API account.

V

Verification Code:

The code for verification of consumer’s mobile phone number.

Virtual Payment Card:

A digital payment card used to purchase goods and services online.

Virtual Card:

The online card with a randomly generated number, for one-time use within specific time. The online card is linked to the physical debit or credit card.

Virtual Private Network (VPN):

Secured, private, end-to end connection between two systems using the Internet.

W

White Label:

A platform, product or service hired or purchased from the original provider and sold by another provider as their own branded product or service. White label is widely used in the financial sector.

White listing:

The process of providing authorized access to a website or application through the firewall of service provider application.