Payment Glossary: 70+ Payment Terms and Definitions for 2026

A payment API connects checkout systems to gateways, processors, and banks so transactions, declines, and refunds move in real time. Strong API design supports smarter routing and better recovery from failed payments.

payments API, payment processing API, payments interface

E-commerce payments are card-not-present transactions processed through gateways, acquirers, networks, and issuers. Getting them right helps merchants reduce declines, recover revenue, and protect checkout conversion.

online commerce, digital commerce, card-not-present commerce

Encryption protects payment data as it moves between checkout, gateways, networks, and issuers. Strong implementation helps teams prevent breaches, reduce avoidable declines, and keep transactions flowing reliably.

payment encryption, cryptographic protection, data encryption

Failover automatically reroutes transactions to a backup processor when the primary path fails. It helps merchants protect checkout continuity, reduce revenue loss, and avoid technical payment disruptions.

payment failover, processor failover, gateway failover

Fraud detection screens transactions across checkout, gateways, networks, and issuers to stop unauthorized payments. Well-tuned controls reduce chargebacks without unnecessarily hurting conversion or approvals.

transaction fraud screening, payment risk screening, fraud checks

A payment gateway securely captures and routes payment data at checkout. Its setup can influence fraud controls, decline handling, routing quality, and overall payment performance.

gateway, payment gateway service, online payment gateway

Queue management controls when payment requests reach gateways and issuers, helping merchants avoid rate-limit drops, reduce false declines, and protect checkout performance during bulk billing.

transaction queueing, payment queueing, request throttling