MOTO stands for Mail Order / Telephone Order. It refers to a type of transaction where the merchant receives the order and payment details via mail or phone and manually enters the card information into a Virtual Terminal. FAQs: Is MOTO considered "Card Not Present"?Yes, because the physical card is not inserted or tapped at [...]
A Contactless Reader is a hardware device (card terminal) equipped with NFC technology that allows it to communicate with contactless cards and mobile wallets. It enables "Tap to Pay" functionality. FAQs: Do I need to buy a card reader?Not necessarily. With "Tap to Pay on iPhone" and "Tap to Pay on Android," your smartphone can [...]
Apple Pay is a digital wallet service by Apple that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It uses NFC for contactless payment and safeguards user data by using a device-specific number and unique transaction code (tokenization) rather than the actual card number. FAQs: Is Apple Pay safer [...]
3D Secure (3DS) is a security protocol that adds an extra layer of authentication for online credit card transactions. It often redirects the customer to their bank’s website or app to verify the payment via a code sent to their phone or a biometric scan (often branded as Verified by Visa or Mastercard Identity Check). [...]
A Risk Score is a numerical value assigned to a transaction indicating the probability that it is fraudulent. Stripe Radar assigns a score from 0 to 99. A high score suggests a high likelihood of fraud, while a low score indicates a legitimate transaction. FAQs: What score counts as fraud?Stripe blocks very high scores automatically [...]
Machine Learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence where computers learn from data to make decisions without being explicitly programmed for every rule. In payments (like Stripe Radar), ML analyzes billions of historical transactions to identify patterns that indicate fraud, adapting faster than human rules ever could. FAQs: How does ML help my business?It [...]
A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal inquiry from a card issuer asking the merchant to provide details about a transaction. This is often the first step in the dispute process. The issuer wants to know: "What was this charge for?" and "Did the cardholder authorize it?" FAQs: Is RFI the same as a [...]
A term often used informally to describe a retrieval request or an inquiry. It is a non-financial request from the bank asking for clarification on a charge. Unlike a full chargeback, money is not yet taken from the merchant, but failure to respond can lead to a formal chargeback. FAQs: Do I lose money on [...]
The Billing Cycle is the interval of time between billing statements or payment collections for a subscription. Common cycles are monthly, quarterly, or annually. The cycle determines when the customer is charged and the service period they are paying for. FAQs: What is proration?If a customer switches plans in the middle of a billing cycle, [...]
Churn refers to the rate at which customers stop subscribing to a service. It is a critical metric for SaaS and subscription businesses. Churn can be "voluntary" (customer cancels) or "involuntary" (payment fails and subscription is cancelled). FAQs: What is a good churn rate?It varies by industry, but lower is always better. 5-7% annual churn [...]
