Glossary
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MCC: See Merchant Category Code.
MICR Number Method: A check authorization procedure that uses the bank routing/transit numbers, checking account numbers and check number encoded along the bottom of the check.
Magnetic Information Character Recognition (MICR): Imprinted banking numbers (routing/transit number, checking account number, check number) at the bottom of the check.
Magnetic Stripe: A stripe (on the bankcard) of magnetically encoded cardholder account information affixed to a plastic card.
Mail Order/Telephone Order (MO/TO): The direct marketing catalog industry.
Media: The documentation of monetary transactions (i.e. sales drafts, credit slips, computer printouts, etc.).
Member: A financial institution which is a member of VISA USA and/or MasterCard International. A member is licensed to issue cards to cardholders and/or accept merchant drafts.
Merchandise Returns/Refunds: The request by a STAR Cardholder for a refund of part or all of a previously processed STAR Transaction. The STAR Network does not support Merchandise Returns and/or Refunds as an electronic transaction unless they are processed as Purchase Corrections/Cancellations or as Internet Purchase Credit pursuant to these Rules. A non-Internet STAR Merchant must handle a STAR Cardholder's request for a refund or return of a product or service purchased with a STAR Card in the same manner as a refund or return of a product or service purchased with cash or a check.
Merchant: A retailer, or any other person, firm, or corporation that, according to a Merchant Agreement, agrees to accept credit cards, debit cards, or both, when properly presented.
Merchant Account Initiation (MAI): A full-cycle credit management system that statistically credit scores and rates new merchant applications, tracks accounts from contract signing to achievement including an on-going profitability analysis, and retains a paperless credit file online.
Merchant Acquirer: A member that has entered into an agreement with a merchant to accept deposits generated by bankcard transactions; also called the acquirer or acquiring bank.
Merchant Agreement: The written contract between merchant and acquirer who detail their respective rights, responsibilities and warranties.
Merchant Category Code (MCC): Merchant classification code which identifies the merchant by type of processing, authorization and settlement.
Merchant Fraud: The act of submitting sales drafts which are not the result of legitimate sales for the purpose of defrauding the services, the client bank, or individual cardholders. Fraud includes knowingly accepting lost, stolen or counterfeit credit cards.
Merchant Number: A number that numerically identifies each merchant to the merchant processor for accounting and billing purposes.
Merchant Outlet: The physical premises of the merchant at which a transaction is consummated.
Merchant Sales Agreement: The written contractual agreement between a merchant, First Data, and First Data's clearing/funding member bank. This agreement contains their respective rights, duties and warranties with respect to the acceptance of credit, debit or charge cards and payment system processing.
Merchant Service Charge: The discount rate or other fees assessed by the acquirer.
Merchant Settlement Amount: The net dollar amount for each business day of card transactions processed, less chargebacks debited to the merchants and other debits or credits to the merchants.
Merchant Station Plate: A metal embossed plate to be attached to the imprinter machine and used for imprinting sales slips and batch headers/summaries. Embossed data includes merchant name, account number, city and state, and may include service entitlement numbers or checking account number. Also known as a “slug.”
Merchant Store and Forward Transactions: STAR Transactions that cannot be authorized by or on behalf of the Issuer Member due to technical malfunctions and that are stored in a POS System for later forwarding to the Issuer Member.
Merged Member: A Depository Financial Institution that becomes a Member as a result of (i) its consolidation or merger with an existing Member, (ii) a purchase of its business and assets by an existing Member, or (iii) a purchase of the business and assets of an existing Member by such Depository Financial Institution.
Message Authentication Code (MAC): The result of passing a digital message or a set of data content through an algorithm and a Secret key to produce a unique code for every digital message. The recipient can use the same algorithm and securely held Secret key to confirm that the data content has not been altered in communication from the point of origin.
MICR Number Method: A check authorization procedure that uses the bank routing/transit numbers, checking account numbers and check number encoded along the bottom of the check.
Magnetic Information Character Recognition (MICR): Imprinted banking numbers (routing/transit number, checking account number, check number) at the bottom of the check.
Magnetic Stripe: A stripe (on the bankcard) of magnetically encoded cardholder account information affixed to a plastic card.
Mail Order/Telephone Order (MO/TO): The direct marketing catalog industry.
Media: The documentation of monetary transactions (i.e. sales drafts, credit slips, computer printouts, etc.).
Member: A financial institution which is a member of VISA USA and/or MasterCard International. A member is licensed to issue cards to cardholders and/or accept merchant drafts.
Merchandise Returns/Refunds: The request by a STAR Cardholder for a refund of part or all of a previously processed STAR Transaction. The STAR Network does not support Merchandise Returns and/or Refunds as an electronic transaction unless they are processed as Purchase Corrections/Cancellations or as Internet Purchase Credit pursuant to these Rules. A non-Internet STAR Merchant must handle a STAR Cardholder's request for a refund or return of a product or service purchased with a STAR Card in the same manner as a refund or return of a product or service purchased with cash or a check.
Merchant: A retailer, or any other person, firm, or corporation that, according to a Merchant Agreement, agrees to accept credit cards, debit cards, or both, when properly presented.
Merchant Account Initiation (MAI): A full-cycle credit management system that statistically credit scores and rates new merchant applications, tracks accounts from contract signing to achievement including an on-going profitability analysis, and retains a paperless credit file online.
Merchant Acquirer: A member that has entered into an agreement with a merchant to accept deposits generated by bankcard transactions; also called the acquirer or acquiring bank.
Merchant Agreement: The written contract between merchant and acquirer who detail their respective rights, responsibilities and warranties.
Merchant Category Code (MCC): Merchant classification code which identifies the merchant by type of processing, authorization and settlement.
Merchant Fraud: The act of submitting sales drafts which are not the result of legitimate sales for the purpose of defrauding the services, the client bank, or individual cardholders. Fraud includes knowingly accepting lost, stolen or counterfeit credit cards.
Merchant Number: A number that numerically identifies each merchant to the merchant processor for accounting and billing purposes.
Merchant Outlet: The physical premises of the merchant at which a transaction is consummated.
Merchant Sales Agreement: The written contractual agreement between a merchant, First Data, and First Data's clearing/funding member bank. This agreement contains their respective rights, duties and warranties with respect to the acceptance of credit, debit or charge cards and payment system processing.
Merchant Service Charge: The discount rate or other fees assessed by the acquirer.
Merchant Settlement Amount: The net dollar amount for each business day of card transactions processed, less chargebacks debited to the merchants and other debits or credits to the merchants.
Merchant Station Plate: A metal embossed plate to be attached to the imprinter machine and used for imprinting sales slips and batch headers/summaries. Embossed data includes merchant name, account number, city and state, and may include service entitlement numbers or checking account number. Also known as a “slug.”
Merchant Store and Forward Transactions: STAR Transactions that cannot be authorized by or on behalf of the Issuer Member due to technical malfunctions and that are stored in a POS System for later forwarding to the Issuer Member.
Merged Member: A Depository Financial Institution that becomes a Member as a result of (i) its consolidation or merger with an existing Member, (ii) a purchase of its business and assets by an existing Member, or (iii) a purchase of the business and assets of an existing Member by such Depository Financial Institution.
Message Authentication Code (MAC): The result of passing a digital message or a set of data content through an algorithm and a Secret key to produce a unique code for every digital message. The recipient can use the same algorithm and securely held Secret key to confirm that the data content has not been altered in communication from the point of origin.