Credit Card Glossary
Point of Sale Terminal
This is the electronic terminal where you swipe your card. The terminal dials a stored telephone number (using a modem) to call an acquirer. An acquirer is an organization that collects credit-authentication requests from merchants and provides the merchants with a payment guarantee.
When the acquirer company gets the credit-card authentication request, it checks the transaction for validity and the record on the magstripe for:
• Merchant ID
• Valid card number
• Expiration date
• Credit-card limit
• Card usage
Once all of the above is verified, the credit card transaction can take place.