The Alphabet Soup of Credit Cards

The Alphabet Soup of Credit Cards

By: Art Lieberman & Deanne Bower

In working with credit cards during the past 18 years we’ve encountered a growing list of abbreviations which are, to say the least, extremely confusing. So who can blame a campground owner who, while filling out an application, calls us to ask, What does DBA stand for”?

So here is a list of many definitions you might encounter while working with credit cards in your campgrounds, Keep this list handy someplace –

ACH – Automated Clearing House – Electronic network for financial transactions in the US.

AMEX – American Express – A credit card company

ATM – Automated Teller Machine.

AUTH – Authorization;

AVS – Address Verification System – Method used to verify the address of a cardholder.

CC - Credit Card.

CHBG – Chargeback – Reversal of funds from a customer’s bank account.

CHG - A credit card transaction.

CNP – Card Not Present – A transaction by phone or computer.

CVV - Card Verification Value – the 3 or 4 digit number on the back of credit cards

DBA – Doing Business As – The name businesses operate under.

DBT – Debit – To withdraw funds.

DDA – Demand Deposit Account – Bank account to deposit funds and withdraw fees.

DOB – Date of Birth.

EIN – Employer Identification Number – Corporate equivalent of a Social Security number.

FDR – First Data Resources – A global technologies solutions company.

ISA – Independent Sales Agent – Direct to consumer credit card marketer.

ISO – Independent Sales Organization – Employed by acquiring bank for marketing.

MOTO – Mail Order Telephone Order – A category for CNP transactions at higher rates.

MS – Merchant Services – Financial services for businesses

PCI – Processing Card Industry – Organization formed by the card companies for security.

PIN – Personal Identification Number – A 4 digit number for individual’s debit cards.

POS – Point of Sale – The location where the consumer does business.

SSN – Social Security Number.

TIN – Taxpayer Identification Number. Very similar to EIN.

These are the most commonly used abbreviations in the credit card and banking industry. We hope this will assist you in understanding more of the “bankese” than before.

(Art Lieberman is President of MCPS for Campgrounds, and Deanne Bower is the Vice-President. MCPS is a credit card processor sponsored by Woodforest Bank NA. Art and Deanne have been processing campgrounds credit cards for over 11 years and they have been conducting free webinars online and seminars on credit cards in many State and Regional Association Conventions. They can be contacted at 877-858-9010 or at .)