| EPOS GLOSSARY |
| Please browse through our Glossary of IT and EPOS terms; if you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line |
ASDL uses standard phone lines to deliver high-speed data communications with up to 20mbps. Even better, ADSL uses the portion of a phone line's bandwidth not utilized by voice, allowing for simultaneous voice and data transmission. » Return to Index |
| APACS - Association for Payment Clearing Services |
APACS is the industry body, which manages the main credit card networks, which allow UK banks and building societies to exchange payments on behalf of their customers. Every smart card has an APACS registered serial number that uniquely identifies the owner and the card. » Return to Index |
| ASP - Application Service Provider |
An Application Service Provider is essentially a company offering individuals or businesses access over the Internet to application programs and related services. » Return to Index |
| Browser |
If you can read this, you're probably using a Web browser. In brief, a browser is your interface to the World Wide Web; it interprets hypertext links and lets you view sites and navigate from one Internet node to another. The most popular is Microsoft's Internet Explorer whilst Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari are growing in popularity. » Return to Index |
| Card Issuer |
The card issuer is a bank or financial institution (e.g. HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Barclays, MBNA, American Express, etc.) that issues a card to a cardholder. The card issuer processes new applications, generates statements, answers queries from cardholders and collects payments from the cardholder. » Return to Index |
| Cardholder |
A customer who has been issued with a payment card. » Return to Index |
| Cardholder Not Present |
Also known as Customer Not Present and Card Not Present. A transaction where the merchant does not have access to the payment card and the customer is not present to sign for the purchase, e.g. Internet, telephone or mail order. Due to the increased risk of this type of transaction, the acquirer will usually charge a higher Merchant Service Charge for Cardholder Not Present transactions. » Return to Index |
| CVM - Cardholder Verification Method |
A method of identifying a genuine cardholder. CVMs include cardholder signature or entry of a PIN. » Return to Index |
| Cashback |
A method for a cardholder to take money from their account when using a debit card to pay for a purchase. » Return to Index |
CAT5 / CAT5E / CAT6 / CAT6E |
Cabling used in myPOS EPOS networks. CAT5E/6 are standards of cabling used. It is recommended that all cabling be shielded for the typical hospitality environment. AllANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute / Electronic Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards that specify "categories" (the singular is commonly referred to as "CAT") of twisted pair cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms of the data rates that they can sustain. The specifications describe the cable material as well as the types of connectors and junction blocks to be used in order to conform to a category. » Return to Index |
| Ceiling Limit |
The maximum amount for a credit card transaction that an acquirer will authorise. If the transaction amount exceeds the ceiling limit, the acquirer will decline the transaction request. » Return to Index |
| Chip Card / Chip + PIN Card |
A smart card with the capability to use PIN as the Cardholder Verification Method (CVM). Chip + PIN; how it works. The chip (a microchip embedded in the card) helps merchants to identify that the card is genuine, and makes the card more difficult to copy or alter. The PIN, a secret 4-digit number known only by the cardholder helps ensure the cardholder is the rightful owner of the card. The PIN is checked by technology rather than interpreted by eye, and it can't be forged - unlike signatures. » Return to Index |
| Customer Pole |
Customer displays, available as pole displays or table top displays, can deliver price information and advertising to a customer at the Point of Sale. Pole displays may contain either multi-line fluorescent or LCD display and can attach through serial or parallel ports. » Return to Index |
| DSL - Digital Subscriber Line |
Digital subscriber lines carry data at high speeds over standard copper telephone wires. With DSL, data can be delivered at a rate of 1.5 mbps (around 30 times faster than through a 56-kbps modem). xDSL is the collective term for different variations of DSL, such as ADSL and HDSL. » Return to Index |
| EFTPOS - Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale |
Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale. See EPOS. The primary function of the EPOS is to ensure that the payment received from the payment card matches the transaction amount displayed on the till. An EPOS terminal reads the card details from the magnetic stripe or chip and allows the merchant to key in the card details and enter transaction-specific data. The EPOS also includes a facility to inform the merchant whether the transaction has been accepted, declined or referred. » Return to Index |
| EPOS - Electronic Point of Sale |
Electronic Point of Sale system. » Return to Index |
| Ethernet |
The most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technology. An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. Fast Ethernet provides transmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN backbone systems. Gigabit Ethernet provides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gigabit or 1 billion bits per second). See CAT5E/6. » Return to Index |
| Euro |
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| » The € Euro (further information) |
| » Return to Index |
| Extranet |
An intranet that is accessible to computers that are not physically part of a companies' own private network, but that is not accessible to the general public, for example to allow vendors and business partners to access a company web site. » Return to Index |
| Fire Wall |
A combination of hardware and software that separates a Network into two or more parts for security purposes. » Return to Index |
| Floor Limit |
The transaction value below which the merchant can authorise a transaction without contacting the acquirer. If the amount of the transaction is at, or above, the floor limit, the merchant must refer the transaction to the acquirer for authorisation. If the floor limit is set at zero, every transaction must be authorised by the acquirer. » Return to Index |
| FTP |
File Transfer Protocol. A system for transferring files between machines on a TCP/IP network. » Return to Index |
| GUI |
Graphical User Interface. » Return to Index |
| HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language |
The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. The "hyper" in Hypertext comes from the fact that in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or an image, is linked to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a "Web Browser". HTML is loosely based on a more comprehensive system for markup called SGML. » Return to Index |
| HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol |
The protocol for moving hypertextfiles across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW). » Return to Index |
| Hyper Text |
Generally, any text that contains links to other documents - words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader and which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed. » Return to Index |
| Identivue |
Identivue Limited, the creators of the myPOS EPOS system. » Return to Index |
| Internet |
A worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). The Internet was originally developed for military usage, and then became widely used for academic and commercial research. The most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web. Its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of instant cross-referencing. In most Web sites, certain words or phrases appear in text of a different colour than the rest; often this text is also underlined. » Return to Index |
| IP - Internet Protocol |
Lowest level communications protocol upon which the Internet is based. IP enables a packet of information to travel through multiple networks to get to its ultimate destination. » Return to Index |
| ISP - Internet Service Providers |
A business that delivers access to the Internet, usually for a monthly fee (e.g. BT, Lixxus, Tiscali, AOL, etc) or any business that provides Internet services such as web sites or web site development. » Return to Index |
| Intranet |
A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. See also extranet. » Return to Index |
| IP Number - Internet Protocol Number |
Sometimes called a dotted quad. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 165.113.245.2 » Return to Index |
| IPR |
Intellectual Property Rights. » Return to Index |
| ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network |
Basically a way to move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is available to pretty much most of the UK and in most markets it is priced very comparably to standard analog phone circuits. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited to 56,000or 64,000 bits-per-second. » Return to Index |
| ISO |
International Standard Organisation. » Return to Index |
| LAN - Local Area Network |
A computer network limited to the immediate area, typically the same building or floor of a building. » Return to Index |
| myPOS |
In our humble opinion, probably the easiest to use EPOS system available today. » Return to Index |
| Network |
A series of points or nodes interconnected by communication paths. Networks can interconnect with other networks and contain subnetworks. The most common configurations of networks include the bus, star, and Token ring topologies. Networks can also be characterized in terms of spatial distance as local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN). A given network can also be characterized by the type of data transmission technology in use on it (for example, a TCP/IP or Systems Network Architecture network); by whether it carries voice, data, or both kinds of signals; by who can use the network (public or private); by the usual nature of its connections (dial-up or switched, dedicated or nonswitched, or virtual connections); and by the types of physical links (for example, optical fibre, coaxial cable, and Unshielded Twisted Pair). » Return to Index |
| PIN |
Personal Identification Number. A sequence of digits (usually 4) used to identify a cardholder. With a Chip and PIN card, the cardholder can use a PIN as authentication instead of signing the sales receipt. The PIN is generated automatically when the card is issued but the cardholder can change it at any time. » Return to Index |
| PIN Pad |
A device that attaches to the myPOS EPOS system to allow the use of PIN as a Cardholder Verification Method. » Return to Index |
| PKC |
Public Key Cryptography. » Return to Index |
| PKI |
Public Key Infrastructure. » Return to Index |
| POS |
Point of Sale, see EPOS. » Return to Index |
| Printer - Impact |
Impact printer, uses impact on ribbon for print method. Ideal for hot environments or where you need to 'hear' the printer make a slight "noise" e.g. for a busy bar prep area. » Return to Index |
| Printer - Thermal |
Uses heat for print method, Providing simplicity for the operator with "drop and print" paper loading. Fast print speed. Not suitable for hot locations in certain areas of kitchens. Virtually silent. » Return to Index |
| Proxy Server |
A Proxy Server sits in between a Client and the "real" Server that a Client is trying to use. Client's are sometimes configured to use a Proxy Server, usually an HTTP server. The clients makes all of it's requests from the Proxy Server, which then makes requests from the "real" server and passes the result back to the Client. Sometimes the Proxy server will store the results and give a stored result instead of making a new one (to reduce use of a Network). Proxy servers are commonly established on Local Area Networks. » Return to Index |
| Smart Card |
See Chip Card / Chip and PIN Card. » Return to Index |
| SQL - Structured Query Language |
A specialized language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its own slightly different version of SQL implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL. An example of an SQL statement is: SELECT name,email FROM client_table WHERE city='London' » Wikipedia Article (external site) » Return to Index |
| Switch |
A network device that selects a path or circuit for sending a unit of data to its next destination. » Return to Index |
| TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol |
This is the suite of protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now included with every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software. » Return to Index |
| UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply |
A device designed to supply power in the event of temporary or permanent loss of AC line power. Often these supplies will operate with either an AC line input or DC battery backup input. » Return to Index |
| VPN - Virtual Private Network |
Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. » Return to Index |
| Web Hosting |
A web-hoster hosts customers' web pages on either dedicated or shared servers. These servers are located within the web-hosting company's server farm. » Return to Index |
| Wireless Networking |
A term used to describe telecommunications in which electromagnetic waves (rather than some form of wire) carry the signal over part or all of the communication path. Common examples of wireless equipment in use today include: cell phones and pagers; Global Positioning System (GPS); cordless computer peripherals and telephone sets; home-entertainment-system control boxes -e.g. TV and VCR 'remotes'; two-way radios. » Return to Index |
| XML - eXtensible Markup Language |
A system for defining data formats. XML provides a very rich system to define complex documents and data structures such as invoices, molecular data, news feeds, glossaries, inventory descriptions, real estate properties, etc. As long as a programmer has the XML definition for a collection of data (often called a "schema") then they can create a program to reliably process any data formatted according to those rules. » Return to Index |
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