Fintech glossary

An extra check during an online card payment, such as approving it in your banking app or entering a one-time code.

Account-to-account

A payment that moves straight from one bank account to another, without a card network in between.

Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions

The Bahrain-based body that writes the Sharia, accounting and governance standards many Islamic banks and regulators use.

Automated Clearing House

A system that collects many lower-value payments and settles them together in batches, usually within a day or a few days.

Gulf

The GCC's shared RTGS system for payments between Gulf countries, run by the GCC Payments Company.

Account Information Service

A licensed service that reads your bank account data with your consent, for example to show all your accounts in one app.

Gulf

A Central Bank of the UAE company that runs the country's national payment schemes, including Aani and Jaywan.

Application Programming Interface

A defined way for two pieces of software to talk to each other. In fintech, it is how apps connect to banks, card issuers and KYC providers.

Europe

Asset-referenced token

The MiCA category for a stablecoin whose value tracks a basket of currencies, commodities or other assets.

UK

Authorised Payment Institution

The full UK payment institution licence from the FCA, with no cap on payment volume. It can move money but not issue e-money, which needs an EMI licence.

The internal tools staff use to run a financial product: customer support, compliance reviews, limits, refunds and reports.

UK

The UK system for bulk, scheduled payments such as salaries and Direct Debits. Payments take three working days.

UK

The Bank of England's settlement system, where CHAPS payments and the net positions of other UK systems are finally settled.

Gulf

Bahrain's payment network company. Fawri+ is its instant transfer service, available 24/7.

Bank Identifier Code (SWIFT code)

An 8 or 11 character code that identifies a bank in international payments.

Europe

Spain's instant mobile payment service run by banks, used mostly to send money by phone number.

Europe

Poland's mobile payment system, where you approve a payment in your banking app with a six-digit code.

A shared record of transactions kept by many computers at once, where past entries cannot be quietly changed.

Gulf

The Arab Monetary Fund's cross-border payment platform for the Arab region, settling in several currencies including the dirham and riyal.

The network that sets the rules and connects card issuers with acquirers: Visa, Mastercard, or national networks such as mada.

The testing Visa or Mastercard require before a new card programme or processor can go live.

Europe

Crypto-Asset Service Provider

A firm licensed under the EU's MiCA rules to offer crypto services. One licence works across the EU.

Gulf

Central Bank of Bahrain

Bahrain's single financial regulator, supervising banks, payment firms, insurers and crypto firms, with its own regulatory sandbox.

Gulf

Bahrain's licence for crypto firms, in four categories: from advice and passing on client orders (Category 1) up to running a crypto exchange (Category 4).

Central Bank Digital Currency

A digital form of a country's currency, issued directly by its central bank.

Gulf

Central Bank of Kuwait

Kuwait's central bank. Under its 2023 e-payment rules it licenses electronic payment and e-money providers, including independent startups.

Gulf

Central Bank of Oman

Oman's central bank. It licenses banks and payment service providers (PSPs), and runs the national payment systems.

UK

The UK same-day system for high-value payments, settled through the Bank of England.

The step between sending and settling a payment, where it is checked, matched and netted against others.

Gulf

Capital Market Authority

Saudi Arabia's securities regulator. It licenses investment firms, and its FinTech experimental permit lets startups test new products with real customers.

Gulf

Capital Market Authority

The UAE federal markets regulator, formerly the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). It licenses crypto firms onshore, except in Dubai, where VARA does, and in the DIFC and ADGM free zones.

UK

CoP

A UK check that the name you type matches the name on the account before you send money.

UK

The FCA rule, in force since 2023, that UK financial firms must deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

Holding crypto, or the keys that control it, on behalf of customers. Usually needs its own licence.

CEX / DEX

A place to buy and sell crypto. A centralised exchange (CEX) is a company; a decentralised exchange (DEX) is a set of smart contracts.

A crypto wallet where a company holds the keys for you, like a bank holds your cash. Easy to use, but you trust the company.

UK

A UK government-backed certificate for basic cyber security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus adds independent technical testing.

Decentralised finance

Financial services such as lending and trading run by smart contracts on a blockchain, without a company in the middle.

An app that stores payment details or money so you can pay without a physical card.

An instruction letting a company collect varying amounts from your account, such as a utility bill, with guarantees if something goes wrong.

Europe

A bank-owned company that runs pan-European euro payment systems: EURO1 for large payments, STEP2 for SEPA batches and RT1 for instant payments.

Financial services built into a non-financial product, such as a loan at checkout or a wallet inside a ride-hailing app.

Europe

E-money token

The MiCA category for a stablecoin pegged to one currency, such as the euro. Only banks and EMIs may issue one.

Europay, Mastercard, Visa

The global standard for chip cards and terminals, run by EMVCo. New cards and terminals must be certified against it.

Europe

European Payments Council

The body that writes and manages the SEPA payment scheme rulebooks.

Gulf

Qatar's instant payment service, run by Qatar Central Bank, for transfers by phone number or IBAN.

UK

The UK's full licensing regime for crypto firms, replacing registration. Applications run from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, and the rules apply from 25 October 2027.

UK

UK firms doing crypto business must register with the FCA under anti-money-laundering rules before they start.

Foreign exchange

Converting one currency into another. The gap between the buy and sell rate is a main source of revenue for payment firms.

The fee paid to a blockchain network, such as Ethereum, to process a transaction.

Europe

General Data Protection Regulation

The EU law on how personal data is collected, stored and used. The UK keeps its own version, UK GDPR.

A hot wallet is connected to the internet and quick to use. A cold wallet is kept offline and is safer for large amounts.

Europe

The most popular way to pay online in the Netherlands, directly from a bank account. It is now owned by the European Payments Initiative.

Payments that arrive in seconds, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, rather than in batches during banking hours.

Europe

EU law requiring banks and payment firms in the euro area to offer instant euro transfers, at no higher price than regular ones.

A unit inside a conventional bank that offers Islamic products, with its own Sharia board and funds kept separate from the conventional side.

The international standard for business continuity: keeping critical services running, or restoring them fast, when something goes wrong.

The bank or EMI that gives a card to the customer and approves or declines each payment made with it.

Manufacturing contract

A contract to make or build something to order, such as a building or a ship, with the price paid in stages. Used for project and construction finance.

Gulf

The UAE's own domestic card scheme, run by Al Etihad Payments, so local card payments do not depend on international networks.

Gulf

Kuwait's national payment network, behind local debit cards and online bank payments.

The record of every movement of money, from which balances are calculated. A double-entry ledger records each movement twice, as a debit and a credit.

UK

The UK's national ATM network, which lets cards from any bank work in almost any cash machine.

Gulf

A shared platform for cross-border payments in central bank digital currencies, involving the central banks of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Europe

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive

The EU licence for brokers, trading venues and portfolio managers dealing in shares, bonds and other financial instruments. It can be passported across the EU.

Money Laundering Reporting Officer

The named person accountable for a firm's anti-money-laundering programme and its reports to the authorities.

Multi-party computation

A wallet whose key is split into pieces held in different places, so no single person or server can move funds alone.

The classic SWIFT message for a single international customer payment. Banks often share it as proof that a transfer was sent.

SWIFT's move from its older MT message formats to ISO 20022 (MX) for cross-border payments. The period when both could be used ended in November 2025.

Profit-sharing investment

One party provides the money and the other the work. Profit is shared at an agreed ratio; financial loss falls on the money provider. The basis of many Islamic savings accounts.

One account that holds balances in several currencies and converts between them.

Multi-signature

A wallet that needs several keys to approve a transaction, for example two of three.

Gulf

Essential Cybersecurity Controls

The minimum cyber security controls set by Saudi Arabia's National Cybersecurity Authority for government bodies and critical infrastructure.

Self-hosted wallet

A crypto wallet where only you hold the keys. Nobody can freeze it, and nobody can recover it if you lose them.

"Our account with you" and "your account with us": the accounts correspondent banks hold with each other.

UK

New Payments Architecture

Pay.UK's long-running programme to renew the technology behind Faster Payments and Bacs.

Open banking extended beyond payment accounts to savings, insurance, pensions and investments.

A firm's ability to keep its important services running through outages, cyber incidents and supplier failures.

SWIFT charge codes

Who pays the fees on an international transfer: OUR means the sender pays all, SHA means both sides share, BEN means the recipient pays.

Person-to-merchant

A payment from a customer to a business, in a shop or online.

Person-to-person

A payment from one individual to another, such as splitting a bill or sending money to family.

The ISO 20022 message that replaces the MT103 for customer payments, with richer structured data about the payer and payee.

UK

The UK permission, granted by the FCA or for banks by the PRA, to carry on regulated activities such as taking deposits, lending or investments. EMIs and PIs are authorised under separate rules.

Europe

An EU rule that lets a firm licensed in one EU country serve customers in all the others. UK firms lost it after Brexit.

Paying a merchant directly from your bank account, usually through open banking, instead of with a card.

The system that actually moves money from one account to another, such as Faster Payments, SEPA or a card network.

The rulebook every bank and payment firm on a rail must follow: formats, timings, fees and who is liable when things go wrong.

Gulf

The UAE's term for a stablecoin used to pay for things, regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE.

UK

The company that runs the UK's retail payment systems: Faster Payments, Bacs and cheque clearing.

The card industry's security standard for handling PINs safely, from the terminal to the issuer.

Payment Initiation Service

A licensed service that starts a bank transfer from your account on your behalf, such as "pay by bank" at checkout.

Point of sale

Where a purchase is paid for: the card terminal, till or checkout software.

UK

Prudential Regulation Authority

Part of the Bank of England. It supervises the financial safety of banks and insurers.

The secret code that proves you own crypto and lets you move it. Whoever holds the key controls the funds.

The rate an Islamic bank uses to price a sale or lease, often benchmarked to EIBOR, SAIBOR or SOFR. It sets the profit but is not interest on a loan.

The company that designs and runs a card programme for a brand, sitting between the card issuer and that brand.

Evidence, often checked by an auditor, that a crypto firm actually holds the assets it owes its customers.

Europe

Third Payment Services Directive / Payment Services Regulation

The EU rules proposed in 2023 to replace PSD2, with tougher fraud protection and better open banking.

Benevolent loan

A loan where only the amount borrowed is repaid, with no profit at all. Islamic current accounts are usually treated as qard from the customer to the bank.

Gulf

Qatar Central Bank

Qatar's central bank. It licenses banks and payment service providers onshore; the Qatar Financial Centre has its own regulator, the QFCRA.

Registered Account Information Service Provider

A firm registered to offer only account information services, such as showing all your bank accounts in one app. Much lighter than a full PI licence.

Checking that your own records match those of the bank, the card scheme and every partner, every day, down to the cent.

A regulator's programme where startups test a new financial product with real customers under temporary, lighter rules.

Money a person sends to someone in another country, often to support family.

A message asking someone to pay you, which they can approve, decline or schedule from their banking app.

Gulf

The Central Bank of the UAE's licence for mainland payment firms, in four categories (I to IV) covering services from merchant acquiring to fund transfers and open banking.

Real-Time Gross Settlement

A system that settles each payment one by one, immediately, in central bank money. Used for large and urgent payments.

Real-world assets

Traditional assets such as bonds, funds or property represented as tokens on a blockchain.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia's national bill payment system, which lets people pay utility and government bills from any bank.

Forward sale paid upfront

The buyer pays in full today for goods of a precise description delivered later. Historically used to finance farmers before the harvest.

Gulf

SAMA Cyber Security Framework

The cyber security rules SAMA requires every bank and firm it regulates to follow.

Gulf

Micro / major PI and EMI

Saudi Arabia's four payment licences: micro and major payment institution, and micro and major e-money institution. Only the e-money licences allow e-wallets.

Checking customers and payments against government sanctions lists before money moves.

Suspicious Activity Report

The report a firm must file with the authorities when it suspects money laundering or terrorist financing.

Gulf

The SAMA company that runs Saudi Arabia's national payment systems, including mada, SARIE and SADAD.

Gulf

Personal Data Protection Law

Saudi Arabia's data protection law, enforced by SDAIA. Companies had to comply in full from September 2024.

Europe

SEPA Credit Transfer

The standard SEPA transfer in euros, which usually arrives by the next business day.

Europe

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer

The instant version of a SEPA transfer: euros arrive in under 10 seconds, at any time of day.

Europe

SEPA Direct Debit

The euro direct debit scheme used across the SEPA countries.

Recovery phrase

A list of 12 or 24 words that can restore a crypto wallet. Anyone who has it can take the funds.

The moment money actually moves between institutions and a payment becomes final.

Following Islamic finance principles: no interest, no excessive uncertainty, and no investment in prohibited industries.

The panel of Islamic scholars that approves an Islamic bank's products and contracts and checks that they are followed in practice.

A program on a blockchain that runs automatically when its conditions are met, such as releasing funds once a payment arrives.

UK

The 6-digit UK code that identifies a bank, used together with an 8-digit account number.

UK

Small Payment Institution

A lighter FCA registration for payment firms that process €3 million a month or less on average. UK only, with tighter limits than a full PI.

A licensed bank that lets a fintech offer products under its licence and remains responsible for that fintech's compliance.

A fixed regular payment that you set up from your account, such as rent.

Islamic bonds

Certificates that give investors a share in real assets or their income, rather than a claim to interest. Governments and banks in the Gulf issue them to raise funds.

Customer Security Programme

Mandatory security controls every SWIFT user must meet and confirm in a yearly attestation.

Global Payments Innovation

SWIFT's service for faster cross-border payments that can be tracked end to end, like a parcel.

A provider that connects smaller banks and payment firms to the SWIFT network, so they do not have to run the connection themselves.

Europe

The Eurosystem's RTGS system for large euro payments between banks. It replaced TARGET2 in 2023.

Europe

TARGET Instant Payment Settlement

The Eurosystem's service that settles instant euro payments in central bank money, 24/7.

Replacing a card number with a substitute token so the real number is never exposed. It is how Apple Pay and Google Pay work.

Bank deposits represented as tokens on a blockchain. Unlike stablecoins, they remain claims on a regulated bank.

Requires crypto firms to send sender and recipient details along with a transfer, as banks already do.

Gulf

UAE Direct Debit System

The UAE's national system for direct debits, used for recurring bills and loan repayments.

Gulf

UAE Funds Transfer System

The Central Bank of the UAE's RTGS system for settling dirham payments between banks.

Gulf

Personal Data Protection Law

The UAE federal data protection law of 2021. The DIFC and ADGM free zones have their own data protection rules.

Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference

A 36-character reference that stays with a SWIFT payment from start to finish, so every bank on the way can track it.

Virtual Asset Service Provider

A firm that exchanges, holds or transfers crypto for customers. It needs its own licence.

Europe

VoP

The EU check, required since October 2025, that the payee's name matches the IBAN before a euro transfer is sent.

UK

Variable Recurring Payments

Open banking payments you authorise once, with limits, so a provider can take varying amounts from your account over time.

Agency

A contract where one party acts as agent for another for a fee. Islamic banks use it for investment deposits and to appoint customers as their buying agents.

Europe

A European digital wallet from the European Payments Initiative, built on instant payments, starting with person-to-person transfers.

Ready-made software that a company rebrands and offers as its own product.

Gulf

Wage Protection System

The UAE system through which private companies must pay staff salaries, so the authorities can check that wages are paid on time.