Merchant Services Terms Beginning with S

Secure Server – A secure server is a web server that supports any of the major security protocols, such as SSL, that encrypt and decrypt messages to protect them against third-party tampering or fraudulent use.

Setup Fee – A setup fee is a nominal amount charged by a merchant account service provider when a merchant account is established.

Shopping Cart – In the world of e-commerce and merchant accounts a “shopping cart” refers to special computer software that helps people make purchases and expedites the ordering process at an online store (e-commerce website).

SSL Certificate – SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are files, regularly installed on safe online servers, that recognize a specific website.

Standard Industry Code/Merchant Category Code (SIC/MCC Code)
The SIC (Standard Industry Code) is a four-digit, numeric identifier of business industries used by the IRS, processing banks and other institutions.

Statement Fee – When a business sets up a merchant bank account with a merchant service provider, various fees are required to establish that account. One of these fees is a monthly “statement fee.”

Swipe - A Swipe refers the passage of a magnetic stripe card through a payment processing terminal to process a transaction. The card is run through the terminal which reads the information off of the card with a magnetic reader. It submits it to a merchant service provider and card issuer simultaneously in order process a sales transaction or related transactions for a merchant and customer.