---
title: "Payments glossary | Direct answers to every term"
description: "Every term in the payments glossary, grouped by category (stablecoins, accounts, compliance, payment rails, banking, and FX), each with a direct answer up top."
canonical: "https://infinite.net/learn/glossary"
---

# Payments glossary

Every term in the payments glossary, grouped by category (stablecoins, accounts, compliance, payment rails, banking, and FX), each with a direct answer up top.

## Assets

- [Assets terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/assets.md): The instruments that move on stablecoin rails: what stablecoins are, how they are minted, redeemed, and backed, and how reserves are verified.

- [Stablecoin](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin.md): A cryptocurrency designed to hold a stable value by pegging to another asset — usually the US dollar — and backed one-for-one by reserves.
- [On-ramp and off-ramp](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/on-ramp-off-ramp.md): The conversion points between fiat and digital assets — an on-ramp turns dollars into stablecoins, an off-ramp turns stablecoins back into dollars.
- [Mint and burn](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/mint-and-burn.md): How stablecoin supply tracks its reserves — issuers mint new tokens when dollars come in and burn tokens when dollars are redeemed.
- [Reserve attestation](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/reserve-attestation.md): An independent accountant’s report verifying that a stablecoin issuer’s reserves matched the tokens in circulation as of a point in time.
- [Cold storage](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/cold-storage.md): The practice of holding digital assets with private keys kept offline — out of reach of the internet, and of any automated system that could be compromised.

## Accounts

- [Accounts terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/accounts.md): Account structures for holding business funds: demand deposit accounts, virtual and FBO accounts, and how pooled and per-customer structures differ.

- [Demand deposit account](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/demand-deposit-account.md): A bank account whose funds can be withdrawn on demand — the standard operating account for businesses in the US.
- [Virtual account](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/virtual-account.md): A sub-account reference layered on one real bank account, used to segregate and reconcile funds without opening separate accounts.
- [Virtual accounts vs real accounts](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/virtual-accounts-vs-real-accounts.md): A virtual account is a reference over one pooled bank account; a real account is individually titled at the bank. The difference is whose money the bank sees.
- [FBO account](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/fbo-account.md): A custodial bank account titled "for the benefit of" a company’s customers — one pooled account holding funds the platform manages on their behalf.
- [Pooled account](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/pooled-account.md): A single bank account holding funds belonging to many customers, tracked in the holder’s own sub-ledger rather than at the bank.
- [Wallet account](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/wallet-account.md): An account that holds stablecoin balances alongside fiat — custody handled by the provider, so businesses move digital dollars without managing keys.

## Compliance

- [Compliance terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/compliance.md): The controls behind compliant payments: KYB and KYC, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and the BSA framework US institutions operate under.

- [Know Your Business](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/know-your-business.md): The verification of a business customer — legal existence, beneficial owners, and sanctions screening — before providing financial services.
- [Bank Secrecy Act](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/bank-secrecy-act.md): The primary US anti-money-laundering law, requiring financial institutions to run AML programs, keep records, and report suspicious activity.
- [Money transmitter](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/money-transmitter.md): A business that accepts and transmits funds on behalf of others — a regulated activity requiring state licenses and federal registration in the US.
- [Travel Rule](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/travel-rule.md): The requirement that identifying information about the sender and recipient travel with a funds transfer — extended by FATF to virtual-asset transfers.
- [AML transaction monitoring](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/aml-transaction-monitoring.md): The ongoing screening of customer transactions against risk rules and behavioral patterns to detect and report suspicious activity.
- [Sanctions screening](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/sanctions-screening.md): Checking customers, counterparties, and payments against government sanctions lists — such as OFAC’s SDN list — before funds are allowed to move.
- [Virtual asset service provider](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/vasp.md): FATF’s term for a business that exchanges, transfers, or safekeeps virtual assets for customers — regulated for AML like other financial institutions.
- [Money services business](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/money-services-business.md): FinCEN’s registration category for nonbank businesses that transmit or convert money — required to register federally and run a BSA/AML program.
- [BSA/AML program](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/bsa-aml-program.md): The anti-money-laundering program the Bank Secrecy Act requires — internal controls, a designated officer, training, independent testing, and customer due diligence.
- [OFAC](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/ofac.md): The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control — the agency that administers sanctions and publishes the SDN list.
- [Enhanced due diligence](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/enhanced-due-diligence.md): The deeper level of customer review applied to higher-risk relationships — more documentation, source-of-funds checks, and closer ongoing monitoring.
- [Politically exposed person](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/politically-exposed-person.md): Someone entrusted with prominent public functions — senior officials, their close family and associates — treated as higher-risk in AML programs.
- [Know Your Customer](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/know-your-customer.md): The verification of an individual customer’s identity — who they are, checked against watchlists — before providing financial services.
- [Suspicious activity report](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/suspicious-activity-report.md): The confidential report a financial institution files with FinCEN when it detects potentially suspicious transactions or activity.
- [Beneficial owner](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/beneficial-owner.md): The individual who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity — identified and verified during KYB under FinCEN’s due-diligence rules.

## Payment rails

- [Payment rails terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/payment-rails.md): The networks that settle business payments (SWIFT, ACH, Fedwire, RTP, and stablecoin rails) and how their speed, hours, and finality compare.

- [SWIFT](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/swift.md): The global messaging network banks use to send payment instructions across borders — the message layer behind international wires.
- [ACH](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/ach.md): The US batch payment network for bank-to-bank transfers — low cost, high volume, settling in same-day or next-day windows.
- [Fedwire](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/fedwire.md): The Federal Reserve’s real-time gross settlement system — same-day, irrevocable USD transfers for high-value payments.
- [RTP](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/rtp.md): The Clearing House’s real-time payments network — instant, final USD credit transfers up to $10 million, available 24/7/365.
- [Stablecoin settlement](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin-settlement.md): The completion of a payment by transferring stablecoins on-chain — final in minutes, at any hour, with no batch cycles or banking-hours dependency.
- [Payment orchestration](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/payment-orchestration.md): Coordinating multiple payment rails, providers, and currencies behind a single integration — routing each payment by speed, cost, and availability.
- [Stablecoin payment processor](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin-payment-processor.md): A provider that handles stablecoin payments end to end for businesses — accounts, conversion, screening, and settlement behind one API.
- [SWIFT gpi](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/swift-gpi.md): SWIFT’s payments service standard adding end-to-end tracking, fee transparency, and confirmation of credit to cross-border payments.
- [Same Day ACH](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/same-day-ach.md): The ACH network’s faster processing option — eligible payments submitted before daily cutoffs settle in same-day windows instead of next-day.
- [T+0 settlement](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/t-plus-0-settlement.md): Settlement on the trade or payment date itself — funds change hands the same day, with no waiting period.
- [Wire transfer](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/wire-transfer.md): A bank-to-bank payment sent individually rather than in a batch — same-day, typically irrevocable, used for high-value transfers.
- [Stablecoin card](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/stablecoin-card.md): A debit or prepaid card funded by a stablecoin balance — the issuer converts stablecoins to fiat at the point of sale, so merchants receive ordinary currency.

## Banking

- [Banking terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/banking.md): How banks hold and move money behind the scenes: correspondent banking, routing numbers, and how deposit insurance passes through to customers.

- [Correspondent banking](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/correspondent-banking.md): The arrangement where one bank holds accounts and executes payments for another, enabling cross-border transfers between banks with no direct relationship.
- [Pass-through deposit insurance](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/pass-through-deposit-insurance.md): FDIC coverage that extends through a custodial account to the underlying owners of the funds, when the FDIC’s pass-through conditions are met.
- [Routing number](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/routing-number.md): The nine-digit code that identifies a US financial institution on payment rails — it tells ACH, Fedwire, and check systems where an account lives.

## FX

- [FX settlement](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/fx-settlement.md): The exchange of the two currencies that completes a foreign-exchange trade — where cross-currency payments incur cost, delay, and settlement risk.

## Agentic payments

- [Agentic payments terms in the payments glossary](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/category/agentic-payments.md): How AI agents move money: spending limits, human-in-the-loop approvals, agent compliance, and the authorization layer behind agent-initiated payments.

- [Agentic payments](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/agentic-payments.md): Payments initiated by AI agents rather than people — screened, bounded, and documented so software can move real money a compliance team can defend.
- [Agent compliance](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/agent-compliance.md): The controls that keep AI-agent payments inside a compliance program — a verified principal, screening on every instruction, and a record for every transfer.
- [Agent spending limits](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/agent-spending-limits.md): Caps on what an AI agent may pay — per transaction, per day, or per month — enforced at the account layer rather than inside the agent’s own code.
- [Human-in-the-loop approval](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/human-in-the-loop-approval.md): A control that holds an automated payment until a named person reviews it — the escalation path when an agent’s instruction breaches a limit or trips monitoring.
- [Model Context Protocol](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/model-context-protocol.md): An open standard that lets AI agents and assistants connect to external tools and data — including payment APIs — through one common interface.
- [Agent authorization](https://infinite.net/learn/glossary/agent-authorization.md): The scoped, revocable grant that lets an AI agent act on a person’s or business’s money — defining what it may do and how much it may move.