"Encyclopedia of Terminology for the Acquiring Industry"
By Donna Embry
Electronic Transactions Association, Washington D.C., 2004
Paperback, 295 pages
ISBN 0-973187-0-5
To order call 800-695-5509 or visit www.electran.org

ost would agree that payments is a business of buzzwords and acronyms. And if you're new to the industry, you have an entirely new language to learn; it might take several months to understand what everyone else is talking about. If only you had a comprehensive glossary of terms to keep on your desk or in your briefcase to help you "translate" or further comprehend information. Well now one exists.

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) has published the "Encyclopedia of Terminology for the Acquiring Industry," compiled by Donna Embry.

Many payments companies offer a glossary on their Web sites to provide visitors with a better understanding of their business, and a reason to return to the site; however, no glossary that we have seen compares to ETA's "Encyclopedia."

The book has nearly 300 pages of more than 3,000 terms defined and includes cross references, acronyms, a timeline of key historical dates in the payments business, and a bibliography that lists books, conference publications, periodicals (including The Green Sheet) and Web sites for reference.

Starting with the letter "A" and ending with "Z" (there are even entries under the less commonly used "Q" and "X"), ETA provides definitions relating to:

POS technology, e-commerce and the Internet, interchange, processing policies, operating guidelines, issuer programs, credit and debit card technology, banking rules, regulatory bodies, payment types, merchants, card Association programs, standards, security, payments organizations, sales and marketing ... the list goes on.

The definitions are clear and concise and when needed, extensive. However, if you are brand new to the industry, you might have to flip back and forth between definitions because the terms are defined in a way that assumes you have some level of industry knowledge.

For instance, ETA defines "fulfillment" as "a document image that the acquirer supplies in response to a copy or retrieval request."

If you don't know what an "acquirer" or a "retrieval request" are, you might not have a complete understanding of "fulfillment" until you look up the other words. But all of the definitions are there.

And that's what is wonderful about this book; it's complete and it works for both beginners and veterans.

Embry has more than 38 years' experience in the payments industry. She most recently served as Director of Education for ETA, where she was instrumental in developing the curriculum for the ETA University (ETAU) General College introduction classes.

Embry currently serves as the instructor for ETAU's Introduction classes and is involved in the development of future classes in the other colleges of ETAU. Embry is also Chief Operating Officer of Falmouth, Mass.-based TenderCorp LLC.

ETA recommends viewing the "Encyclopedia" as an "evolutionary work in progress" because many of the terms and definitions, like in any language, change. In this industry, changes come from new standards, programs, categories and qualifications. ETA will publish updates to the book periodically.

You can view sample pages and download an order form on www.electran.org/info/eta_glossary.asp .

The book is $50 for ETA members and $75 for non-members, plus applicable shipping and handling.