# Key Concepts and Terminology

This section introduces the core concepts and components you'll encounter throughout the Hyp Pay documentation. These definitions will help you understand how merchants, systems, and users interact with the platform.

## 3-D Secure (3DS)

3-D Secure is an extra security layer for online credit and debit card transactions. You might know it by names like Visa Secure or Mastercard Identity Check. It helps verify that the person making the purchase is the actual cardholder, usually by sending a one-time code to their phone.

For more information, see [3DS](/pay/advanced-features/3ds.md).

## Acquirer

An acquirer (or acquiring bank) is the financial institution that processes and settles your transactions. They are responsible for moving the money from the customer's account to yours. Your specific acquirer is defined by your business agreement and how your terminal is set up.

In Israel, common acquirers include Max, Isracard, and Cal.

## Hyp Portal

The [Hyp Portal](https://pay.hyp.co.il/) is your main command center for managing your Hyp Pay account. You can use it to view transactions, manage your terminals, and configure your API settings. You'll likely spend some time here during your [initial setup](/pay/getting-started/prerequisites-and-initial-setup.md) and for day-to-day operations.

## Issuer

The issuer (or issuing bank) is the bank that gave your customer their credit or debit card. During a transaction, the issuer is the one who approves or declines the payment based on things like available funds or fraud checks.

## Merchant

A merchant is any business or individual selling products or services. As a Hyp Pay user, you are the merchant! You'll integrate Hyp Pay into your store to accept payments safely and easily. Each merchant has a unique ID in our system.

## Merchant website

The merchant website is your online storefront where customers browse and buy things. It connects to Hyp Pay through our API or a hosted payment page to handle the money part of the checkout process securely.

## Payment gateway

Think of a payment gateway as a secure bridge. It sits between your website and the financial networks. Hyp Pay acts as this bridge, securely capturing payment details and sending them to the right banks to get the transaction authorized.

## Payment page

The payment page is a secure area hosted by Hyp Pay where your customers enter their card details. By using our hosted page, you don't have to worry about handling sensitive data yourself. Once the payment is done, we'll send the customer back to your site.

For more information, see [What Is a Payment Page](/pay/introduction/what-is-a-payment-page.md) and [Creating a Payment Page](/pay/getting-started/creating-a-payment-page.md).

## PCI DSS

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security rules that everyone handling credit card data must follow. It exists to protect cardholder information and prevent fraud. Using Hyp Pay's hosted pages is a great way to meet these requirements without the headache of managing the security yourself.

For more details, check out our [compliance and security overview](/pay/security/compliance-and-security-overview.md).

## Terminal (Masof)

In the e-commerce world, a terminal (often called a *Masof* in Hebrew) is a logical unit that processes your payments. Each terminal has its own configuration for things like currency and transaction types. You'll get one or more unique terminal numbers from Hyp to use in your API calls.

Keep in mind that each terminal can support up to three different [acquirers](#acquirer) at the same time.

## Tokenization

Tokenization is a clever security trick where sensitive card numbers are swapped for a unique "token." You can store this token and use it for future payments without ever having to handle the actual card data again. This is perfect for things like "one-click" checkouts or recurring subscriptions.

For more information, see [Tokenization](/pay/common-use-cases/tokenization.md).

## Transaction

A transaction is the whole process of a customer trying to pay for something. It starts when they enter their card info and ends with either a "success" or a "failure."

In Israel, you'll often hear about two specific types of transactions:

* **J4 (Immediate Charge)**: This is the standard way to pay. The customer is authorized and charged right away.
* **J5 (Authorization Only)**: This "locks" the funds on the customer's card but doesn't take them yet. You'll need to "capture" the payment later, which is useful if you only want to charge once an item has shipped.

For more details, see [Postponing Transactions](/pay/common-use-cases/postponing-transactions.md) and [Handling Two-Phase Commits](/pay/advanced-features/two-phase-commits.md).


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