Facsimile Draft:
a paper record that is provided to an acquirer as a substitute for an actual sales draft.

Factoring:
The purchase of debts owed, or "accounts receivable," in exchange for immediate payment at a discount. In e-commerce, the term is often applied to ISOs that offer to process credit card transactions through their own merchant account rather than through an account established by the merchant, in exchange for a percentage of the transaction or other fee. Factoring of credit card debt is illegal.

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation):
The federal program that protects consumers by providing insurance for bank deposits in the event that a bank becomes insolvent. All funds from PPI merchant accounts, including credit, debit (ATM) and EFT transactions are FDIC insured throughout the entire transaction process from authorization and settlement through ACH deposit into the merchant's bank account.

Financial Institution:
Any organization that provides an avenue to move, invests, lend or provide financial services. This would include federal & state savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and commercial banks.

Financial Transaction:
A transaction from the acquirer to the card issuer containing all the necessary data elements for authorization, posting and reconciliation.

Floor Limit:
The dollar amount an acquirer sets in accordance with Visa/MasterCard guidelines. The merchant must obtain an authorization for all transactions above the floor limit.

Force Transaction/ Offline Transaction:
The entry of a transaction after a referral message is displayed on the POS terminal or network interruption of service that allows the merchant to enter a transaction and the approval code as a forced entry with an authorization code.

Freight Forwarder:
A firm that handles export shipments for other firms.

Front End:
The user interface that appears on a Web page and allows a visitor to the site to interact with dynamic features, including databases, shopping cart programs, and online purchase processing software.

FTP (file transfer protocol):
A set of standard codes for transferring files over the Internet. FTP is usually used for retrieving large files or files that cannot be displayed through a browser. Windows FTP and Fetch are examples of FTP software.

Fulfillment:
The acquirer provides the issuing bank with an original sales draft or a legible copy.

Funding:
The payment a merchant receives for his settled and captured deposits.