Hard Copy:
The original document of an application, credit slip, sales draft/slip.

Headquarters:
The main office of a business.

Holdback:
A portion of the revenue from a merchant's credit card transactions, held in reserve by the merchant account provider to cover possible disputed charges, chargeback fees, and other expenses. After a predetermined time, holdbacks are turned over to the merchant. Note: Merchant account providers almost never pay interest on holdbacks.

Hologram:
A laser photograph of an image to create a three dimensional image. Primarily used within the bankcard industry as an anti fraud/counterfeit deterrent.

Home page:
The page where a user enters a web site.

Host Capture:
Type of transaction capture in which transaction information is stored in the processor's host computer and not at the merchant's POS system. Compare to Terminal Capture. Settlement occurs at the host computer and is automatic: no merchant initiation is required.

Hot Card:
A bankcard that has been used excessively. Usually indicating that the card has either been stolen or counterfeit.

HTML (hypertext markup language):
A set of codes that determine how a Web page will appear, including graphics, links, and text characteristics. Other code sets that build on HTML include dHTML, VRML, and XML.