>Glossary of fintech,>from payments to digital assets

A glossary to clarify the terms used in embedded financial services and fintech infrastructures.

Payment account

An account used to execute payment transactions within a regulated framework. It is held by a payment institution, unlike a bank deposit account.See the page

IBAN

International Bank Account Number: the standardised international identifier of an account. An IBAN can be attached to a payment account; it does not imply the account is a bank account.See the page

Payment Institution (PI)

A company licensed by a supervisory authority (in France, the ACPR) to provide payment services. A PI is not a bank.See the page

Payment institution agent

A company carrying out certain payment activities on behalf of a licensed payment institution, within a contractual and supervised framework, without holding the licence itself.See the page

Embedded finance

Integrating financial services directly into a non-financial product’s journey (business software, a marketplace) rather than in a separate banking application.See the page

Fintech-as-a-Service (FaaS)

A model where a fintech infrastructure is made available to partners who build their own offering on top, via API, white label or agent status.

KYC

Know Your Customer: the process of verifying an individual’s identity, required to access regulated financial services.See the page

KYB

Know Your Business: the equivalent of KYC for companies: verifying legal existence, beneficial owners and activity.See the page

Wallet

A means of tracking or managing digital value attached to a user. Where digital assets are involved, a specific regulatory framework applies.See the page

Stablecoin

A crypto-asset designed to maintain a stable value by referencing a currency. Used as an infrastructure component for certain settlements and transfers; its issuance and distribution are governed by European regulation.See the page

Crypto ramp

A conversion gateway between legal tender and digital assets: on-ramp (euro to digital asset) and off-ramp (digital asset to euro).See the page

Reconciliation

Matching payment transactions with the corresponding business data (invoices, orders).See the page