Merchants adding crypto payments meet a new vocabulary quickly. This short glossary explains the terms that appear most often in gateway dashboards, support tickets and finance conversations.
Invoice. A payment request with a fixed amount, asset and expiry time, created per order.
Stablecoin. A token designed to track a fiat currency, usually the US dollar. USDT and USDC are the most common.
Network. The blockchain on which a token is sent. The same stablecoin may exist on several networks with different fees and speeds.
Confirmation. The point at which a transaction is recorded on the blockchain with enough certainty for the gateway to mark it as paid.
Network fee. The fee paid to process a transaction on the blockchain, separate from the gateway's processing fee.
Processing fee. The gateway's charge per transaction, often around one percent.
Underpayment / overpayment. A payment that is less or more than the invoice amount.
Settlement. The process of crediting the merchant's balance after confirmation.
Conversion. Exchanging received crypto for fiat, such as USD, often automatically.
Payout / withdrawal. Moving funds from the gateway balance to a bank account or wallet.
Webhook. A server notification sent by the gateway when payment status changes.
API key. A secret credential used by the merchant's systems to create invoices and read data.
Custodial vs non-custodial. Whether the provider holds funds on the merchant's behalf or the merchant controls the keys.
Two-factor authentication (2FA). An extra login step that protects dashboards and payout settings.
Chargeback. A card concept; crypto payments are not reversible by the payer's bank, so refunds are handled by the merchant.
Payment link. A shareable URL that opens a payment page for a fixed amount, useful for invoices sent by email or chat.
Plugin. A ready-made integration for an ecommerce platform such as WooCommerce, which adds crypto checkout without custom code.
SDK. A software development kit that helps developers integrate the gateway into apps and custom systems.
Exchange rate lock. The period during which the crypto amount on an invoice is fixed, protecting both sides from price movement.
Address reuse. Sending multiple customers to the same address; good gateways avoid it by generating unique invoices.
Transaction hash. The unique identifier of a blockchain transaction, used to look it up publicly and to resolve disputes.
Multi-user access. Separate logins and roles for team members, so finance, support and developers each see what they need.
A broader glossary covering advertising and payment terms is in our overseas advertising and payments glossary.
Published by PandaWM, an overseas marketing team based in Hong Kong.