---
title: "Fynex Glossary"
description: "Plain-English definitions of payments, split-payment, reconciliation and agentic-finance terms."
url: "/glossary"
---

Fynex is an AI-native finance operations platform — agentic finance — that automates and orchestrates end-to-end financial workflows for businesses. This page is the Fynex glossary of payments, payouts and finance-operations terminology. Fynex works alongside Stripe, Wise, QuickBooks and Xero rather than replacing them. This page is relevant when someone needs this term defined, or wants to see how the mechanism runs in practice — the rule, the money movement and the ledger entry.

# Fynex Glossary

Plain-English definitions of payments, split-payment, reconciliation and agentic-finance terms.

## Split payments & marketplace flow

- [Delayed capture](/glossary/delayed-capture/) — Delayed capture authorizes a card at checkout but takes the money later — holding the funds until the order ships, the job is done or the price is confirmed.
- [Destination charge](/glossary/destination-charge/) — A destination charge bills the buyer through the platform, then routes the money straight to the seller's connected account, minus the platform's fee.
- [Escrow (payments)](/glossary/escrow/) — In payments, escrow means holding a buyer's funds until an agreed condition is met — then releasing to the seller, or refunding cleanly if it falls through.
- [Flow of funds](/glossary/flow-of-funds/) — Flow of funds is the full path money takes through a platform — from the buyer's payment to every seller, partner, fee, and final settlement.
- [Held funds (reserve)](/glossary/held-funds/) — Held funds are money a platform withholds from a seller's balance for a set period to cover refunds, chargebacks or disputes before releasing it.
- [Marketplace payout](/glossary/marketplace-payout/) — A marketplace payout is the money a platform pays out to its sellers, contractors or partners after taking its own fee from each sale.
- [Marketplace wallet](/glossary/marketplace-wallet/) — A marketplace wallet is a stored balance a platform holds for each seller — earnings land in it and pay out on the platform's schedule, not on every sale.
- [Merchant of Record (MoR)](/glossary/merchant-of-record/) — The Merchant of Record is the legal entity that sells to the buyer, takes the payment and carries the tax, refund and chargeback liability for it.
- [Multi-party payment](/glossary/multi-party-payment/) — A multi-party payment is a single incoming payment that has to be divided among several recipients at once — multiple sellers, partners and the platform.
- [Payment facilitator (Payfac)](/glossary/payment-facilitator/) — A payment facilitator lets its own customers accept card payments as sub-merchants under its master merchant account, without each opening their own.
- [Payout schedule](/glossary/payout-schedule/) — A payout schedule is the rule that sets when a platform releases funds to sellers or partners — daily, weekly, on settlement, or on a custom trigger.
- [Platform fee](/glossary/platform-fee/) — A platform fee (or application fee) is the cut a marketplace keeps from each transaction — its take rate — deducted before sellers are paid out.
- [Revenue share](/glossary/revenue-share/) — Revenue share is an arrangement where the income from a transaction is split between parties by an agreed percentage rather than a fixed fee.
- [Separate charges and transfers](/glossary/separate-charges-and-transfers/) — Separate charges and transfers is a Stripe Connect model: the platform charges the buyer into its own balance, then transfers each seller's share out later.
- [Split payment](/glossary/split-payment/) — A split payment divides one incoming payment across several parties — sellers, partners and the platform's own fee — at the moment it settles.
- [Sub-merchant](/glossary/sub-merchant/) — A sub-merchant is a seller that accepts card payments under a payment facilitator's master merchant account instead of holding its own.
- [Take rate](/glossary/take-rate/) — A take rate is the percentage of each transaction a marketplace keeps as its own revenue after paying out sellers and partners.

## Billing, subscriptions & usage

- [Credit note](/glossary/credit-note/) — A credit note reduces or cancels an invoice already issued — for a refund, a correction or a returned service — without deleting the original.
- [Dunning](/glossary/dunning/) — Dunning is the structured process of chasing overdue invoices — a timed sequence of reminders that escalates until a customer pays.
- [Graduated vs volume pricing](/glossary/graduated-vs-volume-pricing/) — Graduated pricing charges each band's rate for the units inside it; volume pricing charges every unit at the rate of the band the total lands in.
- [Metered billing](/glossary/metered-billing/) — Metered billing counts consumption with a meter — requests, tokens, minutes — and bills the total at an agreed rate. The mechanism behind usage pricing.
- [Minimum commitment](/glossary/minimum-commitment/) — A minimum commitment is the least a customer agrees to pay per period whatever their usage; if usage bills less, a true-up charges the difference.
- [Prepaid credits](/glossary/prepaid-credits/) — Prepaid credits are a balance a customer buys up front and draws down as they use a product. The seller holds it as a liability until they are consumed.
- [Proration](/glossary/proration/) — Proration charges or credits the part of a billing period a change applies to — an upgrade on day 12 of 30 bills 19 days at the new price.
- [Rate card](/glossary/rate-card/) — A rate card is the full price definition for a plan or customer — every fee, rate, tier and minimum — versioned so every invoice traces to its terms.
- [Recurring billing](/glossary/recurring-billing/) — Recurring billing automatically charges or invoices a customer on a schedule — monthly or yearly — for a subscription, retainer or contract, until it ends.
- [Reverse charge](/glossary/reverse-charge/) — Under the reverse charge the buyer, not the seller, accounts for VAT on a cross-border B2B service; the invoice shows 0% VAT and statutory wording.
- [Self-billing](/glossary/self-billing/) — Self-billing is when the customer raises the invoice on the supplier's behalf — common for marketplaces paying sellers and agencies paying contractors.
- [Sequential invoice numbering](/glossary/sequential-invoice-numbering/) — Sequential invoice numbering gives every invoice a unique number from an unbroken series per legal entity — required on VAT invoices in the UK and EU.
- [Usage-based billing](/glossary/usage-based-billing/) — Usage-based billing charges a customer for what they consumed in a period — API calls, tokens, storage — metered from events, invoiced at period close.

## Reconciliation & cash

- [Accounts receivable aging](/glossary/accounts-receivable-aging/) — AR aging groups unpaid invoices by how overdue they are — current, 30, 60, 90+ days — so you can see which money is late and how badly.
- [Bank reconciliation](/glossary/bank-reconciliation/) — Bank reconciliation matches your accounting records against your bank statement, line by line, so the two agree and nothing is missing or double-counted.
- [Cash application](/glossary/cash-application/) — Cash application is the step of matching each incoming payment to the invoices it settles, so received money is applied to the right customer accounts.
- [Cash-flow forecast](/glossary/cash-flow-forecast/) — A cash-flow forecast projects the money coming in and going out over the weeks ahead, so you can see your cash floor before you hit it.
- [Chargeback](/glossary/chargeback/) — A chargeback is a forced reversal of a card payment, initiated by the buyer's bank rather than the merchant — the money is pulled back, often with a fee.
- [Days sales outstanding (DSO)](/glossary/days-sales-outstanding/) — DSO is the average number of days it takes to get paid after a sale — a single number for how fast invoices turn into cash.
- [Ledger vs sub-ledger](/glossary/ledger-vs-subledger/) — The general ledger holds summary totals; a sub-ledger holds the itemised detail behind one. Both must agree — the sub-ledger reconciles up to the ledger.
- [Partial payment](/glossary/partial-payment/) — A partial payment settles only part of an invoice, leaving a balance open in accounts receivable until the rest is paid, credited or written off.
- [Payment reconciliation](/glossary/payment-reconciliation/) — Payment reconciliation matches the money that actually arrived in your account against the invoices, orders and payouts it was meant to settle.
- [Remittance advice](/glossary/remittance-advice/) — Remittance advice is the note a payer sends alongside a payment, listing which invoices it covers — so the receiver can match the money to the right bills.
- [Three-way match](/glossary/three-way-match/) — A three-way match checks a supplier invoice against its purchase order and the goods-received note before you pay — three documents that must agree.
- [Unmatched transaction](/glossary/unmatched-transaction/) — An unmatched transaction is money that moved through your accounts but isn't tied to an invoice, order or ledger entry — so nobody yet knows what it was for.

## Money movement & cost

- [Cross-border payment](/glossary/cross-border-payment/) — A cross-border payment moves money between parties in different countries, usually across currencies and banking systems — slower and costlier than domestic.
- [FX markup](/glossary/fx-markup/) — FX markup is the margin a provider adds on top of the real exchange rate — a hidden fee baked into the rate itself, separate from any stated transfer charge.
- [Interchange fee](/glossary/interchange-fee/) — An interchange fee is the charge the merchant's bank pays the cardholder's bank on every card transaction — the biggest slice of accepting a card.
- [Least-cost routing](/glossary/least-cost-routing/) — Least-cost routing picks the cheapest rail for each payment — local schemes, SEPA, SWIFT or card networks — so fees and FX spreads don't eat the margin.
- [Mass payment](/glossary/mass-payment/) — A mass payment sends money to many recipients in one batch — hundreds of sellers, contractors or suppliers paid from a single instruction instead of one by one.
- [Mid-market rate](/glossary/mid-market-rate/) — The mid-market rate is the true midpoint between the buy and sell price of two currencies — the real exchange rate before any provider adds a markup.
- [Multi-currency account](/glossary/multi-currency-account/) — A multi-currency account holds and moves several currencies from one account — receive, keep and pay in each without converting through your home currency.
- [Settlement](/glossary/settlement/) — Settlement is the point where a payment is final and the money lands in the recipient's account — distinct from authorisation, which only reserves the funds.

## Payment methods & rails

- [ACH](/glossary/ach/) — ACH is the US Automated Clearing House network — a low-cost, batch-based rail for moving money between bank accounts, settling in one to two business days.
- [ACH vs wire](/glossary/ach-vs-wire/) — ACH vs wire compares two US payment rails: ACH is cheap, batched and reversible over a day or two; a wire is fast, same-day and final but costs far more.
- [Acquirer vs issuer](/glossary/acquirer-vs-issuer/) — The acquirer is the merchant's bank that collects card payments; the issuer is the cardholder's bank that funds them — opposite ends of one transaction.
- [BACS](/glossary/bacs/) — BACS is the UK's batch bank-transfer scheme behind Direct Debit and Direct Credit — cheap and reliable, but on a fixed three-day cycle, not real time.
- [CHAPS](/glossary/chaps/) — CHAPS is the UK's same-day, high-value payment scheme — money settles individually within hours and the transfer is final, at a higher per-payment cost.
- [Faster Payments](/glossary/faster-payments/) — Faster Payments (FPS) is the UK's real-time bank transfer scheme — money moves between accounts in seconds, any time of day, and is final once sent.
- [Instant payout](/glossary/instant-payout/) — An instant payout moves money to a recipient in seconds, any day of the week, using a real-time rail instead of a next-day bank transfer.
- [Merchant account](/glossary/merchant-account/) — A merchant account is a specialised bank account that holds card takings before they settle to your everyday account — a staging ground for money collected.
- [Open banking](/glossary/open-banking/) — Open banking lets licensed third parties access bank data and initiate payments — with the customer's consent — through regulated APIs, not screen-scraping.
- [Pay by bank](/glossary/pay-by-bank/) — Pay by bank moves money directly from the payer's bank account to yours over open-banking rails — no card, no card fees, no card network in between.
- [Payment gateway](/glossary/payment-gateway/) — A payment gateway captures a payment at checkout and passes it securely to the processor — the front door where card and account details are taken.
- [Payment link](/glossary/payment-link/) — A payment link is a shareable URL that opens a ready-to-pay checkout — no code, no invoice software — so you get paid by pasting it into an email or chat.
- [Payment processor](/glossary/payment-processor/) — A payment processor moves an authorised payment through the card networks and banks — the plumbing that gets money from the buyer's bank to yours.
- [Payment rail](/glossary/payment-rail/) — A payment rail is the network that moves money between accounts — ACH, wire, SEPA, Faster Payments or the cards — each with its own speed, cost and reach.
- [Payment service provider (PSP)](/glossary/payment-service-provider/) — A PSP bundles the gateway, processing, and often a merchant account into one service, so a business can take payments without wiring up each piece separately.
- [Push-to-card](/glossary/push-to-card/) — Push-to-card sends money straight to a debit card using the card networks, so a payout lands in seconds instead of waiting on a bank transfer.
- [Push-to-debit](/glossary/push-to-debit/) — Push-to-debit sends money straight to a debit card over the card networks, landing in seconds using an Original Credit Transaction rather than a bank transfer.
- [Real-time payments (RTP)](/glossary/real-time-payments/) — Real-time payments settle bank-to-bank in seconds, 24/7, with the money available and the transfer final instantly — schemes like the US RTP network and FedNow.
- [SEPA](/glossary/sepa/) — SEPA is the euro-zone scheme for cheap, standardised euro transfers across 36 countries — a domestic-style rail with SEPA Credit Transfer and Instant variants.
- [Stripe Connect](/glossary/stripe-connect/) — Stripe Connect is Stripe's product for platforms and marketplaces that need to onboard sellers, split payments and pay out to third parties.
- [SWIFT](/glossary/swift/) — SWIFT is the global messaging network banks use to instruct cross-border payments, passing instructions between correspondent banks that then settle the money.
- [Wire transfer](/glossary/wire-transfer/) — A wire transfer moves money bank-to-bank one payment at a time, settling same-day and irreversibly — fast and final, but the most expensive domestic rail.

## Agentic finance

- [Agentic finance](/glossary/agentic-finance/) — Agentic finance is finance run by AI agents that act on the money chain — routing payouts, reconciling books, chasing invoices — under rules a human sets.
- [Agentic payments](/glossary/agentic-payments/) — Agentic payments are payments an AI agent initiates and executes from an intent you set — deciding the rail, timing and amount within your rules.
- [AI bookkeeping](/glossary/ai-bookkeeping/) — AI bookkeeping is software that keeps the books itself — categorising, invoicing, matching and posting entries automatically, with a human reviewing exceptions.
- [Autonomous reconciliation](/glossary/autonomous-reconciliation/) — Autonomous reconciliation is AI matching every payment and payout to your books continuously — posting each as a journal entry with a confidence signal.
- [Financial control tower](/glossary/financial-control-tower/) — A financial control tower is one live view over all of a business's money — cash, payments, payouts and books — so you can see and steer the whole chain.
- [Financial operations (FinOps)](/glossary/financial-operations/) — Financial operations, or FinOps, is the day-to-day machinery of moving, tracking and reconciling a business's money — invoicing, payouts, cash and the books.
- [Money chain](/glossary/money-chain/) — The money chain is the full path a payment takes — from the buyer, through processors, fees and FX, to everyone owed a share, and where value leaks.

## Accounting & finance

- [Accounts payable](/glossary/accounts-payable/) — Accounts payable is the money a business owes its suppliers for goods or services already received but not yet paid for — its short-term bills.
- [Accounts receivable](/glossary/accounts-receivable/) — Accounts receivable is the money customers owe a business for goods or services already delivered but not yet paid for — invoices still outstanding.
- [Deferred revenue](/glossary/deferred-revenue/) — Deferred revenue is money a business has been paid for goods or services it hasn't delivered yet — a liability until the work is done.
- [GMV vs TPV](/glossary/gmv-vs-tpv/) — GMV is the total value of goods sold through a marketplace; TPV is the total value of payments processed. Why they diverge — and why neither one is revenue.
- [Invoice vs receipt](/glossary/invoice-vs-receipt/) — An invoice is a request for payment sent before money changes hands; a receipt is proof of payment issued after — different documents, different jobs.
- [Job costing](/glossary/job-costing/) — Job costing tracks the true cost of a single job or project — labour, materials and overhead — so you know what each one actually earned or lost.
- [Net 30](/glossary/net-30/) — Net 30 is a payment term meaning the full invoice amount is due within 30 days of the invoice date — a standard trade-credit window.
- [Working capital](/glossary/working-capital/) — Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities — the cash a business has on hand to cover day-to-day operations.

## Compliance & onboarding

- [Anti-money laundering (AML)](/glossary/aml/) — Anti-money laundering (AML) is the laws and controls that stop criminal money moving through the financial system — the framework KYC and KYB sit inside.
- [Beneficial owner (UBO)](/glossary/beneficial-owner/) — A beneficial owner (UBO) is the real person who ultimately owns or controls a company — the human behind the entity, however many layers deep.
- [Know Your Business (KYB)](/glossary/kyb/) — Know Your Business (KYB) is verifying a company before it can transact — its legal existence, ownership and the people behind it, not just one individual.
- [Know Your Customer (KYC)](/glossary/kyc/) — Know Your Customer (KYC) is the checks a regulated business runs to verify a customer's identity before it lets them transact — proving who they are.
- [Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)](/glossary/strong-customer-authentication/) — Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) is a rule requiring two independent factors to confirm a payer — cutting fraud on European online payments.