At first glance, the merchant billing statement may be difficult to understand. Take a moment to study the layout of the statement. Each credit card processor has a different format for the monthly statement. Look at the sections, first, then look at the columns. The columns usually list things like dollar volume, number of transactions, transaction fees, discount rate and discount paid.

Here is a list of the meaning of abbreviations and meaning of some of the words found on the merchant services statement.

Meaning of Abbreviations on Merchant Services Statement

  • "ADJ" means adjustment.
  • "AMEX" means American Express.
  • "AUTH" means authorizations, and is usually associated with transaction fees.
  • "AVG TKT" means average ticket.
  • "AVS" means address verification system, and is a transaction fee surcharge.
  • "BTCH HDR" means batch header. Most processors charge a small transaction fee for each batch.
  • "CHG" means charge.
  • "CHGB" means chargeback.
  • "CNP" means card not present.
  • "DISC" means discount, which is the discount rate or percentage rate being charged.
  • "DSCV" means Discover.
  • "MC" means MasterCard.
  • "NABU" is MasterCard's transaction fee.
  • "PCI COMP" means payment card industry compliance. This is an annual fee.
  • "POS" means point of sale.
  • "QUAL" means qualified. The statement might list the qualified rate, mid-qualified rate, and non-qualified rate.
  • "REF NO" means reference number and is assigned to each batch.
  • "STMT FEE" means statement fee.
  • "TRANS" means transaction.
  • "VS" means Visa.
  • "WAT" is a type of transaction fee.

Description of Types of Cards

Here are some examples of the types of abbreviations found on the merchant services statement that are used to describe the different credit card types in the market: