Glossary

Term	Definition
Account Information Service Provider (AISP)	AISPs are authorised to fetch payment account information but cannot initiate payments. They enable consumers to share their account transaction data with third-party providers; in turn, third-party providers can initiate payments on their behalf.
Account Servicing Payment Service Provider (ASPSP)	An ASPSP is a Bank in the context of the Open Banking ecosystem. They provide and maintain a payment account for a payer as defined by the Payment service Regulations.
Competition Markets Authority (CMA)	The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-competitive activities.
CMA 9	The nine largest banks and building societies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, based on the volume of personal and business current accounts. AIB Group (UK) plc trading as First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland (UK) plc, Barclays Bank plc, HSBC Group, Lloyds Banking Group plc, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank Limited trading as Danske Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Santander UK plc (in Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
Open Banking Directory	The Open Banking Directory is the core infrastructure of the Open Banking ecosystem – enabling participants to request and grant access to customers' financial data in a secure, permissioned way via open banking APIs.
Open Banking Ecosystem	The Open Banking Ecosystem refers to all the elements that facilitate the operation of Open Banking. This includes the API Standards, the governance, systems, processes, security and procedures used to support participants.
Payment Initiation Services Provider (PISP)	A Payment Initiation Services Provider (PISP) provides an online service to initiate a payment order at the request of the payment service user (PSU) with respect to a payment account held at another payment service provider.
Payment Services Provider (PSP)	A Payment Services Provider is an entity which carries out regulated payment services, including AISPs, PISPs, CBPIIs and ASPSPs.
Payment Services User (PSU)	A Payment Services User is a natural or legal person making use of a payment service as a payee, payer or both.
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)	Strong Customer Authentication, as defined by European Banking Association Regulatory Technical Standards, is an authentication based on the use of two or more elements. These elements are categorised as knowledge (something only the user knows, for example, a password), possession (something only the user possesses, for example, a particular cell phone and number) and inherence (something the user is, or has, for example, a finger print or iris pattern) that are independent, [so] the breach of one does not compromise the others, and is designed in such a way as to protect the confidentiality of the authentication data.
Sweeping	Sweeping is the automated movement of a customer's funds between two accounts in their name, such as a current and savings account. It is commonly used to help the customer avoid overdraft charges, repay a loan or benefit from better interest rates.
Third Party Provider (TPP)	Third Party Providers are organisations or natural persons that use APIs developed to Standards to access customer’s accounts, in order to provide account information services and/or to initiate payments. Third Party Providers are either/both Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) and/or Account Information Service Providers (AISPs).
Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs)	Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) let customers safely connect authorised payment providers to their bank account so that they can make payments on the customer’s behalf, in line with agreed limits. VRPs offer more control and transparency than existing alternatives, such as Direct Debit payments.