Glossary
Short, plain explanations of the terms you meet when buying game keys, gift cards and paying online.
A
- AML
- Anti-money laundering rules that make financial services monitor suspicious payments.
- Authorized reseller
- A seller with an official agreement with the publisher or brand.
C
- Carding
- Buying goods with stolen card data; shops selling such goods put buyers at risk.
- Chargeback
- A forced return of a card payment initiated by the cardholder’s bank.
D
- Denomination
- The face value of a gift card, for example 10, 25 or 50 in a given currency.
- DLC
- Downloadable content: an add-on to a game sold separately.
E
G
- Game key
- A code that activates a game on a platform such as Steam, Xbox or PlayStation.
- Gift card
- A prepaid card or code with a fixed value that can be spent at a specific store or brand.
- Gift card exchange
- A service that buys unused gift cards for money or other cards at a discount.
- Global key
- A key without region restrictions that can be activated in any country.
- Grey market
- Resale of keys and cards outside official distribution, often cheaper and riskier.
I
- In-game currency
- Virtual money used to buy items inside a game, often sold as top-ups.
- Instant delivery
- The code is shown or sent right after payment, usually within a minute.
K
- KYC
- Know your customer: identity checks a service must run before or during payments.
M
- Mobile top-up
- Adding credit to a prepaid phone number, often across borders.
P
- Payment gateway
- A service that passes card and other payments between a shop and the banks.
- Payment service providerPSP
- A company that lets merchants accept many payment methods through one contract.
- Paysafecard
- A prepaid voucher for paying online without a bank card, sold in shops and online.
- PIN code
- The secret code of a digital gift card or voucher that you enter to redeem it.
R
- Redemption
- Entering a code to add its value or content to an account.
- Region lock
- A restriction that lets a key or gift card work only in certain countries.
- Revoked key
- A key the publisher has disabled, for example because it was bought with stolen money.
- Rolling reserve
- Part of a merchant’s revenue held by the payment provider for months to cover chargebacks.
S
- Stablecoin
- A cryptocurrency pegged to a fiat currency such as the US dollar.
- Steam Wallet
- The balance of a Steam account, topped up with cards or codes and spent in the Steam store.
T
- Two-factor authentication2FA
- A login that needs a second proof, such as a code from an app, in addition to the password.
W
- Wholesale
- Buying codes and cards in bulk at a discount to resell them.
#
- 3-D Secure3DS
- An extra check of an online card payment, usually a code or a bank app confirmation.