📔 Glossary
A
Account
The definition of account depends on its context. When we refer to an account, we typically mean an Open Payments-enabled payment account. A payment account is an arrangement by which an entity sends, receives, holds, and keeps records of a user’s credit or debit transactions. An Open Payments-enabled account is an account that supports the Open Payments APIs.
An account can also be an arrangement by which a user is given access to a service by entering a username and password.
Account servicing entity (ASE)
An entity that provides and maintains a payment account for a payer and/or payee. An ASE is a regulated entity within the country or countries it operates. Examples include digital wallets, banks, crypto wallets, and mobile money providers.
D
Digital wallet
The term digital wallet means different things to different people, services, and technologies. We try to avoid over-using the term for this reason. However, in cases where we do reference digital wallets, it’s within the context of Open Payments. As such, we assume the digital wallets have implemented the Open Payments standard.
Open Payments defines a digital wallet as any Internet-connected system that acts as an agent of a person or business that is capable of sending and receiving payments from or to that person or business.
O
Open Payments (OP)
Open Payments is a specification that aims to define standards for access to digital wallets. When a digital wallet provider implements the spec, third-party applications and other entities can integrate payments into their feature sets by connecting to their users’ existing financial accounts, rather than requiring users to create new accounts. The ability to then execute payments between accounts contained within Open Payments-enabled wallets relies on the availability of a common payment rail between the wallets.
Web Monetization relies on Open Payments though its use of wallet addresses.
P
Payment pointer
A payment pointer is a type of Open Payments-enabled wallet address. Payment pointers usually begin with a $. For example: $wallet.example.com/alice. Visit paymentpointers.org for additional information.
Payment session
A session between a Web Monetization provider and Web Monetization receiver, initialized by a user agent, whereby the provider initiates a payment to the receiver.
The provider can initiate multiple payment sessions during a Web Monetization session:
- At the same time, when there’s multiple monetization
<link>elements on a page - Sequentially, when an incoming payment completes/expires and a new incoming payment is created on the same wallet address
U
User agent
A user agent is any software that retrieves, renders and facilitates end user interaction with Web content, or whose user interface is implemented using Web technologies. (W3C)
A web browser is an example of a user agent.
W
Wallet address
Every Open Payments account within a digital wallet, or the Open Payments-enabled digital wallet itself (depending on implementation), is identified by a unique URL called a wallet address. The URL not only identifies the account or wallet, but also provides the entry point to the Open Payments APIs.
Conceptually, a wallet address is like an email address for an account or wallet. It’s a publicly shareable address used to request and/or grant authorization to interact with the underlying account or wallet. Example interactions include sending and receiving payments.
The <href> value within the monetization <link> element must be an Open Payments-enabled wallet address.