Digital Payment Ecosystem, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrencies

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the digital payment ecosystem, blockchain mechanics, and cryptocurrency fundamentals based on the lecture notes.

Payment Platform

A mediator and translator that facilitates secure digital transactions by linking merchants, customers, and banks.

Payment Gateway

Encrypted technology that captures, encrypts, and transmits credit card data for online transactions between terminals and banks.

Merchant Account

A specialized bank account specifically for receiving funds from processed digital transactions.

Acquirer

The Merchant’s Bank, which is the financial institution that processes payments on behalf of the merchant, such as KASIKORNBANK or SCB.

Issuer

The Cardholder's Bank that issued the payment card and holds the consumer's funds, such as Bangkok Bank or Krungthai Bank.

Card Network

The digital 'highways' that connect issuing and acquiring banks to process payments, with examples including Visa and Mastercard.

PromptPay

An essential QR payment system in Thailand that enables instant bank transfers via mobile number or QR code scan.

NFC (Near-Field Communication)

A secure, contactless technology used for 'tap-and-go' checkouts within a range of $4\,cm$ via short-range radio waves.

Tokenization

A security process that replaces actual 16-digit card numbers with a random string called a 'token' to protect data from hackers.

Blockchain

A decentralized digital ledger maintained by a global network of computers (nodes) where information is grouped in cryptographically locked blocks.

Hash

A mathematical function that acts as a unique digital fingerprint for data; changing any detail in the data results in a completely different string.

Mempool

The memory pool, which is a queue or 'waiting room' for pending transactions waiting to be validated and confirmed by nodes.

Immutable

A characteristic of data written into a block meaning it is permanent and cannot be changed or deleted without network consensus.

Smart Contract

Self-executing code or protocol that automatically enforces and carries out agreements when specific instructions or conditions are met.

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

Specialized hardware custom-built to mine a specific cryptocurrency far more efficiently than general-purpose CPUs or GPUs.

The Halving

A scheduled Bitcoin event occurring every four years that automatically cuts the miner's block subsidy reward in half.

Nonce

A specific number that a computer guesses repeatedly through brute force to find a hash result that meets the network's difficulty target.

Digital Asset

Any non-physical item of value created and stored digitally, including cryptocurrencies, tokens, and NFTs.

Cryptocurrency

The native digital currency of its own unique blockchain, such as Bitcoin ($BTC$) or Ethereum ($ETH$).

Token

A unit of value for a programmable asset managed by a smart contract that is built on top of an existing blockchain.

Fiat Currency

Government-issued legal tender not backed by physical commodities, such as the $U.S.\,dollar$, Euro, or Thai Baht.

Stablecoins

A class of cryptocurrencies pegged to reserve assets like the $U.S.\,dollar$ or gold to maintain a stable value, such as Tether ($USDT$).

Altcoin

A general term referring to any 'alternative' cryptocurrency launched after Bitcoin, such as Dogecoin ($DOGE$) or Solana ($SOL$).

KYC (Know Your Customer)

A legal identity verification process required by regulated exchanges to prevent fraud and money laundering.

Maker Fee

A lower fee charged when an order adds liquidity to the market by not being executed immediately (e.g., a limit order).

Taker Fee

A fee charged when an order removes liquidity by being filled immediately at the current market price.

Liquidity

The ease and availability with which a digital asset can be bought or sold quickly without significantly affecting the market price.