Glossary
Plain definitions of the payment, anti-money laundering and regulatory terms that come up when a business opens and runs an account. Each entry starts with a short definition, then explains what the term means in practice.
A
A
- Alternative investment fund (AIF): any EU collective investment fund that isn't a UCITS, regulated through its manager under the AIFMD.
- AMLA: the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which coordinates national AML supervisors.
B
B
- Banking as a Service: offering accounts and payments to your own users by building on a licensed provider's infrastructure.
- BIC code (SWIFT code): the 8 or 11 character code that identifies a financial institution in international payments.
C
C
- Correspondent bank: a bank that holds accounts for another institution and settles payments it can't reach directly.
D
D
- Debanking (de-risking): when a provider closes or refuses accounts, often for whole categories of customers.
- Dedicated IBAN: an IBAN issued in your own company's name rather than a shared or pooled one.
E
E
- E-money institution (EMI): a firm licensed to issue electronic money and provide payment services in the EEA.
F
F
- FIN-FSA: Finland's financial supervisor, which licenses and supervises banks, insurers and e-money institutions.
G
G
- Global payments innovation (SWIFT GPI): the Swift service that tracks cross-border payments end to end and confirms when they're credited.
H
H
- High-risk third country: a non-EU country the European Commission lists for AML weaknesses, which triggers enhanced due diligence.
J
J
- Jurisdiction risk (country risk): the financial crime risk that a country adds to a client or payment.
K
K
- Know your business (KYB): the checks a regulated provider runs on a company before and during an account relationship.
L
L
- Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): a 20-character code that identifies a legal entity in financial transactions worldwide.
N
N
- Nostro and vostro accounts: accounts banks hold with each other in foreign currencies to settle cross-border payments.
P
P
- Payment service provider (PSP): any firm authorised to provide payment services, from banks to e-money institutions.
Q
Q
- Qualifying holding: a stake of 10% or more in a regulated financial firm, which needs the regulator's approval in advance.
R
R
- Risk-based approach (RBA): the principle that AML checks scale with the risk a client, product or payment carries.
S
S
- Safeguarding: how e-money and payment institutions keep client funds separate from their own money.
- SEPA Instant: euro credit transfers that arrive within seconds, around the clock.
- SEPA return codes: the reason codes, such as AC04 or RR04, that explain why a SEPA payment was returned or rejected.
- Source of funds vs source of wealth: where the money in a payment comes from, and how its owner built up their assets.
- SWIFT payment: an international transfer sent between institutions over the SWIFT network.
T
T
- Transaction monitoring: the ongoing review of payments that spots unusual activity and can put a payment on hold.
U
U
- UETR: the unique reference that follows a SWIFT payment end to end, used to track it.
- Ultimate beneficial owner (UBO): the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company.
V
V
- Verification of Payee (VoP): the check that compares the payee's name with the account behind the IBAN before a euro transfer.
W
W
- White-label banking: financial products a company offers under its own brand, run on a licensed provider's infrastructure.
Last reviewed October 21, 2026Disclaimer
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice from Narvi Payments Oy Ab or its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice from Narvi Payments Oy Ab or its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
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