Mass Transit Terminology

Account Verification Request (AVR): Zero amount authorization request that you send to determine whether the payment card is valid.
Aggregated: Transaction in which you calculate the fare based on multiple contactless card taps for trips during a predetermined time period, usually 24 hours, processed as a single transaction.
Back office: A component within your transit systems that processes the taps received from transit readers, and that performs any or all journey construction, fare calculation, risk management, and payment processing.
Card hash: One-way hash token ID of the payment card data that is used to maintain the deny list.
Combined data authentication (CDA): Authentication technique that uses a combination of card and transaction data.
Deferred authorization: Combined authorization and capture request, also known as a sale, for aggregated fare payments.
Deny list: List of cards that failed ODA because of an unsuccessful AVR or transit payment. It is used for blocking cards that have not been accepted for travel within your transit system when you are processing aggregated payments, such as the Mastercard PAYG and Visa MTT models.
Deny list manager: Manages the deny list and distributes it to the validators.
First ride risk debt recovery: Under specific and limited conditions established by the card schemes, you can recover the cost of the first ride by capturing a declined authorization. For details, refer to each of the card scheme's rules for mass transit chargeback thresholds and protection.
Instrument identifier token: Token Management Service token that stores the payment card number.
Journey construction: The process of analyzing individual taps received from transit readers and forming logical journeys performed by cardholders.
Mobility and Transport Transaction (MTT): Visa model for contactless mass transit payments for single or multiple modes of transportation, which includes fixed, distance-based, and time-based fares.
Offline data authentication (ODA): EMV security feature in which payment cards are authenticated offline. ODA is necessary so that cardholders can quickly tap and enter the transit system. It is used for aggregated transactions, such as Mastercard PAYG and Visa MTT.
Pay As You Go (PAYG) for Mastercard: Mastercard model in which the fare is not known when the cardholder taps their card for travel. All cardholder taps are recorded to calculate the fare and process an aggregated payment.
Payment instrument token: Token Management Service token that stores the instrument identifier token, card expiration date, and billing address.
Retail: Transaction in which you process the payment as a standard contactless retail payment.
Tap: Refers to the act of presenting a contactless card at a validator.
Ticket inspection: Process in which ticket inspectors verify compliance with fare policies by checking paper tickets or using a portable terminal to read the payment card.
Ticket inspectors: Transit employees who travel on the transit system to verify passenger travel status.
Transient token: Unique, time-limited token ID that is associated with the tokens created by TMS. The validator forwards this ID to your back office to use for payment transactions and to manage tokens. Visa Acceptance Solutions automatically deletes this token after seven days.
Travel period: Period of time during which a traveler can make multiple taps in and out of the transit system, before you submit the final payment transaction for the aggregated amount.
Validator: EMV contactless card-present terminal located at an automated turnstile device where cardholders tap their card to enter, and optionally exit from, the transit system. Before allowing the cardholder to enter the transit system, the validator checks the deny list to ensure that the card has not failed ODA.