eBusiness Glossar

C

Cache

A fast buffer that temporarily stores data and that can make this speedily available at any time.

CAFE

"Conditional Access For Europe" Within the scope of a European project, a chip card has been developed on the basis of DigiCash technology.

Call For Votes

This "Call For Votes" belongs to the process of the formation of a new newsgroup in the Usenet. The Internet community is asked to vote on whether a new newsgroup is required for a specific subject.

Capture

A procedure performed on a previously authorized transaction after a merchant has shipped goods or services to the customer. This transaction triggers the movement of funds from the issuer to the acquirer and then to the merchant's account.

Cardholder

An individual or business that has established an account with a credit or debit card issuer. A cardholder is eligible to initiate a payment card transaction.

CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access)

A type of circuit-switched mobile network with a global user base of 30 million subscribers. Likely to upgrade to CDMA-2000 before reaching UMTS level.

CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data)

A standard capable of transmitting Web data to PDAs such as Palm Pilots. Whenever a lag occurs in data transmission, CDPD squeezes data into reserved spaces between analog cell channels. Although this data is low priority, carriers charge per packet.

Certificate Authority (CA)

This is the service a bank provides that digitally signs public keys sent to it by a web browser or by the merchant's server software. It issues and validates digital certificates associated with SET transactions.

CGI

Stands for "Common Gateway Interface". The CGI standard enables external programs to be started on the Web server.

Challenge-Response

A common authentication technique for smart cards whereby an individual is prompted (the challenge) to provide some private information (the response). The in-built security system presents a code (the challenge) to the user, which he or she enters into the smart card. This generates a new code (the response) that the user can present to log in.

Chat

A conversation in real time with other computers via the Internet. A message is sent and, in the shortest period of time, the addressee receives the message. The addressee, in turn, replies immediately and a conversation follows by keyboard, almost like a telephone conversation.

Clearing

Periodic comparison of the status of accounts on the servers of different providers that accept the payment methods of the others.

Click Through

See AdClick.

Clickstream

This is the path that a visitor to a web page travels to reach the required information.

Client Server

Model of a network structure or a database concept where hierarchical task distribution is used. At the same time, the server is the provider of resources, services and data. The Clients (workstations) use this server.

Common Electronic Purse Specification (CEPS)

Initially developed by Visa before being handed over to the European Committee for Banking Standards (ECBS), this is a unique standard for the global interoperability of smart cards.

Community

Communities are people who, due to mutual interests, continue to visit an Internet page.

Connect

In conjunction with the WWW, this means the making public of a web page. The granting and registration of Internet addresses (a Domain) is carried out by organizations such as DeNic or InterNIC.

Content Provider

The Content Provider provides contents in the Internet (e.g. AOL, T-Online). The Internet Service Provider, however, merely takes care of the technical infrastructure of a web offer.

Cookie

Describes a message that is sent from a web server to a browser and that is stored on the hard disk of the user. Only when a page is requested from the server by the browser is the message then sent back again. In this way, visitors to the web site can be identified. A disadvantage of the cookie is, however, that it can also record the behavior and the interests of a user, which represents a problem to data protectionists.

CPC

"Cost Per Click". For an advertisement on a web site, the advertiser pays only for the number of clicks instead of a flat-rate price.

CPM

"Cost Per Mille". A fixed price for every thousand contacts with, e.g. an advertising banner.

Credit

A transaction resulting in a credit to a cardholder's account.

Cryptography

The practice of digitally "scrambling" a message using a secret key or keys.

CSP (Commerce Service Provider)

Enterprises resembling utilities firms in functioning as server farms to host ASPs and eCommerce ventures.

CSS

Stands for "Cascading Style Sheets": Extension that enables better HTML / HTM page layout and to allow frequently-used format definitions (bold, italics, etc.) and fonts to be defined once only. The graphical representation of HTML documents can be specified by means of style sheets. However, this is not (yet) correctly displayed by all browsers.

Customer Relationship Management

He, who knows his customers, can also serve them correctly! Thus, the concept of the "CRM" can be narrowed down to a single point. Marketing activities can then be objectively planned, and can be presented to the target group with a favorable cost-benefit ratio and without any server loss.

Cyber...

General prefix for words that refer in the most general sense to the Internet.

CyberCash

This is an American company that developed the cashless electronic accounting system CyberCoin. This enables minor payments over the Internet via credit card.

Cybermoney

General expression for electronic money.

Cybertrust

Brand name description of electronic payments made with the encryption standard for credit card numbers, SET. Large credit card companies work together with the large hardware and software manufacturers.