A fintech glossary terms

Abstraction

Hiding complex logic.

Accelerator

Fixed-term program that helps startups grow quickly through mentorship, investor access, and a structured demo cycle, often in exchange for equity.

Accessibility

Making web usable by everyone.

Account Abstraction

Smart contracts as wallets.

Account Information Service Provider (AISP)

A regulated third party that accesses account data with user consent to support financial analysis, aggregation, or product workflows.

Account Servicing Payment Service Provider (ASPSP)

The bank or payment institution that holds and services the customer account accessed in open banking flows.

Account Updater

A service that refreshes expired or reissued card details for recurring billing merchants.

Accounts Payable

Money a company owes to its suppliers.

Accounts Receivable

Money owed to a company by its customers.

Accredited Investor

Investor allowed in risky deals.

Accrual

Recording revenue/expenses when earned, not when cash is received.

Accrual Accounting

Recording revenues when earned.

ACH

Automated Clearing House - US electronic payment network.

Acquirer

Bank processing payments for merchant.

Acquisition

One company buying another.

Actuary

Professional who analyzes financial risk using statistics.

Adware

Software showing unwanted ads.

AGI

Artificial General Intelligence; human-level AI.

AI

Simulation of human intelligence by machines.

Air Gap

Offline security measure.

Airdrop

Free distribution of cryptocurrency.

Algorithm

Set of rules to solve a problem.

Algorithmic Stablecoin

Stablecoin maintaining peg via algorithms.

Algorithmic Trading

Trading using automated algorithms.

Alpha

Excess return over benchmark.

Altcoin

Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

AML

Anti Money Laundering.

AMM

Automated Market Maker.

Amortization

Spreading cost of intangible assets over time.

Angel Investor

Individual providing capital for startup.

Annuity

Fixed sum paid yearly.

Anti Money Laundering

Laws against clean dirty money.

API

Application Programming Interface.

API Banking

Banking services provided via APIs.

AppChain

A blockchain designed for a specific application or protocol rather than general-purpose usage.

Appraisal

Assessment of property value.

Appreciation

Increase in currency value.

APR

Annual Percentage Rate.

APY

Annual Percentage Yield.

Arbitrage

Profiting from price differences in markets.

Artificial Intelligence

Intelligence demonstrated by machines.

ASCII

Character encoding standard.

Ask Price

Lowest price a seller will accept.

Asset

Resource with economic value that an individual or corporation owns.

Asset Allocation

Strategy of dividing investment portfolio.

Asset Turnover

Revenue / Total Assets.

Asset-backed Token

Token backed by physical assets.

Asymmetric Encryption

Encryption using public and private keys.

Asymmetric Information

One party knows more.

ATH

All Time High.

ATL

All Time Low.

Atomic Swap

Exchanging cryptos without intermediaries.

Audit

Official examination of financial accounts.

Audit Trail

Records showing history of transactions.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Interactive experience of real-world environment.

Austerity

Cutting govt spending.

Authorization

The card-network approval step that checks whether a payment can be accepted before funds are captured.

Automation RPA

Robotic Process Automation.