- 1 Payment Systems & Financial Institutions
- 2 Standards Organizations & Messaging
- 3 ISO 20022 Message Elements
- 4 Data Formats & Technologies
- 5 Security & Cryptography
- 6 Network Security
- 7 High Availability & Performance
- 8 Infrastructure & Operations
- 9 Regulations & Compliance
- 10 General IT & Architecture
- Quick Reference by Article
This reference guide consolidates all acronyms and abbreviations used throughout the RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) series. Use this as a quick lookup when reading the other articles.
1 Payment Systems & Financial Institutions
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| RTGS |
Real-Time Gross Settlement |
System for immediate settlement of individual transactions |
| ACH |
Automated Clearing House |
US electronic network for processing financial transactions |
| DNS |
Deferred Net Settlement |
System that settles transactions in batches at intervals |
| FX |
Foreign Exchange |
Trading of currencies between nations |
| CLS |
Continuous Linked Settlement |
Multi-currency cash settlement system for FX transactions |
| DTC |
Depository Trust Company |
US securities depository and clearinghouse |
| ECB |
European Central Bank |
Central bank for the Eurozone |
| PBOC |
People’s Bank of China |
Central bank of the People’s Republic of China |
| CHAPS |
Clearing House Automated Payment System |
UK same-day sterling payment system |
| Fedwire |
Federal Reserve Wire Network |
US real-time gross settlement funds transfer system |
| TARGET2 |
Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system |
Eurozone RTGS system |
| BOJ-NET |
Bank of Japan Financial Network Network |
Japanese RTGS system |
| CNAPS |
China National Advanced Payment System |
Chinese payment system including HVPS (RTGS) |
| RITS |
Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System |
Australian RTGS system |
| LVTS |
Large Value Transfer System |
Canadian RTGS system (now replaced by Lynx) |
| SIC |
Swiss Interbank Clearing |
Swiss RTGS system |
| SEPA |
Single Euro Payments Area |
EU payment integration initiative |
| FPS |
Faster Payments Service |
UK instant payment system |
2 Standards Organizations & Messaging
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| ISO |
International Organization for Standardization |
Develops international standards including ISO 20022 |
| SWIFT |
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication |
Global messaging network for financial institutions |
| BIC |
Bank Identifier Code |
Standard format for identifying banks (also called SWIFT code) |
| IBAN |
International Bank Account Number |
International standard for identifying bank accounts |
| ISO 20022 |
ISO Standard 20022 |
International standard for financial services messaging |
| pacs |
Payments Clearing and Settlement |
ISO 20022 message category for payments |
| FIToFI |
Financial Institution to Financial Institution |
Messages between banks |
| CstmrCdtTrf |
Customer Credit Transfer |
Customer payment message type |
| MT |
Message Type |
SWIFT’s legacy message format (e.g., MT103, MT202) |
| UML |
Unified Modeling Language |
Standard modeling language used in ISO 20022 |
| XSD |
XML Schema Definition |
Schema language for validating XML messages |
3 ISO 20022 Message Elements
| Acronym/Code |
Full Name |
Description |
| pacs.008 |
Payment Clearing and Settlement - Customer Credit Transfer |
Message for customer payments |
| pacs.009 |
Payment Clearing and Settlement - Financial Institution Transfer |
Message for bank-to-bank transfers |
| pacs.002 |
Payment Clearing and Settlement - Payment Status Report |
Message for payment status |
| pacs.004 |
Payment Clearing and Settlement - Return/Payment Cancellation |
Message for returns and cancellations |
| PmtId |
Payment Identification |
Unique identifier for payments |
| UltmtDbtr |
Ultimate Debtor |
Original payer in a transaction |
| UltmtCdtr |
Ultimate Creditor |
Final recipient of funds |
| RmtInf |
Remittance Information |
Payment reference/details |
| IntrBkSttlmAmt |
Interbank Settlement Amount |
Settlement amount in interbank transactions |
| IntrBkSttlmDt |
Interbank Settlement Date |
Date of interbank settlement |
| DbtrAgt |
Debtor Agent |
Bank representing the payer |
| CdtrAgt |
Creditor Agent |
Bank representing the payee |
| ACSC |
Accepted Settlement Completed |
Payment status code for successful settlement |
| ACCP |
Accepted Customer Profile |
Payment status code for customer validated |
| ACSP |
Accepted Settlement in Process |
Payment status code for being processed |
| RJCT |
Rejected |
Payment status code for rejected payments |
| PDNG |
Pending |
Payment status code for awaiting processing |
| ACTC |
Accepted Technical Validation |
Payment status code for technically valid |
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| XML |
Extensible Markup Language |
Markup language for encoding documents (used in ISO 20022) |
| JSON |
JavaScript Object Notation |
Lightweight data interchange format |
| API |
Application Programming Interface |
Interface for software components to communicate |
| SQL |
Structured Query Language |
Database query language |
| RDBMS |
Relational Database Management System |
Traditional relational database |
| CDC |
Change Data Capture |
Process of identifying and capturing data changes |
| IoT |
Internet of Things |
Network of physical devices with embedded connectivity |
5 Security & Cryptography
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| HSM |
Hardware Security Module |
Physical device for managing digital keys and cryptographic operations |
| PKI |
Public Key Infrastructure |
Framework for managing digital certificates and encryption |
| TLS |
Transport Layer Security |
Cryptographic protocol for secure communications |
| mTLS |
Mutual TLS |
TLS where both parties authenticate each other |
| IPSec |
Internet Protocol Security |
Suite of protocols for securing IP communications |
| VPN |
Virtual Private Network |
Secure tunnel over public networks |
| AES |
Advanced Encryption Standard |
Symmetric encryption algorithm |
| RSA |
Rivest-Shamir-Adleman |
Asymmetric encryption algorithm |
| ECC |
Elliptic Curve Cryptography |
Public-key cryptography approach |
| ECDSA |
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm |
Digital signature algorithm |
| ECDH |
Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman |
Key agreement protocol |
| SHA |
Secure Hash Algorithm |
Cryptographic hash functions |
| FIPS |
Federal Information Processing Standards |
US government security standards |
| MFA |
Multi-Factor Authentication |
Authentication requiring multiple proofs |
6 Network Security
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| DDoS |
Distributed Denial of Service |
Attack that overwhelms systems with traffic |
| IDS |
Intrusion Detection System |
Monitors for malicious activity |
| IPS |
Intrusion Prevention System |
Blocks detected threats in real-time |
| VLAN |
Virtual Local Area Network |
Logically segmented network |
| SIEM |
Security Information and Event Management |
Real-time security monitoring |
| RBAC |
Role-Based Access Control |
Access control based on user roles |
| LDAP |
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol |
Protocol for accessing directory services |
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| HA |
High Availability |
System design for minimal downtime |
| RTO |
Recovery Time Objective |
Maximum acceptable downtime after a failure |
| RPO |
Recovery Point Objective |
Maximum acceptable data loss measured in time |
| WRT |
Work Recovery Time |
Time to resume operations |
| MTD |
Maximum Tolerable Downtime |
Business impact threshold |
| MTBF |
Mean Time Between Failures |
Average time between system failures |
| MTTR |
Mean Time To Repair |
Average time to fix a failed system |
| MTTF |
Mean Time To Failure |
Average time until a system fails |
| SLA |
Service Level Agreement |
Contractual service commitment |
| SLO |
Service Level Objective |
Internal service target |
| TPS |
Transactions Per Second |
Measure of system throughput |
| P50 |
50th Percentile |
Median response time (50% of requests faster) |
| P99 |
99th Percentile |
99% of requests complete within this time |
| L1/L2/L3 |
Level 1/2/3 Cache |
Cache hierarchy levels |
| Redis |
Remote Dictionary Server |
In-memory data structure store |
| Memcached |
Memory Cached |
Distributed memory caching system |
| DNS |
Domain Name System |
Translates domain names to IP addresses |
| VIP |
Virtual IP Address |
Shared IP for load balancing |
8 Infrastructure & Operations
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| DR |
Disaster Recovery |
Strategies and procedures for recovering from disasters |
| DC |
Data Center |
Facility housing computer systems and network infrastructure |
| ACID |
Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability |
Properties guaranteeing reliable database transactions |
9 Regulations & Compliance
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| GDPR |
General Data Protection Regulation |
EU data protection regulation |
| PSD2 |
Payment Services Directive 2 |
EU payment services regulation |
| SOX |
Sarbanes-Oxley Act |
US financial reporting regulation |
| PCI DSS |
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard |
Card data security standard |
| ISO 27001 |
ISO Standard 27001 |
Information security management standard |
10 General IT & Architecture
| Acronym |
Full Name |
Description |
| CIA |
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability |
Three pillars of information security |
| DR |
Disaster Recovery |
Strategies for recovering from disasters |
| DC |
Data Center |
Facility housing computer systems and network infrastructure |
Quick Reference by Article
This acronym guide supports the complete RTGS series:
| Article |
Primary Acronyms |
| Part 1: Core Concepts |
RTGS, ACH, DNS, FX, CLS, DTC |
| Part 2: System Architecture |
API, HSM, ACID, RBAC |
| Part 3: Message Standards |
ISO 20022, SWIFT, pacs, BIC, XML |
| Part 4: Security & Risk |
HSM, PKI, DDoS, MFA, GDPR |
| Part 5: High Availability |
RTO, RPO, MTBF, MTTR, SLA |
Series Index: Understanding RTGS Complete Series
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