Finance & Treasury Glossary of Terms

Data Normalisation

The conversion of payment and bank data from multiple sources into a consistent, standardised format.

Data Transformation Platform

A system that converts data from one format or structure to another, facilitating seamless integration between different financial systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Treasury Management Systems (TMS), HR Systems and Payroll, and banking platforms.

Data-Rich Payment Solutions

Payment systems that incorporate extensive and customisable data fields, allowing for detailed transaction information to be included, which aids in reconciliation, compliance, and provides greater transparency in financial operations.

Decoupled Payments

The separation of payment execution from core finance systems to improve resilience, flexibility, and control.

Delegated Authority Framework

A structured definition of approval limits and responsibilities by role or individual, ensuring payments are authorised in line with policy and regulation.

Digital operational resilience act (DORA)

An EU regulation that strengthens the digital resilience of financial institutions by enforcing robust cybersecurity and ICT risk management practices.

Digital Payment Governance

Digital Payment Governance refers to the policies, controls, roles, and oversight processes that ensure electronic payments are initiated, approved, processed, and monitored securely and in line with regulatory and organisational requirements. It covers areas such as approval workflows, segregation of duties, fraud prevention controls, audit trails, and compliance with internal payment policies.

Effective digital payment governance helps organisations reduce operational and fraud risk, maintain visibility over payment activity, and ensure that all digital transactions are authorised, traceable, and aligned with financial control frameworks.

Direct Debit

A payment method that allows a business or organisation to automatically collect funds from a customer’s bank account on agreed dates. The payment is set up with the customer’s prior authorisation and is commonly used for recurring bills, subscriptions, and regular instalments.

Direct Debit collections

The process of submitting payment requests to collect money from customers’ bank accounts using Direct Debit. Organisations typically send collections in scheduled batches via the banking network, enabling efficient, automated receipt of recurring or one-off payments.

Direct Debit guarantee

A customer protection scheme that ensures account holders are entitled to an immediate refund from their bank if a Direct Debit is taken in error, on the wrong date, or for the wrong amount. It also requires advance notice of any changes to the payment amount, date, or frequency.

Direct Debit instruction (DDI)

The formal authorisation provided by a customer allowing an organisation to collect payments from their bank account via Direct Debit. It records the customer’s bank details, consent, and payment agreement, and must be in place before any collections can be processed.

Direct Debit Management System (DDMS)

A system used to manage the full Direct Debit lifecycle, including mandate creation, validation, amendment, cancellation, and submission to the banking network.

DORA compliance

The adherence of financial institutions to the Digital Operational Resilience Act’s (DORA’s) requirements, including risk management, incident reporting, and third-party oversight.

Duplicate Payment Detection

Automated controls that identify and prevent repeated or duplicate payment instructions before funds are released.