Glossary

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A

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Affiliation

A reward model in which a Consumer earns a Cashback after clicking on a tracked link (e.g. an online advertisement, a banner, or an email) and completing a qualifying purchase on the merchant’s website. Unlike ALO, affiliation relies on traditional cookie or click tracking rather than on banking transaction data.

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ALO (Account-Linked Offer)

Paylead’s flagship promotional system, also called Account-Linked Offers®. Once enrolled in a Program, a Consumer automatically receives a Reward when a purchase made with their linked bank account matches an active Offer. Unlike cookie-based promotions, ALO works without any code, voucher, or click: the bank transaction itself is the proof of purchase.

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Automatic Cashback (ACB)

The Cashback experience presented to a Consumer in the WebApp (MFP). It lets the Consumer browse participating Brands and Offers and track the Rewards earned automatically when a purchase with their linked bank account matches an active Offer, without any code or voucher.

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Automatic Earn

The defining mechanic of the Loyalty domain: because the Consumer’s bank account is linked to their loyalty account, paying with the bank card automatically credits the program’s Loyalty reward without presenting a loyalty card at checkout. The payment itself is the proof of loyalty.

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B

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Brand

A network of points of sale belonging to the same holding company and available to Consumers in a given country. A Brand can operate brick-and-mortar Stores, an online boutique, or both.

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Burn

The act of spending accumulated Reward value instead of earning it. Burn applies across both Paylead domains: paying out a Perks Pool (the cagnotte) or buying a Voucher with its euros is a form of Burn, as is converting accumulated Loyalty points into merchandise, discounts, vouchers, or experiences. It is the counterpart to earning.

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C

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Campaign

A raw, unpublished commercial proposal sent by a merchant to a Program Manager. It carries the merchant’s conditions (eligible Brand, duration, playground range, channel, loyalty rules). The Program Manager reviews the Campaign and either turns it into a published Offer or rejects it.

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Cashback

A type of Reward in which a portion of the playground (defined per Offer by the Program Manager) is returned to the Consumer in cash. Legally, the Cashback is owed by the Program Manager to its Consumers; Paylead manages the Consumer pool and distributes it on the Program Manager’s behalf. See Ventilation for the payout process.

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Commissioned Transaction

A Consumer transaction that matches an active Offer and triggers the revenue mechanism: it generates a playground (the budget Paylead returns to the Program Manager) split per Offer between the Program Manager’s commission and the Cashback for the Consumer.

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Consumer

A customer who has subscribed to a Program and accepted that their banking transactions are analyzed by Paylead. The Consumer is the end-user who makes eligible purchases and receives Rewards.

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E

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Easy Vouchers (EVO)

An optional WebApp (MFP) feature that lets a Consumer buy and manage Vouchers directly in the app. When enabled for a Program, it adds voucher purchase and management screens to the WebApp’s Cashback experience.

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G

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Gift

A type of Reward granted to a Consumer outside of the standard transaction-matching flow, for example a welcome bonus, a one-off promotional reward, or a loyalty incentive issued directly by the Program Manager. Gifts follow the same status lifecycle as Cashbacks (Pending Validation, Validated, Pool, Paid).

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L

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LBS (Local Business Solution)

A Paylead application that lets local merchants create and manage their own Campaigns through a lightweight, user-friendly interface. LBS expands the Offer catalog of a Program beyond the merchants directly contracted by Paylead.

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Loyalty

One of the two domains of the Paylead Embedded Loyalty platform (the other being Perks). Loyalty lets a Consumer create or link retailer loyalty accounts from the bank app and link them to their bank account, unlocking Automatic Earn. It is primarily a relationship engine: accounts, brands, ongoing engagement. See the Loyalty journey.

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Loyalty Account

A Consumer’s account within a specific Merchant’s Loyalty program. A Loyalty Account can be created from scratch or connected.

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Loyalty Balance

The accumulated total of Loyalty rewards earned by a Consumer within a specific Loyalty program, expressed in the unit defined by the Merchant (points, euros, status level, etc.). It is updated whenever the Consumer’s activity changes the balance, through Automatic Earn or through standard use of the Loyalty program, and is displayed to the Consumer in the Brand Hub. It serves as the basis for Burn actions when the retailer program supports reward conversion.

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Loyalty Offer

An Offer that grants a Reward only after a defined number of qualifying purchases, instead of on every transaction. The threshold is the Offer’s frequency, and the Consumer’s progress toward it is the frequency_counter. Use it to power a dedicated loyalty section that shows progress to the next Reward.

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Loyalty Program

A merchant-operated rewards scheme (e.g. points, cashback, status tiers) made available to Consumers. A Loyalty program may involve a physical card or an online account, but its purpose remains consistent for a retailer: to build customer loyalty and reinforce repeat-purchase behavior.

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Loyalty Reward

The accumulation or acquisition of points, miles, or other forms of currency offered by the program through various activities such as purchases, transactions, participation in promotions, or engagement with affiliated partners. It signifies adding to one’s balance of loyalty currency, increasing the potential for future redemption of rewards or benefits within the program.

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O

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Offer

A published promotion created by a Program Manager from a merchant Campaign. It defines the conditions a Consumer transaction must meet to be eligible for a Reward: eligible Brand or Stores, Cashback rate, validity period, channel (online, in-store, or both), loyalty rules, and budget cap. An Offer is what the Consumer actually sees in the bank’s app.

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Offer Smart Ranking

A Paylead algorithm that personalizes the order in which Offers are displayed to each Consumer. Ranking criteria include the Consumer’s purchase habits, location, Brand power, and editorial spotlight. Smart Ranking requires the Consumer’s explicit consent and is designed to improve relevance and conversion.

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P

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Paylead

The fintech operating the bank-linked cashback platform described in this documentation. Paylead sits between merchants (who fund the playground) and Program Managers (typically banks) who expose Offers to their Consumers.

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Perks

One of the two domains of the Paylead Embedded Loyalty platform (the other being Loyalty). Perks helps Consumers save money on purchases through Cashback, Vouchers, and other savings mechanics. It is primarily a savings engine: immediate, monetary, easy to grasp. The Perks journey is the one the Paylead APIs implement today.

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Playground

The budget Paylead returns to the Program Manager for each Commissioned Transaction. The Program Manager defines, in each Offer, how the playground is split between its own commission and the Cashback paid to the Consumer.

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Pool

A Consumer’s holding area (the cagnotte) where validated Cashback accumulates before it is paid out. Pool is also the Consumer-facing status of a Reward sitting in this area. By default, Paylead manages the pool and runs the payout. See Ventilation.

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Pre-filled forms

The Consumer is in a known context: they are already authenticated in their bank app. This lets Paylead pre-fill the loyalty account creation form. Creating a loyalty account is reduced to accepting the Program’s terms and conditions; the personal information is pre-filled and remains editable by the Consumer.

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Program

The complete cashback proposition operated by a Program Manager: a catalog of Offers, an enrolled Consumer base, and the business rules (commission, ventilation approach, communication channels) attached to them. One bank typically runs one Program.

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Program Manager

The Paylead client (most often a bank or a financial-services company) that operates a Program for its customers. The Program Manager curates the catalog of Offers, defines on each Offer how the playground is split between its own commission and the Consumer Cashback, and exposes the Offers to its Consumers. Paylead manages the Consumer pool and distributes the Cashback on the Program Manager’s behalf.

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R

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Reward

What a Consumer receives for completing a transaction that matches an Offer’s terms. Rewards can be of several types: ALO Cashback, Affiliation Cashback, LBS Cashback, or Gifts. Each Reward carries two statuses: a technical one (Pending Validation, Validated, Paid In, Paid Out) and a Consumer-facing one (Pending, Pool, Paid, Cancelled).

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Reward Attribution

A two-step Paylead mechanism that guarantees each eligible purchase generates exactly one Reward, even when the same transaction is reported by several sources (e.g. the bank itself and an account aggregator). A duplication engine first identifies that multiple transactions refer to the same purchase, then an attribution engine selects the winning Program based on a scoring system (onboarding recency, engagement, reward intensity).

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S

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Scraper / Scraping

A legacy bank-data collection method, in which a partner connects to a Consumer’s online banking interface to retrieve transaction history. Paylead now relies primarily on regulated API-based feeds (PSD2, account aggregators); scraping vocabulary remains in some technical statuses (e.g. SCRAPPING synchronization status).

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Seamless Loyalty Card (SLC)

Paylead’s product that connects Consumers’ bank accounts to their favorite Merchants’ Loyalty programs, directly within the banking application. SLC enables Consumers to create or link Loyalty Accounts, automatically earn rewards on every eligible payment (without presenting a loyalty card at checkout), and manage their Loyalty programs from a single place.

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Segment

A group of Consumers used to expose Offers to a specific audience, defined by the bank’s own criteria (for example Premium, New, Black, or Gold). A Program Manager can have as many Segments as they need, each with its own name. To prevent sensitive criteria (religious, political, and similar), Segment definitions (name and reference) are created by the Paylead account manager; the Program Manager then assigns Consumers to them, in bulk via Shift (CSV) or in real time via the API.

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Shift

The Paylead web application used by Program Managers to manage their Program: review Campaigns, publish Offers, monitor performance, manage Consumers, and download Ventilation files.

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Stores

The individual points of sale operated by a Brand, either physical locations or online shops. An Offer can target all Stores of a Brand or a subset (for example, only the in-store channel or only specific locations).

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T

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Transaction Fetch Hub

A per-bank, bespoke service in which Paylead pulls transactions directly from the banking partner, instead of the partner pushing them to the Paylead API. It is scoped during the build phase of the integration and is an alternative to the default push model. See the transaction lifecycle.

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Transaction Lifecycle

The sequence of steps a raw banking transaction goes through inside Paylead before becoming (or not) a Reward: collection from the source (Transaction Hub push, the Transaction Fetch Hub pull, account aggregator, or banking partner), bucketing per bank connection, matching against active Offers, eligibility check, and finally Reward creation. If no Offer matches, the lifecycle ends silently.

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V

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Ventilation

The process by which validated Cashbacks are paid out to Consumers. Paylead manages the Consumer pool and runs the payout. Legally, the Cashback is owed by the Program Manager to its Consumers; Paylead distributes it on the Program Manager’s behalf. See the Ventilation guide.

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Voucher

A type of benefit in which a Consumer receives a code or a fixed monetary value redeemable at a participating Brand, under defined conditions such as minimum spend, validity period, or channel.

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W

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WebApp (MFP)

A Paylead-hosted webview (also called the MFP (Modular Front Platform)) embedded inside a partner bank’s mobile app. It lets a Program delegate part of the Consumer-facing journey (offer discovery, Reward history, the loyalty wallet) to Paylead instead of building each screen natively. See the WebApp concept and the WebApp (MFP) integration tab.

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Webhooks

Real-time HTTP notifications sent by Paylead to a Program Manager’s back-office when a key event occurs, for example reward_created, reward_validated, payout_success. Webhooks let the Program Manager react instantly (notify the Consumer, trigger a payout, update its CRM) without polling the API.