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Crypto Glossary

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Glossary for Bankful Merchants

Welcome to the Future of Payments
Bankful’s Wallet-to-Wallet Crypto Payments allow you to accept Ethereum (ETH) from customers quickly, securely, and without the traditional fees or borders of credit card systems. This glossary is here to help you understand the key terms you’ll see in your dashboard and during setup.

🔑 Wallets & Keys

  • Wallet Address – Like a bank account number for crypto. You’ll use it to receive payouts.
  • Merchant Wallet – Your personal or business crypto wallet (like MetaMask) that must be connected to get paid.
  • Customer Wallet – The wallet your customer uses to pay you in crypto.
  • Wallet Connection – The process of linking your wallet to Bankful before receiving payments.
  • Private Key – The secret password to your crypto wallet. Never share it.
  • Public Key – Your shareable wallet address where funds are received.

💼 Bankful Tools & Terms

  • Vault – Where customer payments are securely held before you withdraw them.
  • Vault Balance – The ETH amount currently available for you to withdraw.
  • Payout – The act of moving ETH from your Vault to your wallet. A small gas fee applies.
  • Real-Time Wallet Balance – Your available funds, updated live in your dashboard.
  • MetaMask – The browser wallet we support. It lets you send, receive, and manage ETH.

🔁 Payments & Transactions

  • Crypto (Cryptocurrency) – A digital form of money. Bankful uses ETH (Ethereum).
  • ETH (Ethereum) – The crypto token you’ll receive from customers.
  • On-Chain – A transaction recorded on the public blockchain.
  • Transaction Hash – The receipt or ID for each transaction. Can be viewed on Etherscan.
  • Gas Fee – A small blockchain fee paid in ETH to complete payments or withdrawals.
  • Transaction Speed – Most ETH payments take 30–60 seconds to process.

🌐 Blockchain Basics

  • Blockchain – A public digital ledger that tracks all transactions. It cannot be changed or deleted.
  • Ethereum Mainnet – The live network where your real ETH transactions take place.
  • Smart Contract – Code that runs on the blockchain to hold payments and release payouts securely.
  • Ledger – A permanent record of all crypto transactions, viewable by anyone.
  • Network – The system that powers blockchain transactions (Ethereum, in our case).
  • Layer 2 – A faster and cheaper blockchain network built on top of Ethereum. Coming soon.

🔍 Verification & Transparency

  • Etherscan – A public site where you can search a transaction hash to confirm if a payment was received or a payout was sent.
  • QR Code (Checkout) – A scannable code your customers use to pay you easily and accurately via wallet apps.
  • Transaction Hash – The alphanumeric ID for every crypto transaction. You’ll see this in your dashboard and on Etherscan.

💱 Currency & Fees

  • Fiat Currency – Government-issued money like USD or EUR.
  • Altcoin – Any crypto that’s not Bitcoin. Examples: ETH, USDC, Solana.
  • Off-Ramp – A third-party tool used to convert crypto into fiat. (e.g., TripleA)
  • 1% Crypto Fee – Taken at the time of the transaction, not invoiced later.
  • Bankful Monthly Fees – Billed separately on your standard end-of-month invoice.

🌍 The Bigger Picture

  • Decentralization – Crypto is not controlled by banks or governments.
  • Web3 – A more open, secure, and merchant-friendly internet powered by blockchain.

If you ever need help identifying a payment or understanding a term, your Bankful support team is here to walk you through it.

Contact us: support@bankful.com

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