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Payments & AI Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the payments, collections, compliance, and AI terms you'll encounter when modernizing customer engagement with Advanced Cash Management.

21 terms

Automated Clearing HouseACH: A U.S. electronic network for bank-to-bank transfers used to move money directly between accounts. ACH payments are lower-cost than card payments, making them ideal for recurring bills, payoffs, and high-volume collections.
Automatic Number IdentificationANI: A telephony feature that identifies a caller's phone number so an IVR or Digital Agent can look up the right account and personalize the interaction before the customer says a word.

Chatbot: Software that holds text-based conversations with customers to answer questions, share account details, and take payments 24/7. ACM's chatbots are trained on your data to give accurate, on-brand responses.
Conversational AI: Artificial intelligence that understands and responds to natural human speech or text, enabling human-like conversations across voice, chat, and SMS instead of rigid menu trees.

Digital Agent: ACM's AI-powered virtual agent that takes payments and shares detailed account information by voice 24/7/365 — reducing call volume and staffing costs while sounding like a real person.
Digital Collector: An AI-driven collections agent that automates compliant, human-like outreach to recover balances, cut in-house collection costs, and stay aligned with FDCPA requirements.

Electronic Health / Medical RecordsEHR / EMR: Digital systems that store patient records in healthcare. ACM integrates with EHR/EMR platforms for same-day payment posting, keeping the revenue cycle clean and accurate.

Fair Debt Collection Practices ActFDCPA: The U.S. federal law that governs how debts may be collected, restricting timing, frequency, and content of contact. ACM's collection tools are built to stay FDCPA aligned automatically.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ActHIPAA: The U.S. law protecting the privacy and security of health information. HIPAA-aligned payment handling lets healthcare providers collect balances without exposing protected health information.

Interactive Voice ResponseIVR: An automated phone system that interacts with callers through voice and keypad input. ACM's AI-powered IVRs replace rigid menus with natural conversation to route calls and take payments.

Natural Language ProcessingNLP: The branch of AI that lets computers understand, interpret, and generate human language — the technology that powers conversational IVRs, chatbots, and Digital Agents.

Omnichannel: A unified approach where voice, chat, SMS, email, and web work together to deliver one consistent, connected customer experience — so a conversation can move between channels without starting over.

Pay-by-Text: A payment method that sends customers a branded SMS with a secure link so they can settle a balance in a single tap. It speeds up cash flow by meeting customers on the channel they use most.
Payment Gateway: The service that securely authorizes and processes card or ACH payments between a customer, merchant, and bank. ACM supports competitive card and ACH processing across every channel.
PCI DSS (PCI Level 1)PCI: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — the security requirements for handling card data. PCI Level 1 is the highest compliance tier, required of organizations processing the largest card volumes.

Revenue Cycle ManagementRCM: The end-to-end process of tracking and collecting revenue from customers or patients, from first bill to final payment. Automated self-service payments shorten the cycle and improve cash flow.
Right-Party ContactRPC: Reaching the correct person responsible for an account. Higher right-party contact rates improve collections while helping keep outreach compliant and efficient.

Self-Service Payments: Letting customers pay, check balances, and manage accounts on their own — by voice, chat, or text — with no live agent and no waiting, any time of day.

Telephone Consumer Protection ActTCPA: The U.S. law regulating automated calls and texts, including consent requirements for contacting consumers. Compliant messaging keeps automated outreach both effective and lawful.
Text-to-SpeechTTS: Technology that converts written text into spoken audio. ACM offers 220+ natural, human-like voices so greetings and prompts sound professional instead of robotic.
Tokenization: Replacing sensitive data — like a card number — with a non-sensitive token, so real payment details are never stored or exposed. It reduces PCI scope and protects customers.

AI-Powered Payments Built To Reduce Friction, Improve Cash Flow and Accelerate Collections•