Glossary

To enhance the security of your application, you can make use of more than one set of security credentials, with an older set continuing to be active as you distribute a new set.

A string distributed by AWS that uniquely identifies an AWS developer.

The value of this ID is included in every Amazon Simple Pay request.

Individual who sends a payment using an Amazon Simple Pay button.

The buyer pays the seller for a product or service.

With Amazon Simple Pay, you can use client-side PKI-based verification to validate IPN and Return URL responses with the value of the certificateUrl parameter. The certificateUrl parameter is provided in each return URL and IPN response.

Hash Message Authentication Code.

Amazon Simple Pay uses an HMAC for signatures to enhance the security of your buttons.

A block of HTML code that contains the endpoint and parameters for an Amazon Simple Pay request.

Button click or other form request to Amazon Payments

Also IPN. A notification (separate from the buyer redirect) that is sent whenever a payment, refund, or reserved payment completes successfully or fails. The developer must host this notification service and provide Amazon Simple Pay with an IPN response URL..

A feature of Amazon Simple Pay that allows a third party to charge for hosting a merchant's offers and facilitating payment.

Response from Amazon Payments to your Simple Pay application by way of Return URL or IPN.

A error caused by an irregularity in the customer's chosen payment method, such as an insufficient bank balance, or an expired credit card.

A set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, store, distribute, and revoke digital certificates. Amazon Simple Pay uses PKI in the Return URL and IPN notifications it sends to your application in response to a Simple Pay button click.

The purchase price that is put in reserve against a credit card but not charged.

The transaction is settled typically when a purchase is finished, such as when a product ships.

Individual who receives a payment from a buyer using an Amazon Simple Pay button.

The seller receives money from a buyer in exchange for a service or product.

Amazon Simple Pay uses RSA-SHA1 as the signature method for outbound notifications.

The act of delaying the completion of a transaction.

If a buyer is not charged immediately upon the initiation of the purchase, the transaction is settled later, such as when the purchased product is shipped. Amazon Simple Pay does not support settling purchases. You have to use the Settle operation in the Amazon Simple Pay API to implement that functionality.

With Amazon Simple Pay, you can use server-side verification to validate IPN and Return URL responses with the FPS Action, VerifySignature. Between client-side signature verification and server-side signature verification, server-side signature verification is the recommended method.

Secure Hash Algorithms used for Amazon Web Services signatures.

SHA1 is an earlier version of the algorithm, which is currently being deprecated for Amazon Web Services. SHA256 is its more secure replacement.

A URL encoded string composed of request parameters and their values encrypted using an HMAC algorithm.

Signatures are used to authenticate and safeguard requests.

A button that enables you to collect periodic payments for your products.

A developer who creates any Amazon Simple Pay button.