GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS
FinTech · 2019
algorithmSoftware which uses a set of rules to create an automated process whereby outcomes are generated with little or no human intervention. AMLAnti-money laundering. application programming interface (API)The underlying computer code behind applications which allow communication between software programmes or operating systems (for example, to allow information on a website to be displayed on both mobile devices and desktop browsers). artificial intelligence (AI)An area of computer science that emphasises the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. asymmetric encryptionAlso known as public key cryptography, is a form of encryption where keys come in pairs.What one key encrypts, only the other can decrypt.Users typically create a matching key pair, and make one public while keeping the other secret (see private key and public key definitions below).big data A data set which derives value due to being very large in size, allowing it to be analysed in order to discover trends that would not be apparent with a smaller data set. BitcoinEither a cryptocurrency or reference to the technology -a distributed network that maintains a ledger of balances of Bitcoin (the cryptocurrency).blockchain A type of distributed ledger taking the form of an electronic database that is replicated on numerous nodes spread across an organisation, a country, multiple countries, or the entire world.Records in a blockchain are stored sequentially in time in the form of blocks.Each block typically contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp and transaction data, which makes it inherently resistant to modification of the data. business-to-business (B2B)Refers to transactions between two businesses, rather than to transactions between a business and an individual consumer.