Glossary

This page explains the terms and acronyms you'll come across in the Harbor docs. Terms are grouped by topic and listed alphabetically within each group.

Harbor Concepts

The core building blocks of Harbor and the environments you work in.

Term	Definition
Application	Your organization's workspace in Harbor. It holds the Customers you create and the transfers you make. See Harbor Basics.
Customer	An individual or business you make transfers for. Each Customer must complete onboarding before they can transact.
Harbor Portal	The web dashboard where you manage your application, API keys, and recipients without calling the API.
Recipient	The person or business that receives the funds of a transfer. Also called the beneficiary. See Recipients.
Sandbox	Harbor's test environment. It uses testnet blockchains and test funds, so no real money is moved.
Production	Harbor's live environment, where transfers move real funds. You receive a Production API key once your integration is tested.
Third-party recipient	A recipient who is not the Customer sending the funds. See Third-Party Recipients.

Compliance and Onboarding

Terms for how Harbor verifies Customers and keeps transfers compliant.

Term	Definition
AML (Anti-Money Laundering)	Checks that detect and prevent money laundering. A transfer may be placed `on_hold` while AML checks run. See KYC/AML.
Customer state	A simplified, customer-facing version of the Customer `status`, such as `verified` or `update_required`. See Status Definitions.
Graded onboarding	An onboarding scheme for individuals with three levels. Each level collects more information and unlocks higher limits. See Customer Levels.
KYB (Know Your Business)	The verification process for business Customers, such as checking company registration and ownership.
KYC (Know Your Customer)	The verification process for individual Customers, such as checking identity documents.
KYC-delegated mode	An onboarding mode for licensed partners who perform KYC/KYB on their own users. See Licensed Partner Onboarding.
Onboarding	The steps a Customer completes before they can transact: accepting the service agreement and passing KYC or KYB.
RFI (Request for Information)	A request from Harbor's compliance team for extra information or documents about a Customer or a transfer. See Onboarding RFI and Transfer RFI.

Transfers

Terms for creating, pricing, and completing transfers.

Term	Definition
B2B, B2C, C2B, C2C	The sender and recipient types of a transfer: Business or Consumer (individual). For example, B2C is a business paying an individual.
Commission	The fee you charge your Customer on a transfer, set as a fixed amount or a percentage when you create a quote.
Corridor	A route between a source and a destination, such as USDC on Ethereum to MXN in Mexico. Requirements and limits vary by corridor.
Harbor fee	The fee Harbor charges for processing a transfer.
Off-ramp	A transfer that converts a stablecoin into fiat currency, such as USDC to USD in a bank account. See Off-Ramp.
On-chain transfer	A transfer from one blockchain address to another, without converting to fiat. Also called a swap. See On-Chain.
On-ramp	A transfer that converts fiat currency into a stablecoin, such as USD to USDC. See On-Ramp.
Pay first, bind later	A debit card payout where the recipient adds their card details after the transfer is created. See Pay First, Bind Later.
Quote	A price for a transfer, including the exchange rate and fees. You create a quote before each transfer, and it expires after a short time. See Quotes.
Settlement	The point at which funds are fully cleared and available. See Settlement Strategy.
Swap	Another name for an on-chain transfer, including moving stablecoins from one blockchain to another. See On-chain transfer.
Transfer instructions	The details returned when you create a transfer, telling the Customer where and how to send funds, and by when.
Transfer requirements	A JSON Schema listing the fields a specific transfer needs. They change by corridor and payment method, so you fetch them for each quote. See Transfer JSON Schema.

Funding and Bank Accounts

Ways Customers fund on-ramp transfers, and how Harbor matches and verifies bank deposits.

Term	Definition
Deposit account	A dedicated virtual bank account issued to a Customer for on-ramp deposits. No narrative is needed. See Deposit Accounts.
Linked funding source	A bank account or debit card the Customer links to fund on-ramp transfers. See Linked Funding Sources.
Micro-deposit	A small deposit (under US$1.00) that a bank sends to an account to verify it exists and belongs to the account holder. See Micro-Deposit Verification.
Narrative	A unique 10-digit reference the sender includes in a wire, so Harbor can match the deposit to the right transfer. See Deposit Accounts vs. Narrative Transfers.
Payment lock time	The period during which funds from an ACH Pull or debit card are held while the payment settles. See Payment Lock Time.

Payment Methods

The banking networks Harbor uses to move fiat money in and out, by country.

Term	Definition
ACH (Automated Clearing House)	The US network for bank-to-bank transfers.
ACH Pull	An ACH payment where Harbor pulls funds from the Customer's linked US bank account. It takes about 2 business days to settle.
ACH Push	An ACH payment where the sender's bank pushes funds to the recipient's account.
CLABE	The 18-digit standardized bank account number used in Mexico.
Domestic wire	A wire transfer between two US bank accounts, in USD. Payment method `DOMESTIC_WIRE`. Settles in up to 2 days.
Faster Payments	The UK's real-time bank transfer system for GBP.
FedWire	A US domestic wire sent over the Federal Reserve's own wire system. Payment method `FEDWIRE`. Usually settles faster than a domestic wire, in up to 1 day.
International wire	A wire transfer between banks in different countries, usually sent over the SWIFT network. Payment method `WIRE`. Settles in 1 to 3 days.
Local bank transfer	A payout over the destination country's own banking network, in the local currency.
PIX	Brazil's instant payment system for BRL.
RTP (Real-Time Payments)	A US network for instant bank transfers, available 24/7.
SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area)	The payment network for EUR bank transfers between participating European countries.
SPEI	Mexico's real-time interbank payment system for MXN. Payouts use the recipient's CLABE.
SWIFT/BIC code	A code that identifies a bank in international wires.

Cards

Terms for debit card on-ramps and payouts.

Term	Definition
AFT (Account Funding Transaction)	A card transaction that pulls funds from a debit card. Harbor uses it for card on-ramps.
OCT (Original Credit Transaction)	A card transaction that pushes funds to a debit card. Harbor uses it for card payouts (off-ramps).
VDC (Visa Direct to Card)	The card network service Harbor uses for debit card on-ramps and payouts. See Debit Card Coverage.

Blockchain and Stablecoins

Terms for the crypto side of a transfer: the assets Harbor supports and the networks they run on.

Term	Definition
Anchor	On Stellar, a business that connects the Stellar network to traditional banking, handling deposits and withdrawals. See Stellar Anchor.
Blockchain address	The public identifier of a wallet on a blockchain, such as `0xae13…7b55` on Ethereum. Funds are sent to and from addresses.
Confirmations	The number of blocks added after a transaction before it's considered final. It varies by blockchain. See Stablecoins and Blockchains.
EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)	The technology that runs Ethereum. Blockchains built on it are called EVM-compatible and share the same `0x` address format, so one wallet address works on all of them. Harbor's EVM chains are Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Base, and Arc.
Faucet	A tool that gives you free test stablecoins on a testnet. See Testnet Faucet.
Mainnet	The live version of a blockchain, where tokens have real value. Used in Production.
SEP-10 / SEP-24	Stellar Ecosystem Proposals. SEP-10 handles authentication with an anchor, and SEP-24 handles deposits and withdrawals.
Solana	A non-EVM blockchain. Solana addresses use a different format (32–44 base58 characters) and don't work on EVM chains or Stellar.
Stablecoin	A cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency such as the US dollar.
Stellar	A non-EVM blockchain built for payments. Stellar addresses start with `G` and are 56 characters long. Accounts need a trust line to hold an asset, and some transfers need a memo (`address_tag`).
Testnet	A test version of a blockchain, where tokens have no real value. Used in Sandbox.
Trust line	On Stellar, a setting an account must add before it can hold a specific asset, such as USDC.
USDC	A US dollar stablecoin issued by Circle. Supported on all Harbor blockchains.
USDT	A US dollar stablecoin issued by Tether. Supported on Ethereum only.

EVM vs. Solana vs. Stellar

Addresses are not interchangeable between these network types. Sending funds to an address on the wrong network can result in lost funds.

Network type	Blockchains	Address format	Example
EVM	Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Base, Arc	`0x` + 40 hex characters	`0xae13f53f0F85FF0A2245F3c7b6bfaB18e4117b55`
Solana	Solana	32–44 base58 characters	`7EcDhSYGxXyscszYEp35KHN8vvw3svAuLKTzXwCFLtV`
Stellar	Stellar	`G` + 55 characters	`GBXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX`

API and Development

Terms you'll use when building your integration with the Harbor API.

Term	Definition
API key	The secret key that authenticates your requests, sent in the `X-API-KEY` header. See API Keys.
Idempotency key	A unique value sent in the `X-Idempotency-Key` header so a retried request isn't processed twice. See Idempotency.
JSON Schema	A standard format for describing the structure of JSON data. Harbor uses it to describe transfer requirements.
Webhook	A notification Harbor sends to your server when something changes, such as a transfer status update. See Webhooks.