> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bleepay.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Terminology

> Glossary of terms used in the Bleepay protocol and documentation.

Definitions aligned with the Bleepay protocol and patent documentation.

## Core terms

| Term                           | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Payment network                | A network built around centralized and/or distributed nodes that maintains a ledger and allows owning and transferring digitized assets.                                                                                                                                                             |
| Cryptocurrency / digital asset | A digitally native asset used as medium of exchange, store of value, or unit of account on a payment network (e.g. Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins).                                                                                                                                                     |
| Payment                        | A transaction that creates a new entry on the ledger indicating transfer of assets between payer and payee (analogous to a bank transfer within that network).                                                                                                                                       |
| Payer                          | The user or entity that initiates a transaction and authorizes the transfer. Operates a wallet with the necessary credentials (e.g. private key). Only the payer can generate a voucher and authorize its redemption.                                                                                |
| Payee                          | The user or entity that receives the payment. The payee does not need to operate a wallet; they can use a terminal, merchant backend, or other interface to submit the voucher for redemption.                                                                                                       |
| Wallet                         | Software or hardware that holds cryptographic credentials, signs messages/transactions, and interacts with the payment network. In Bleepay, the wallet may also generate vouchers and sign voucher-related messages.                                                                                 |
| Payer's wallet                 | The wallet used by the payer to generate vouchers, receive transaction invoices, and authorize blockchain transactions. It is the only component that can produce signatures binding a voucher to an authorization context.                                                                          |
| Payee interface                | Any interface (POS, merchant system, web, mobile app) through which the payee receives the voucher and initiates redemption. It does not need private keys or signing capability.                                                                                                                    |
| Payment server                 | A network service that coordinates voucher lifecycle: validates generation/retrieval requests, reserves/unreserves voucher codes, manages short-lived session records, and provides transaction objects to the payer for signing. It does not hold private keys or initiate blockchain transactions. |

## Voucher and session

| Term               | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Voucher            | A short-lived, human-readable code or token generated by the payer's wallet and bound to an authorization context. It serves as an ephemeral proxy for payment authorization and can be transmitted without exposing cryptographic material.                                                                  |
| Voucher code       | The literal sequence of digits or alphanumeric characters that uniquely identifies a voucher during its validity period. Entered, spoken, or transmitted to the payee and then submitted to the payment server for redemption. Reserved at generation, unreserved when the session completes.                 |
| Voucher session    | Short-lived state on the payment server that associates a voucher code with the payer's identity and transaction parameters. Exists from voucher generation until the transaction object is retrieved by the payer; then the session is finalized and the code is released.                                   |
| Session record     | The stored representation of a voucher session (e.g. voucher code, session id, TTL, payer binding, context). Does not contain private keys or signed transactions.                                                                                                                                            |
| Transaction object | A structured representation of a transaction produced after voucher redemption (e.g. recipient, asset, amount, network, calldata). Sent to the payer's wallet for signing and then broadcast to the blockchain.                                                                                               |
| Invoice            | The intermediate representation of a transaction request created when the payee redeems a voucher. Produced by the payment server from payee details and the voucher session. The payer fetches, reviews, and authorizes it in the wallet; upon authorization it becomes a signed transaction for settlement. |

## Technical

| Term              | Definition                                                                                                                     |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Smart contract    | Code executed to produce a result (e.g. transfer of funds). Can be on the payment network's ledger or in an external module.   |
| Device / computer | Equipment that processes digital data (e.g. phone, laptop, cloud VM). A user device is under the control of a particular user. |

## Next steps

* [Protocol flow](/home/reference/protocol-flow) — how these terms apply in the sequence of steps.
* [Voucher modes](/home/reference/voucher-modes) — numeric vs alphanumeric codes.