# Glossary
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md

Common terminology in the Mastercard Developers documentation.

## Access Token {#access-token}

After a Partner ID and Partner Secret are authenticated using the Partner Authentication API, an access token key is returned. The token is valid for 90-minutes, after which a new token must be generated. The token is required in the header of every API call to access the Open-Finance platform. See [Authentication](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/onboarding/index.md#authentication).

## Account Aggregation {#account-aggregation}

The process of gathering a customer's account data in real-time after they have given permission to access their accounts in the Connect app. The initial Refresh Accounts API gathers the last 6-months of transaction data from the Financial Institution. Customer accounts are refreshed daily. See [Transaction Aggregation](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/products/transaction-agg/index.md).

## Account ID {#account-id}

A number representing a financial account owned by a customer ID. The account ID is a unique number associated to each type of account the customer owns at a Financial Institution: checking, savings, money market, and more. All data is linked to the customer ID, unless the customer removes their account, or it gets deleted.

## Applications {#applications}

Applications are web or mobile applications developed by you to provide services to your customers. You must register each of your applications with Mastercard so the FIs recognise your product as legitimate to access the consented accounts of your customers.

When creating a [customer](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/access-and-config/customers/index.md) they must be assigned to the application. Each application has a unique set of customers.

## App Key {#app-key}

When you create a project on Mastercard Developers, you will receive a Partner ID, Partner Secret, and App-Key for the Sandbox environment. The App Key is associated with the application you registered with Mastercard. The `App-Key` is a required parameter in the header of every call to access data for the Open Finance platform.

To create the project on Mastercard Developers, log in (if you are not already logged in) by clicking on the *Login* button at the top right of this page, then click the *Create New Project* button at the top right of the *My Projects* page. If you are already logged in, click on the *Projects* button at the top right of this page, then click *Create New Project*.

## Certified Institutions {#certified-institutions}

Financial institutions (FI) are certified based on their accessibility to the Open Finance platform, and the quality of account data with a high rate of performance consistency. The benefit of Certified FI connections is they maintain their system's health status, which helps you leverage our products and consume quality data for your business needs.

FIs can also certify (support) specific products, such as Account Balance, Verification of Income (VOI), and more. If a product isn't supported, then all product related APIs are blocked from fetching any data. See [Certified Institutions](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/financial-institutions/index.md).

## Connect {#connect}

A simple and secure user interface called within your own applications or services. The Connect app allows customers to connect to their Financial Institutions and permission the accounts they consent to share. Mastercard Open Finance APIs can then access the financial and transactional data for a customer. See [Connect Application](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/connect/index.md).

## Connect Events {#connect-events}

Notifications sent to the event listener that you set up through the Web or Mobile SDKs. You can choose which type of events you want to receive. Web SDK Events help monitor the Connect app, such as when it's loaded, canceled, or successfully completed. User Events provide visibility into a customer's actions when using the Connect app, and Route Events provide visibility into customers navigating through the Connect app. See [Connect Events](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/connect/integrating-with-connect/events/index.md).

## Connect Experience {#connect-experience}

A set of features available to change the look and behavior of the Connect app. This flexibility lets you configure different types of experiences, tailored to fit your branding and customer base. The `experience` parameter passed into the Generate Connect URL API loads your customized features when the Connect app starts. See [Configuring the Connect Experience](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/connect/configure-connect-experience/index.md).

## Connect Session {#connect-session}

A session starts when a customer opens the Connect app on their mobile device or through a computer browser. The Connect app guides the user through connecting to their Financial Institutions and permissioning their accounts. You can receive [Connect Events](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md#connect-events) to monitor the Connect app throughout the session. After the customer submits their data, the Connect session ends.

## Consent {#consent}

Consent is when a customer voluntarily gives permission to the data recipient to access and use the customer's financial data for a limited period of time defined by the consent.

The Connect application allows customers to connect to their Financial Institutions and give consent to their savings and other accounts that they consent to share. This allows third parties to access financial data from the consumer's consented accounts. See [Consent](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/consent/index.md).

## Consumer {#consumer}

Consumers are records associated with your customers. A consumer persists as the owner of any reports that are generated for a given customer, even after the customer is deleted from the system. Use the [Consumer APIs](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/access-and-config/consumers/index.md) to create and manage consumers before using the [Report APIs](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/api-reference/index.md).

## Customer {#customer}

Customers are end users granting Mastercard Open Finance access to their financial accounts. Customers go through the [Connect](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md#connect) process to connect to their Financial Institutions and grant [consent](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md#consent) to sharing their account data. All of the customer's financial data is linked to their unique customer ID. See [Customers](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/access-and-config/customers/index.md).

## Customer ID, Testing {#customer-id-testing}

A unique ID associated with a testing customer ID. Testing customers can only access the financial data from [FinBanks](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md#finbanks) using the testing profiles on the [Test Profiles](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/integration-and-testing/test-the-apis/index.md) page. This allows you to test your applications in a live Open Finance environment before moving your project to production. To create your first test customer, see [Quick Start Guide](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/quick-start-guide/index.md).

## FinBanks {#finbanks}

A set of testing Financial Institutions (mock banks) that allows you to simulate data transactions at a live Financial Institution, using a testing customer ID. A few new data transactions are added to FinBanks daily to allow for different data test results. You must upgrade to a paid plan before you can add real customer IDs at a live Financial Institution. See [Test Profiles](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/integration-and-testing/test-the-apis/index.md).

## Partner {#partner}

A company or individual who owns a Mastercard Developers account and has created at least one Open Finance project. Every project receives a unique Partner ID, Partner Secret, and App Key, which is used to authenticate your credentials and identify your applications.

## Sandbox {#sandbox}

An environment where you create a new Open Finance project to test your applications. You'll have access to testing Financial Institutions, [FinBanks](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/glossary/index.md#finbanks), and profiles for various use case scenarios. You can also integrate with the Open Finance APIs in a live environment. See [Quick Start Guide](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/quick-start-guide/index.md) and [Test Profiles](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/integration-and-testing/test-the-apis/index.md).

## Test Drive {#test-drive}

By default, when you create an account on Mastercard Developers (Sandbox environment) you are on the Test Drive plan. You can test your applications with all Open Finance APIs on our platform free of charge, using a testing customer ID. You must upgrade to a paid plan before you can access data at a live Financial Institution. See [Test Profiles](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/integration-and-testing/test-the-apis/index.md).

## Test Profiles {#test-profiles}

A variety of different use case scenarios used to test your applications on the Open Finance platform in a live environment. See [Test Profiles](https://developer.mastercard.com/open-finance-au/documentation/integration-and-testing/test-the-apis/index.md).