Re: [webpayments] ISO20022 terminology adoption (#93)

Hello Matt,
I have some difficulties with the proposed terminology.
"Agent" is used in 20022 to represent the financial institution, in names as "DebtorAgent" ("Financial institution servicing an account for the debtor.") or "CreditorAgent".
So, using it to describe the Browser does not sound fitted.

"User" is too generic.
Using it to describe the "Shopper" is a bit confusing: why the Merchant or a PSP would not be "users" too ?
I agree there is a need for common vocabulary but standardizing the names is in itself a harsh task, and quite difficult to complete as long as concepts are not totally stabilized.
The big advantage of using words as "Payee" or "Payer" is that any reader can immediately understand the underlining idea. 
For example, the "Payee" may be an Administration, and not a Merchant...A reader can understand that and do on his own the adequate interpretation. If we say that the Payee is necessarily a Merchant, we introduce a restrictive connotation. That is probably why 20022 uses most of the time "Debtor" and "Creditor". But "Payer" and "Payee" are still more adequate than "Debotr" and "Creditor" because we are describing a process where the person who uses his browser to do some shopping is not a debtor until it has completed his payment ! So it is a "Shopper".

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Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub:
https://github.com/w3c/webpayments/issues/93#issuecomment-185159888

Received on Wednesday, 17 February 2016 11:23:30 UTC