General words relating to banking

a/c

abbreviation

account

APR

noun

annual percentage rate: the percentage that a bank makes you pay in interest when you borrow money from it, calculated over a period of one year

balance

noun

the amount of money you have in your bank account

bank

noun

belonging to or connected with a bank

bank balance

noun

the amount of money that you have in your bank account

bank draft

noun

an order to pay someone that is sent from one bank to another bank, usually in a different country

banker’s draft

noun

a bank draft

banker’s order

noun

a standing order 1

banking

noun

the work done by banks and other financial institutions

banking

noun

the activity of paying money into or taking money out of a bank account

bank rate

noun

the rate of interest that banks use to calculate how much interest to charge on money they lend to each other rather than to their customers

bank statement

noun

a document that shows all the money that went into or out of your bank account during a particular period of time

base rate

noun

the rate of interest that banks use to calculate how much interest to charge on money they lend to their customers

BIPS

noun

bank Internet payment system: an electronic system for making payments by moving money directly into a bank account over the Internet

borrower

noun

someone who borrows money from a bank

cardholder

noun

someone who owns a credit card or debit card for buying things with

cashback

noun

money from your bank account that you can get from a shop when you pay for goods with a debit card

CHIPS

noun

clearing house interbank payment system: an electronic system for making international payments in dollars and for changing money from one currency to another

collateral

noun

property that you agree to give to a bank if you fail to pay back money that you have borrowed

commission

noun

an extra amount of money that you have to pay to a bank or other organization when they provide a service for you

credit

noun

an arrangement to receive goods from a shop or money from a bank and pay for it later

credit

noun

an amount of money that you add to an account. An amount of money that you take out of an account is a debit

credit limit

noun

the maximum amount of money that a customer can borrow using a particular credit card account

credit rating

noun

financial information about someone that a bank or shop uses for deciding whether to lend them money or to give them credit

credit transfer

noun

a payment made directly from one bank account to another

debit

noun

an amount of money taken from a bank account

deposit

noun

an amount of money that you pay into a bank account

depositor

noun

someone who pays money into a bank

direct debit

noun

an order to a bank to regularly pay money from your account to a person or organization

direct deposit

noun

an arrangement in which your salary is always put directly into your bank account

discount rate

noun

the rate of interest that a central bank charges another bank that borrows from it

draft

noun

a bank draft

EFTPOS

noun

electronic funds transfer at point of sale: a system of paying for goods by moving money by computer from the customer’s bank account to the account of the company or person they have bought from

interest

noun

money that a person or institution such as a bank charges you for lending you money

interest

noun

money that you receive from an institution such as a bank when you keep money in an account there

interest rate

noun

the percentage that an institution such as a bank charges or pays you in interest when you borrow money from it or keep money in an account

Internet banking

noun

a system that allows you to use the Internet to communicate with your bank, check your account, pay bills etc

lending rate

noun

a percentage that a bank charges a customer who borrows money

Libor

noun

London Interbank Offered Rate: a measurement of the average rate that a group of important London banks charge to lend money to each other for short periods of time

money market

noun

business activities in which banks and other financial institutions make money by lending money to other organizations

mortgage

noun

a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank in order to buy a house. You pay back your mortgage by making monthly payments

night safe

noun

a metal container in the wall of a bank that you can put money into when the bank is closed

online banking

noun

a system that allows you to communicate with your bank on the Internet

overdraft

noun

an agreement with your bank that allows you to spend money when you have no money left in your account

overdraft

noun

the amount of money that someone owes their bank because they have used this agreement

overdrawn

adjective

if you are overdrawn, or if your bank account is overdrawn, you owe your bank money that you have spent when there was no money in your account

passbook

noun

a small book showing the amounts of money that you put into and take out of your account in a building society

paying-in slip

noun

a piece of paper on which you write information when you put money into a bank account

real-time authorization

noun

a system that can check whether a customer’s credit card is acceptable in a few seconds, so that an Internet shop can process an order immediately

safe-deposit box

noun

a safety deposit box

safety deposit box

noun

a small box that is usually kept in a bank, used for storing valuable possessions

saver

noun

someone who regularly puts money in a bank or building society so that they can use it later

savings

noun

money that you have saved in a bank or invested so that you can use it later

savings ratio

noun

a measurement of how much money people in a country are saving, which compares the amount of money they have available to spend with the amount of money they do spend

sort code

noun

a number that is used, for example on cheques, for recognizing the particular office of a bank where someone keeps their account

standing order

noun

an instruction that you give a bank to take a particular amount of money out of your account on a particular day, usually each month, to pay a person or organization for you. A direct debit is a similar arrangement, except that the amount can change and is decided by the person who you are paying.

statement

noun

an official document that lists the amounts of money that have been put in or taken out of a bank account

strongroom

noun

a room, often in a bank, for protecting money and other valuable things from being stolen or burned in a fire

sub-prime

adjective

used to describe lending at a higher than usual rate of interest because it involves borrowers who are less likely to be able to pay back their loan

telebanking

noun

a way of doing business with a bank by using your telephone or computer

telephone banking

noun

banking services provided to customers by telephone

unsecured

adjective

an unsecured loan is money that a bank lends someone without making them promise to give property to the bank if they cannot pay the money back

vault

noun

a strongly protected room in a bank where money, gold etc is kept

withdrawal

noun

the process of taking an amount of money out of your bank account, or the amount of money that you take out

merchant banking

noun

a run on something

a time when a lot of people take their money out of a bank at the same time

in credit

to have more money in an account than the amount that you have taken out

in the black

with money in your bank account, or with more money than you owe