Glossary

APR

This stands for Annual Percentage Rate and is the interest charged on your purchases

Authorized User

A person who is issued with a credit card and has full charging privileges on the main cardholder's account, but is not responsible for the repayment of the balance on the account

Authorization

Approved transactions for which funds have been set aside. Once a transaction is transmitted through the credit card system, the un-posted amount will be replaced by an actual charge. If the charge is cancelled and not processed through the credit card system, the un-posted transaction will be removed from your account approximately 14 days after it was authorized

Annual fee

An annual fee charged by a credit card company for use of a credit card

Available Credit

Your current credit limit less your current outstanding balance and any authorized but un-posted transactions (including Temporary Authorizations).

Balance transfer

A balance transfer is the transfer of (part of) the balance (either money or credit) in an account to another account, often held at another institution

Card issuer

The bank, building society or store whose name is on your card

Chargeback

A charge-back is a transaction returned through a credit card

Cash Advance

The process for obtaining cash through your credit card.

Chip and PIN

Your unique four-figure number which you must use when you spend with your card.

Cash Withdrawal (ATM)

Use your Credit Card and your 4-digit personal identification number (PIN) at hundreds of thousands of ATMs in most countries that display the MasterCard®, Visa® or American Express® logos

Credit limit

The maximum amount you may owe through spending on the card. If you go over this limit, your card may be refused and you may also have to pay extra charges.

Credit rating

This is a scoring system that lenders issue people with to determine how credit worthy they are

Cashback

Cash rebates on purchases made on the card by the card issuer

Currency Account

This is an account that comes in any currency offered by a bank and it could be in AED, GBP, EUR, USD and many more.

Current Account

This is an account type that offers a chequebook facility and is more transactional hence the salary is credited to a current account. This account does not accrue interest in principle except for some banks who offer interest as a bonus.

Debit card

A debit card allows you to make purchases and withdraw cash by using funds from your bank account. These funds are automatically withdrawn from the connected account. They act as an alternative to cash and cheques.

Downpayment

A partial payment made at the time of purchase, with the balance to be paid later.

Deposit Account

This is a type of account where you freeze a certain sum of money for a specific period which is agreed by yourself and the bank and on that basis, you will get interest paid to you at the end of the agreed period. This type of account can be broken before the agreed period, however, banks charge for early deposit upliftment.

Early settlement fee

If a borrower decides to clear the balance of his or her loan earlier than expected, in most cases, the finance provider will charge a penalty fee for doing so. Such fees are applied as a means for the lender to recoup a proportion of the interest that would have been charged over the agreed term of the loan.

Flat rate

Also called as fixed interest rate. This is a very simple method and hence is preferred by many. The percentage of the rate is calculated on the principal amount of the loan, and this is done for the entire time period for which the loan is taken. The interest figure along with the capital is then distributed over the entire repayment period to arrive at the amount of equated monthly installment (EMI). Though this method is very simple, its major drawback is that the impact of the repayment of the capital is not considered at all in the entire interest working.

FX rate

Foreign exchange rate - this is the % fee that the bank charges the cardholder on retail purchases internationally

Grace period

The grace period is the time during which you are allowed to pay your bill without being charged interest rate on the outstanding balance.

Late payment fee

It is fee charged by the issuing institution for late payment of your outstanding balance on your card or load

Main cardholder

The person responsible for the repayment of the account balance. This person is listed first on the account.

Minimum payment

Terms and conditions

These are the terms of the contract signed between you and the issuing institution

Transaction date

The date goods and services are purchased, or the date a cash advance is made.

Travel insurance

Covers you for cancellation, medical care and loss of possessions while on holiday

Underwriting

Where an insurance company takes into account known facts like your age, sex and health, in order to assess the likelihood of you making a claim on the policy

Unsecured

A loan where no collateral or security is given or charged to the lender. Unsecured lending is viewed as higher risk than secured lending and interest rates are generally higher to reflect this.

Valuation

Carried out by a professional surveyor to establish how much a property is worth and whether it is suitable to lend a mortgage on

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