Banking Vocabulary

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

a run on something PHRASE a time when a lot of people take their money out of a bank at the same time

balance NOUN the amount of money you have in your bank account

bank NOUN belonging to or connected with a bank

bank balance NOUN BRITISH 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 BRITISH a standing order

banking NOUN the work done by banks and other financial institutions, also 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 BRITISH 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

bond NOUN BUSINESS SOUTH AFRICAN an agreement to borrow money to buy a house, or the money that you borrow; a mortgage

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 BRITISH 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, also 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 line NOUN an amount of money that a person or company can borrow from a bank or other financial institution

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 BRITISH 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 AMERICAN 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 BRITISH 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

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

interest NOUN BUSINESS 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

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

lending rate NOUN a percentage that a bank charges a customer who borrows money

Libor NOUN London Interbank Offered Rate: an interest rate at which banks can borrow from one another. It is set daily based on an average of the rates set by major banks around the world

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 BRITISH 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 BRITISH 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 BRITISH 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

robosigning NOUN the practice, especially in financial institutions, of signing large numbers of documents without checking that they are accurate, often done by people without the necessary authority

safe-deposit box NOUN MAINLY AMERICAN 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 BRITISH 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

stress test NOUN ECONOMICS a test used to find out if a bank or other financial institution is likely to fail or have serious problems in a difficult economic situation

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 BUSINESS 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