All terms starting with "A": Account Number:
Your account number is a number that uniquely identifies your account with a bank, credit card company, etc. It's one-of-a-kind. For example, the account number on a credit card is the big number embossed on the front of your card. On loans, it can usually be found on your account statement.
Account Setup Fee:
This is a one-time fee that you will get assessed when you are approved for a credit card or loan.
ACH:
This acronym stands for Automated Clearing House, which is an electronic payment network that processes debit and credit transactions in significant quantities. It allows people and organizations to automatically have payments taken out of their bank accounts and electronically transferred to receiving parties. The Federal Reserve Banks collectively represent the largest ACH clearing house in the United States.
Acquiring Financial Institution:
The middleman between a merchant and the credit card company. The acquiring financial institution facilitates credit card transactions between the merchant and the credit card company, so that the merchant is paid when a credit card is used at the merchant's establishment.
Activate:
Most new credit cards need to be "turned on" before they will work. Call the number on the sticker of your new card from your house the day you receive it. You'll be asked to provide another personal identifier (account number, birthday, last four digits of your Social Security number, or the answer to a predetermined question) to prevent the possibility of fraud.
Activation Fee:
As the name suggests, this is a one-time fee that you will get assessed when you activate your new card.
Additional Card Holder:
Someone who has a card in their own name, but shares your account with you. The primary card holder (that's you) is ultimately responsible for all activities and debts on the account.
Adjusted Balance:
A method of calculating your average daily balance, by subtracting all payments made during the billing period and then adding the finance charges. This does not include purchases made during the billing period, which typically makes it the best method of balance determination for cardholders.
Affinity Card:
A credit card offered by a company that isn't generally in the business of offering credit cards: non-profit organizations, universities, airlines, etc. The company markets the card to its members, and the credit-card company partner gives the marketer a small percentage or fee in return. These are also called "co-branded cards."
Agreement:
A legal agreement between a financial institution and yourself. For example, your credit card company will send you a card holder agreement that describes the terms that apply to your card, including the interest rate charged, method of calculating interest, and any transaction fees. Sometimes called Card Holder Agreement, Terms and Conditions, or Disclosures.
Air Miles:
A popular reward program, where cardholders earn a certain number of air miles in exchange for dollars spent on the card holder's account.
Algorithm:
A set process by which data are analyzed. Often used to determine the credit worthiness of a person or business. A financial model that takes a number of variables and inputs and uses those to determine a score. They are used to calculate your credit score, to determine whether you'll be approved for a loan, what your APR on your credit card will be, etc.
Alternative Payment Methods:
Paying for goods and services with something other than cash, such as: credit/debit cards; air miles or other credit card rewards; PayPal; etc.
American Express:
American Express (AmEx) is one of the largest credit card companies and the third largest credit card network after Visa and MasterCard. American Express is also the largest issuer of charge cards.
Amount Due:
If you are current on your credit card payments then the amount due is equal to the minimum monthly payment, which is usually between 2 and 5 percent of your credit card balance. If you are delinquent on your credit card then the amount due is the amount that you need to pay in order to get back into good standing. More specifically, the amount due in this scenario is the sum of all the consecutive minimum payments that you have missed plus the amount of the upcoming minimum payment. For example, if you just missed one minimum payment of $30 and the upcoming minimum payment is another $30 then the amount due will be $60.
Annual Fee:
This fee will get assessed once you get your credit card and then every 12 months after that. Sometimes it is also referred to as Annual Membership Fee (AMF).
Annual Percentage Rate (APR):
The rate on how much money the financial institution charges you on your credit card balance or loan, expressed as an overall percentage of your balance. For example, if your loan has a 10% APR, you will pay $10 annually for every hundred dollars of balance. Usually, different types of credit card transactions have different APRs. One card might have a different APR for cash advances than for purchases or balance transfers. Also, some credit cards appeal to consumers with a low introductory APR; for example, 0% APR on balance transfers (or purchases) for six months.
Application:
The form you must complete in order to apply for credit, be it a credit card, loan, mortgage, etc. You must truthfully answer the questions and then sign the application.
Application Fee:
A one-time fee charged by a financial institution when you submit an application. Sometimes you are charged this fee whether you are approved or not. With credit cards, you are only charged the fee if you are approved.
Approval:
The decision of a financial institution to grant you the credit card or loan you applied for.
Approval Response:
When you swipe your card at a merchant, a request for approval is sent from the merchant to the credit card company / bank. The request is sent and received thru a credit card network (e.g. VISA, MasterCard, etc.). When the credit card company / bank responds with an approval or decline, it sends an 'approval response' or 'authorization response' to the merchant.
Association:
A group of credit-card companies (issuer banks) that determine the terms for cardholders, merchants, and card companies. The four major associations are American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.
ATM Fee:
Whenever you want to withdraw cash from an ATM machine and you do not use a card from the same bank as the ATM you get charged a fee from the owner of the ATM machine. For example, if you use your Citibank debit card on a Bank of America ATM machine, Bank of America will charge you a fee. This fee will be automatically deducted from your Citibank debit card.
ATM Transaction Fee:
Some prepaid cards will charge a fee whenever you use your card to withdraw cash from an ATM machine. This fee is in addition to the fee (i.e. the 'ATM Fee') that you will be charged by the owner of the ATM machine.
Authentication:
The process by which a bank or other organization confirms that you are who you say you are. Common authentication practices include asking for your mother's maiden name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or the number on the back of your credit card.
Authorization:
The process of finding out whether you are allowed to use a specific resource, such as a credit card or bank account.
Authorization Code:
A code sent from a credit card company to a merchant to approve or deny an authorization request.
Authorization Date:
The date and time that an Authorization Response / Approval Response is sent and a credit card transaction is approved.
Authorization Only:
This is a credit-card transaction that reserves a purchase amount (or higher) against a credit card's limit. An authorization only transaction protects a merchant and ensures that the credit card limit is high enough to cover the purchase price.
Authorization Response:
When you swipe your card at a merchant, a request for approval is sent from the merchant to the credit card company / bank. The request is sent and received thru a credit card network (e.g. VISA, MasterCard, etc.). When the credit card company / bank responds with an approval or decline, it sends an 'authorization response' to the merchant.
Authorized Amount:
The approved purchase total for a credit card transaction. Once the transaction is approved, this amount is deducted from the card's available credit.
Authorized Transaction:
A credit card transaction that has been approved between the credit card company and a merchant.
Authorized User:
Someone who is allowed to use credit resources.
Automated Phone Service Fee:
Some prepaid cards might charge you a fee if you call their 1-800 customer support number and just use their automated phone service.
Automatic Payment:
Payment plan you set up with your bank / financial institution, so that they send your minimum payment for your credit cards or other debt sources each month.
Automatic Teller Machine (ATM):
A machine that allows users with credit or debit cards to make banking transactions without going through a bank teller. Typical transactions include depositing money, withdrawing funds, or checking account balances. ATMs are often networked so that users can do their banking at ATMs worldwide.
Available Credit:
Any unused credit on your account. If you have a $4,000 balance on a card with a $5,000 credit limit, your available credit is $1,000.
Average Daily Balance:
The most common way in which credit card companies calculate your interest: by adding each amount owed daily and then dividing that total by the number of days in the billing cycle.