Paying less money than the full amount that is due.

When the account's payment due date has passed without sending at least the minimum payment. This can result in late fees and it might even trigger the default APR.

Fee assessed when your credit card or loan payment is received after the deadline (or due date). Late payments may also result in an increase of your Annual Percentage Rate to the Default APR.

When you send a payment to a credit card company, they will use your money to pay off the portion of your debt with the lowest interest rate first. This way, you continue to accrue high interest on the other portion of your debt.

The interest rate assessed on a credit card, which is in default. Penalty APRs are usually above 20 percent and apply to the entire credit card balance. For consumer and student credit cards, you are considered to be in default if you are more than 60 days late in paying your bill. For small business credit cards, the definition of whether you are in default or not varies between credit card companies. For some credit card companies, having missed a payment and/or having gone over-the-credit-limit can be considered as being in default. Some cards have a range for the Penalty APR, the max of which is referred to as a 'Max Penalty APR' and may be applied based on your creditworthiness and other factors. There may also be a different Penalty APR for cash advances, which is referred to as the 'Cash Penalty APR' and is usually higher than the Penalty APR applied to purchases and balance transfers.

Catch-all term for fees associated with delinquent or overlimit credit accounts.

The interest rate described in terms of an amount of time. The monthly periodic rate is the cost of credit per month, or 1/12th of the account's APR.

Some cards have a feature that allows you to place one of your own pictures on the credit card. For example, some people will use this feature to place a picture of their friends, child, significant other, etc. on the plastic of their credit cards.

A type of carding fraud where a criminal withdraws cash from an identity theft victim's line of credit, credit card account, or bank account. Also known as Cashing.

Some prepaid cards will charge a fee whenever you use your card to buy something that requires a PIN in order for the transaction to get approved. In most cases, you can avoid having a PIN-based transaction by selecting the 'Credit' button instead of the 'Debit' button while swiping your card at the store resistar.

The date that a transaction is recorded on your account. Some credit card companies charge interest from the transaction date, others from the posting date.

A prepaid card account is opened by depositing money into an account, much in the same way you would make a deposit to open a checking or savings account. Once you have money in your account, you're issued a prepaid card that can be used anywhere one would use a regular credit card. The best part of the prepaid card is that you do not get in debt. The money is yours and once it's gone, you can't spend any more until you make another deposit. There are no bills and no interest charges. It's the same principle as using a debit card linked to a savings or checking account. You do not build credit by using a prepaid card. However, you'll have most of the advantages of a credit card, and you won't have to worry about interest charges and bills.

The amount owed after the previous month's payments and charges are applied to your current credit card balance.

The interest rate charged by banks for loans to its largest and best-rated customers. The prime rate changes based upon the rate the U.S. Federal Reserve charges to its member banks, and also changes based upon the demand for money. It is a major economic indicator.

This is a one-time fee that you will get assessed when you are approved for a credit card or loan.

A bonus APR offered to new card holders. The intro rate is only good for a set period of time, and at the end of that period (or if you go into default), the APR generally rises to its regular rate.

This is the interest rate that will get assessed on your credit card balance (excluding any balance that you accumulate as a result of any cash advances or balance transfers that you make).