FinSight AIGeneral information, not advice. This guide explains how things usually work so you can understand your own documents. It is not financial, legal, tax or pension advice and does not tell you what to do. Rules differ by country and change over time: check the official sources linked here, or speak to a free, impartial service or a regulated adviser.
A–Z
- Account number
- Your unique reference with a company or bank. Quote it in every call or letter.
- Annual fee
- A yearly charge for having a product, such as some credit cards or bank accounts.
- APR
- Annual percentage rate: the yearly cost of borrowing, including interest and most fees. See APR explained.
- Arrears
- Payments you have missed and now owe.
- Back-billing
- A catch-up bill for something you used a long time ago, often after estimated readings.
- Balance
- What is in your account, or what you owe on a bill, card or loan.
- Billing period
- The dates a bill covers.
- Compound interest
- Interest charged on interest that has already been added.
- Contribution
- Money paid into a pension, by you, your employer, or as tax relief.
- Credit (on a bill)
- “In credit” or “CR” means the company owes you money.
- Credit report / credit score
- A record of how you have borrowed and repaid, used by lenders to decide whether to lend to you.
- Deadlock letter
- A letter from a company saying it won't change its answer to your complaint. You can usually then go to an ombudsman.
- Defined benefit pension
- A pension that promises an income based on your salary and years of membership.
- Defined contribution pension
- A pension “pot” that is invested. What you get depends on what goes in, investment performance and charges.
- Direct Debit
- Permission for a company to take varying amounts from your bank account. Protected in the UK by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
- Due date
- The date a payment must reach the company to avoid late fees.
- Early termination fee (exit fee)
- A charge for leaving a contract before its end date.
- Estimated reading
- A meter reading guessed by the supplier, often marked “E”.
- Fixed tariff / fixed rate
- A price that stays the same until a set end date.
- Interest
- The cost of borrowing money, or what you earn on savings.
- kWh (kilowatt-hour)
- The unit energy is measured and charged in.
- Minimum payment
- The smallest amount you must pay on a credit card each month.
- Ombudsman
- A free, independent service that settles complaints between customers and companies.
- Out of contract
- When a fixed deal has ended and you are on the company's standard, often higher, price.
- Overdraft
- Borrowing from your bank by spending more than is in your current account.
- Pending transaction
- A card payment that has been approved but not yet fully processed.
- Pension pot
- The money built up in a defined contribution pension.
- Projected income
- An estimate of what a pension might pay each year in future, based on assumptions. Not a promise.
- Pro rata
- Charged in proportion, for example only for the days you had a service.
- Standing charge
- A fixed daily charge on an energy bill for being connected.
- Standing order
- A fixed regular payment you set up from your bank account.
- Tariff
- The name of your price plan with an energy, phone or broadband company.
- Transfer value
- What a pension would be worth if moved to another scheme.
- Unit rate
- The price for each unit you use, such as each kWh of electricity.
- VAT / sales tax
- Tax added to the price of goods and services.
- Vesting
- When employer pension contributions become fully yours, sometimes after several years of work.