Glossary
A
Access terms
Access terms set out when you can take money out, whether the balance is locked and what an early closure costs.
Account kind
Account kind is a label that sorts accounts by the way the money is held, which makes comparison cleaner than reading product names alone.
Annual fee
The yearly charge for holding a card or account, set by the provider and separate from interest.
APR
The annual percentage rate is the yearly cost of borrowing written as a single percentage, so two loans can be compared at a glance.
APRC
The single yearly rate that puts a loan or mortgage on the same footing, fees included.
Arrangement fee
An arrangement fee is charged for setting the loan up and falls due whatever rate you end up paying.
Audience
Audience is the group a product is written for, which shapes who can actually open it.
C
Card kind
Card kind separates cards that spend your own money from cards that let you borrow.
Card network
The payment network a card runs on decides where it works and what it plugs into when you pay.
Card type
Card type says whether spending comes straight from your balance or from borrowed money you repay later.
Coins listed
How many digital currencies a brand lets you buy and sell on its app.
Cover limit
The most a policy will pay out for the cover it names.
Credit check
A credit check is the look a lender gives your record before saying yes to a loan.
Credit needed
How strong your credit file has to be before a lender will agree to lend.
Currency conversion fee
What a provider charges for turning your money into another currency, given as a share of the amount.
Custody
Who actually holds and controls your digital assets, you or the company.
D
E
F
Features
The practical extras a product carries, such as multi-currency use, travel use or self-custody.
Fiat deposit methods
The ways you can put ordinary money in, from a bank transfer to a card.
Fixed period
How long the interest rate on a mortgage stays the same before it is reset.
Founded
The year a company started, a rough guide to how long it has been operating.
Free early repayment
Free early repayment means you can pay a loan back sooner without an extra charge.
Funding time
Funding time is the wait between approval and the money landing where you can spend it.
H
I
L
Legal entity
The registered company that stands behind the brand, taken from the imprint or a register.
Lender type
Whether a lender lends its own money or acts as a broker for other lenders.
Loan amount
The loan amount is the sum you borrow, and it fixes both the size of each payment and the total you hand back.
Loan types
The kinds of borrowing a provider offers, from personal loans to credit lines and buy now pay later.
M
Markets
The asset classes a broker lets you trade, from plain shares and ETFs to funds, bonds, options and forex.
Maximum loan to value
The most a lender will lend as a share of the property's value, leaving you to cover the rest.
Minimum deposit
The minimum deposit is the smallest first payment a provider accepts when you open an account.
O
P
Paying monthly
Whether a provider lets you spread the cost across the month instead of settling in one payment.
Perks
The extras a card or account adds on top of the basic service, from lounge access to purchase protection.
Platforms
The apps, sites and terminals a brand gives you to place orders and manage money.
Pricing model
How a provider charges, such as a monthly payment, no monthly fee or low fees.
Product fee
A charge for opening or arranging the product, separate from interest.
Provider type
Provider type says whether a company underwrites the risk itself, sells cover for others, or just compares.
Purpose
A loan's purpose is the reason it was taken out, and lenders set rules for each one.
R
Rate type
Whether the interest rate stays the same or moves with the market while you hold the product.
Regulators
The authorities and registers a provider is named under, which tell you who supervises it.
Representative example
A representative example is a worked loan a lender must publish so you can see the real cost.
Rewards rate
What you get back for spending, as cash, credit or points.
Rewards type
What a card gives back for spending, either cashback or no rewards scheme at all.