A   B   C   D   E   F   G   I  
L   M   N   O   P   R   S  T   W

A

Account: an amount of money deposited (put) in TheBANK under your name for the purpose of securely and quickly providing access to your money through a variety of methods as in a checking or savings account.

Account Statement: A written or electronic (e-mail or online) record of changes in your account at TheBANK --- statements are received monthly and show a list of additions and subtractions from your account balance.

Automated Teller Machine (ATM): An electronic device or machine used to provide secure access to your account(s) at TheBANK — you can withdraw cash, make deposits, transfer money between your accounts at TheBANK, and check account balances.

ATM Card: A plastic card provided by TheBANK that allows you to have access to your money from an automated teller machine — as in TheBANK's Magic Touch ATM machines.

B

Balance: 1. The amount of money in your account at TheBANK. 2. When your personal records of your account match with the account statement you received from TheBANK.

Beneficiary: Someone who benefits from receiving money from a will, an insurance policy, or a trust fund.

Bounced Check: A check written for an amount that is more than your checking account balance. Bouncing a check has several negative consequences that include fees and negative marks on your credit report or rating — this can make it hard for you to open an account at another bank.

Budget: A method or system used to plan the use of your money for a period of time. A personal budget lists income/earnings/allowance and expenses and financial obligations such as car insurance, clothes, school expenses, and entertainment. A good budget includes saving or investing a portion of income/earnings/allowance.

C

Certificate of deposit (CD): When you purchase a CD from TheBANK you are agreeing to make a specific cash deposit to be held for a specific period -- for which you will earn/receive a specific amount of interest.

Check: A written and signed document that is your promise to pay a specific amount of money to an identified party. The amount of the check will be taken from the balance you have deposited at TheBANK when the check is presented for payment.

Check Register: The written record of the checks you offer as cash, and a list of deposits you make in your checking account. Each month, your checking account statement from TheBANK should match your personal check register.

Checking Account: An agreement that allows you to write a check for payment or cash that will be taken from the deposits you have made at TheBANK.

Commercial Banking: Bank services – loans, deposits and business services – that are offered to business entities and organizations.

Compound Interest: Interest calculated on the original principal that was saved and combined with the interest earned earlier and left in the account.

Compounding: Earning interest on principal saved and on interest already earned.

Credit Bureau: A company that records a person’s credit history. The three U.S. credit bureaus are Equifax Credit Information Services, Experian, and Trans Union Credit Bureau.

Credit Card: A plastic card issued by TheBANK that allows you to borrow money or buy products and services on credit with your signature. Credit cards have a spending limit that is based on your creditworthiness.

Credit History: A record of repayment – lending institutions send information on the loans they provide to several companies to keep as a reference for future lending. Each time you apply for a loan, the lender will check your credit history with these companies. A credit history is also called a credit record or credit profile. You have the right to examine your credit profile.

Credit rating: An established estimate of how risky it is to lend money. Your credit rating will be based on such factors as your income, your history of repaying debt, and your work record.

Credit report: A record of your credit history.

Creditworthiness: An established estimate of a potential borrower's ability to repay a loan.

Creditworthy: Having a favorable credit rating.

Currency: Paper money. Explore the federal government's American Currency Exhibit online and take a virtual tour of the Money Museum.

D

Debit Card: A plastic card issued by TheBANK – called the MagicCheck card – that can used to make purchases. Debit cards immediately and electronically withdraw the purchase amount from your MyiBANK account (or a checking or savings account).

Debt: Any liability in the form of a bond, loan agreement, or mortgage, owed to someone else with the promise of repayment by a certain date.

Default: Failure to follow the terms of a loan agreement by not making payments.

Deposit: 1. Money you place in an account at TheBANK. 2. Money you give as proof of your intention to a seller to buy a piece of property; also called "down payment."

Deposit Insurance: A system that guarantees that people who deposit their money in a financial institution are protected if the institution fails. Depending on the type of account and ownership, this protection totals $100,000 or more. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides this insurance for TheBANK.

Depreciation: A decrease in the value of an asset over time.

E

Endorse: To sign the back of a check made out to you so that you can receive the check amount in cash, or have the check deposited into your account at TheBANK.

Entrepreneur: Someone who starts his or her own business.

Expense: The cost for such things as rent, utilities, and other financial obligations – including your cost for movies, snacks, clothes and music.

F

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): The federal law that promotes accuracy and ensures the privacy of the information in consumer reports and credit histories. The Federal Trade Commission enforces FCRA.

Fair Labor Standards Act: The federal law that sets such rules as those related to child labor, workers' minimum wage and overtime pay.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA): created the Social Security system. The employee and employer both pay a FICA tax on a portion of the employee's annual gross income. This money funds certain government payments, such as for retirement and disability, for you and other workers.

Federal Reserve Bank: One of 12 regional banks that the federal government set up to help regulate the money supply by holding funds in reserve and lending money to member financial institutions. See Federal Reserve System.

Federal Reserve System (Fed): The central banking system of the United States. Among other services, the Fed determines how much money the government needs to make available and help financial institutions operate smoothly and safely.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The agency of the federal government that enforces a variety of federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. In general, the FTC works to help consumers exercise informed choice, such as by eliminating business practices that are unfair or deceptive.

Finance: To pay for something with credit.

Finance Company: A company that raises funds from investors or borrows from a bank to make loans to other individuals and/or businesses.

Fiscal year: An accounting period covering 12 consecutive months. A company's fiscal year is not always the same as the calendar year, which ends on Dec. 31.

G

Grace period: A specified time during which a lender does not charge interest on credit card purchases.

Grant: A kind of financial aid awarded to students based on their financial need. You don't have to repay a grant.

Gross income: 1. For individuals, the amount you earn before payroll deductions are subtracted. Gross income is usually figured in one of two ways: Either by multiplying your hourly wage by the number of hours worked during the pay period, or by dividing your annual salary by the number of pay periods in the year. 2. For businesses, the amount of revenue from product sales minus the cost of producing the products that were sold.

I

Income: Earnings or compensation from a job or an investment.

Income Tax: A payment to federal, state, and local governments based on individual or company earnings.

Individual retirement account (IRA): A special federal program that allows you to delay the payment of income tax on a portion of the money you save, which reduces the amount of tax owed. IRA rules determine how much money you can save under this program, how you can get your savings out, and how much tax you finally pay.

Inflation: A rise in the general price level of goods and services. Inflation is the opposite of deflation.

Interest: An amount paid by TheBANK for the investment use of your money.

Interest Rate: A percentage showing what borrowed money will cost or savings will earn. An interest rate equals interest earned or charged per year, divided by the principal amount, and expressed as a percentage. For example, a 10% interest rate means that it will cost you $10 to borrow $100 for a year, or you will earn $10 for keeping $100 in a savings account (or CD) for a year.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS): the agency of the federal government that's responsible for collecting federal income and other taxes and enforcing the rules of the Department of the Treasury.

Investment: Something of value that you buy, expecting that it will provide income and increase in value.

Investor: Someone who buys an asset for the income it will earn and the increased value it will have in the future.

L

Liability: Something owed to another party. The same item of value can be both an asset and a liability. For example: to the borrower, a loan is a liability because it represents money owed that must be repaid. However, to the lender, a loan is an asset that represents money the lender will receive in the future when the debt is repaid.

Loan: An agreement in which a lender gives money or property to a borrower, who must repay or return it, with interest, at a specified time.

Loan shark: A person who lends people money and charges an extremely high interest rate on the loan. Loan sharks operate secretly, without government regulation, and people who borrow from them have little or no consumer protection.

Loss: The amount by which the purchase price of something (usually an investment) exceeds the selling price.

M

Maturity: The date on which a financial obligation is due to be fully repaid or settled.

Merchandise: Goods for sale.

Merchant: A person who sells goods for profit.

Minimum Wage: The least amount an employer can pay workers, according to the federal government law known as the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some states have different minimum wage standards.

Mint: A government "factory" for making coins. The United States Mints are in Denver, CO and Philadelphia, PA.

Money Market Account: A special type of savings account that makes it easy to invest in short-term securities.

Money Order: A legal document that is a promise to pay the individual or business named on it a specified amount of cash when presented at a financial institution. Money orders are an alternative to paying by check or cash.

Mortgage: A loan to buy real estate.

N

Negotiable: Able to be sold or transferred to another party as payment of an obligation.

Net Income: 1. For individuals, the total earnings minus your required and elective payroll deductions – also called "take-home pay." 2. For businesses, gross income minus all other expenses.

Net Worth: An individual's or company's total assets minus total liabilities.

Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF): The condition in which you don't have enough money in your checking account to pay someone you wrote a check to. Be sure to keep track of your money by balancing your account to avoid any NSF fees.

O

Obligation: A written promise or debt.

Outstanding balance: A loan amount not yet repaid.

Overdraw / Overdraft: To write a check for more money than you have in your account. Be sure to keep track of your money by balancing your account to avoid any overdraft fees.

Overdraft protection: A fee-based line of credit established when a checking account is opened to protect the account holder from bouncing a check. Any checks exceeding the account balance will be paid off the established line of credit to fully clear the check.

P

Pension: A government-approved employee retirement plan.

Personal Identification Number (PIN): A secret code that helps keep others from obtaining access to your credit card or debit card.

Portfolio: All the investments owned by a person or organization.

Principal: 1. The amount borrowed, or the part of the amount borrowed that remains unpaid – not including future interest. 2. The part of a monthly payment that reduces the outstanding balance of a mortgage or other loan. 3. The original investment amount.

Property: Anything you own, an asset.

R

Real Estate: Land, including any buildings or structures on it.

Receipt: A written record of a financial transaction, such as a purchase, loan payment, or ATM transaction.
Resource: Anything that is available to reach a goal, including people, materials, and assets.

Retirement: Withdrawal from an active working life.

Return: The increase in value of an investment over time.

Revenue: Total dollars a business receives for the goods and services it sells.

Roth IRA: An individual retirement account where the contributions are not tax deductible. There is also no tax on the withdrawals as long as the taxpayer is over a specified age and the account has been open for a specified number of years.

S

Salary: Earnings or compensation received for regular periods, usually weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Salary is usually based on duties performed and previously acquired working experience, and not total hours worked.

Savings Account: An agreement in which TheBANK agrees to hold and pay interest on money you've deposited. You may withdraw some or all of your money, but not by writing a check.

Scam: Purposely distorting the truth in order to get someone else to part with something of value. Scams can be small or large operations involving few or many people.

Scam artist: A person who designs or operates a scam.

Scholarship: A kind of financial aid for students who meet special athletic, academic, or artistic qualifications, or who plan to study certain subjects or who belong to certain groups. You don't have to repay a scholarship.

Securities: An investment document that a corporation, government, or other organization issues as proof of debt or equity.

Services: Work a business performs for its customers.

Share: One unit of ownership in a corporation or mutual fund – also called stock.

Shareholder: Someone who owns shares in a corporation or mutual fund. Shareholders earn dividends and typically have the right to vote for members of the board of directors and on other company matters; also known as "stockholder."

Social Security: A program of the federal government that provides workers and their dependents with retirement, disability, and other payments. The money for Social Security payments comes from a tax, usually labeled "FICA" on your payroll check, that employees and employers pay equally.

Statement: 1. The periodic written or electronic (e-mail or online) report of your use of your accounts at TheBANK. 2. A written record of financial information, such as money owed.

Statement Cycle: The time period – generally 30 days – in which information for your statement is processed and generated by TheBANK.

Stock: A document that shows equity in a corporation. Stock represents each shareholder's claim on a part of the company's assets and profits.

Stockholder: Someone who owns stock in a corporation or mutual fund. Stockholders earn dividends and typically have the right to vote for members of the board of directors and on other company matters; also known as shareholder.

Stop Payment: An order or request telling TheBANK not to honor a specific check you have written. Most “Stopping payment orders" involve a fee for the service.

Student loan: A means of borrowing money for education after high school at low interest rates and generous repayment terms from federal government programs.

T

Tax: A payment to federal, state, and/or local governments based on the sales price of a product, on worker income, or on other property and activities.

Trust Fund: Funds set aside for another person's benefit. An individual known as a "trustee" invests the funds and manages the fund account until the beneficiary is eligible to take control of them, usually because of reaching a certain age.

W

W-2 form: A tax form that you get from your employer that reports your wages earned for the year, state and federal taxes withheld (see withholding), and Social Security information. You include a copy of the W-2 form when your file your state and federal tax returns.

W-4 form: A tax form that you get from your employer and fill out to help your employer determine the amount of taxes to withhold from your paycheck (see withholding).

Wage: Payment for work, sometimes used to refer to payment based on hours worked instead of duties performed. (Compare with salary.)

Wealth: Property that is valuable because it could be sold or used to generate income.

Withdraw: To take money out of your account at TheBANK.