Banking essentials – Vocabulary and Phrases
to open an account/close an account – to have an arrangement between a bank and a customer that allows the customer to pay in and take out money
They were unhappy with service at the bank and closed their account there.
branch – an individual bank, shop, office etc. that is part of a large organization
To talk to one of our specialist financial advisers, just contact your local branch.
current account – is an account held at a bank or other financial institution, for the purpose of secure and quick access to funds on demand.
Your clearing bank will be able to transfer cash directly to and from your current account.
deposit/savings account – a bank account that pays interest, often used for saving money not needed immediately
Before the stock market existed here, the only way for people to manage their money was to put it in a deposit account.
joint account – a bank account that two people can use, for example two people who are married
Although we have a joint account, he is the one who has taken it into overdraft.
interest – an amount paid by a borrower to a lender, for example to a bank by someone borrowing money for a loan or by a bank to a depositor
Any spare cash is best put in a savings account where it will earn interest.
pay off – to pay all the money you owe a person or company
BHC has paid off all its long-term debt.
mortgage – a legal arrangement where you borrow money from a financial institution in order to buy land or a house, and you pay back the money over a period of years. It you do not make your regular payments, the lender normally has the right to take the property and sell it in order to get back their money.
They took out a $100,000 mortgage to pay for the property.
bank statement – a statement sent regularly by a bank to a customer, showing the money that has gone into and out of their account over a particular period of time
Beagle was unaware of these transactions or amounts until it received the bank statement.
banking charges – money paid for the services of a bank
Due to high banking charges we cannot accept credit card payments for amounts under $20.
telephone banking – when customers have an arrangement with a bank to be able to find out by telephone how much money they have in their account, ask for payments to be made, etc.
Our telephone banking system makes it easy to access account information, transfer funds, talk to a telephone banking representative
to check the account balance – to check the difference between the total of all the debit and all the credit entries in an account, which is the amount required to make the two sides of the account equal to each other
When I checked my Account balance today, it is showing that I am ?8 in credit.
Internet banking – a service provided by banks that allows people to pay money from one account to another, pay bills etc over the Internet
With Internet banking, consumers can pay credit card and other bills via personal computer.
building society – an organization providing financial services to customers, especially lending money in the form of mortgages to buy a house or flat and paying interest to savers.
I would have been better off investing in a building society investment account.
to get a windfall – an amount of money that a person or business gets unexpectedly
The group earned a windfall profit on the sale of part of an office building in Paris.
overdraft – an arrangement between a bank and a customer, allowing them to take out more money from their current account than they had in it, or the amount involved
We often reached our overdraft limit because of cash flow problems.
to overdraw – to own the bank money on an overdraft
There is a monthly usage fee of $6 if you overdraw by more than $50.
withdraw – to take money out of a bank account
You can withdraw money using an ATM outside.
withdrawal – the act of taking money from a bank account, or the amount you take out
There are penalties for the early withdrawal of savings.
to take out a loan/money – to arrange to get something officially, especially from an insurance company or a court of law
I'm thinking of taking out a life insurance policy.
account holder – the person who owns the account
It is the account holder's duty to pay the tax for the interest income.
to set up an account – to open an account
We can set up a deposit and savings account for you at this branch.
to fill in an application form – to complete a form
When you have filled in the application form correctly, the application service will generate a filled-out application form and send it to your email.
to make a deposit – to pay into a bank some money, especially to earn interest
If I made a deposit at the ATM, when will it be posted to my account?
ATM – automated teller machine, an electronic machine inside or outside a bank, which customers use by means of a special card and a code number, to take out money and to get information about their accounts
When using the card at an ATM, insert (or swipe) your card and enter your PIN.
the ATM has eaten my card – has taken, confiscated
The ATM ate my card, because there was a two-second loss of electricity while I was in the middle of the transaction.
standing order – an arrangement between a bank and a customer to pay a fixed amount of money regularly from the customer's bank account to another account
Can I set up a standing order, please?
to cash a cheque – to exchange a cheque for cash
Can you cash my traveller's cheques here?
debit card – a plastic card which is used instead of money or a cheque to pay for goods and services. The cost is taken directly from the user's bank account
I was approved this week for a current account and I also received a debit card.
credit card – a plastic card that you can use to buy goods. At the end of each month you pay all or part of the total amount you have spent and interest is charged on any amount not paid
Despite the costs, almost 2 million taxpayers paid with a credit card in 2006, a 36 percent increase over 2005.
night safe – a special container build into the outside wall of a bank into which a customer can put money or documents when the bank is closed
Apartment Details and Keys are placed in a night safe at reception.
foreign exchange – activity of buying and selling currencies
Goldman this year has also made healthy profits in its foreign exchange operations.
safety deposit box – a type of safe usually located in groups inside a bank vault or in the back of a bank or post office. It usually holds things such as jewellery, precious metals, currency, or important documents
Some of your important documents are best kept in a safe deposit box.
to carry out transactions – to do sth as required or specified, to fulfil sth
We can carry out the buying and selling of shares for our clients.
pay money into an account – to make a deposit
She paid the money into the account, clearing the overdraft.