BUSINESS ENGLISH

Banking Vocabulary

term meaning

balance n. the difference between credits and

debits in an account

If you put money in your bank account,

does the balance go up or down?

bank n. money paid to a bank for the bank's

charges services etc

If I withdraw money from an ATM

machine, I have to pay $2.50 in bank
charges.

branch n. local office or bureau of a bank that

customers can visit

Is there a branch of the National Bank

near here?

checkbookU n. book containing detachable checks;

S
chequebookUK
term meaning

If I had my checkbook, I'd pay by

writing you a check.

checkUS n. written order to a bank to pay the

stated sum from one's account;
chequeUK

They promised to send me a check, but

I didn't get it.

credit n. money in a bank a/c; sum added to a

bank a/c; money lent by a bank - also v.

The bank gives her just

enough credit to pay her bills.

credit card n. (plastic) card from a bank authorising

the purchasing of goods on credit

When Kim realized she'd left her credit

card in the ATM machine, she ran back
to get it.

current n. bank a/c from which money may be

term meaning

account drawn at any time; checking accountUS

Current accounts are good for day-to-

day purchases, but you don't get much
interest.

debit n. a sum deducted from a bank account,

as for a cheque - also v.

What was this debit in last month's

expense account for?

deposit n. bank a/c on which interest is paid;

account savings accountUS

What interest rate are you getting for

your deposit account?

fill inUK v. to add written information to a

document to make it complete; to fill
outUS

Please fill in this application form

before seeing the loans officer.
term meaning

interest n. money paid for the use of money lent

- interest rate n.

Why aren't banks paying as

much interest as they used to?

loan n. money lent by a bank etc and that

must be repaid with interest - also v.

You'll have to get a

housing loan before buying a property.

online n. the management of a bank account

banking over the internet - also e-banking

Grandma does her own online banking,

from paying bills to checking her
balance.

overdraft n. deficit in a bank account caused by

withdrawing more money than is paid in

If there isn't enough in my account for a

purchase, I get an automatic overdraft.
term meaning

pay in v. [paid, paid] to deposit or put money in

to a bank account

My salary gets paid in every month,

and then I withdraw it as needed.

payee n. person to whom money is paid

When writing a check, make sure you

spell the name of the payee correctly.

paying-in n. small document recording money

slip that you pay in to a bank account

Do you keep all your paying-in slips?

standing n. an instruction to a bank to make

order regular payments

Ask your bank if they'll pay the rent

by standing order for you.

statement n. a record of transactions in a bank

term meaning

account

I do all my banking online now, so I

don't get statements in the mail.

withdraw v. [-drew, -drawn] to take money out of

a bank account - withdrawal n.

Before ATM machines, we took our

passbooks to a bank
to withdraw money.