Financial terms beginning with A
13 terms in our plain-English finance glossary starting with the letter A.
- AER — Annual Equivalent Rate
The yearly savings rate with compounding included, used to compare accounts on a like-for-like basis.
- Affordability
Whether you can comfortably afford the repayments — and the check lenders must do.
- Agreement in Principle — AIP
An early, indicative statement of how much a lender might lend you — not a full offer.
- Annuity
A product that turns your pension pot into a guaranteed income for life.
- Anti-Money Laundering — AML
The rules and checks that stop criminals disguising illegal money.
- Appointed Representative
A firm operating under another authorised firm’s FCA responsibility.
- APR — Annual Percentage Rate
The yearly cost of borrowing, shown as a percentage that includes interest and certain fees.
- Arrangement Fee
A charge some lenders make for setting up a mortgage deal.
- Arrears
Money you owe because you have fallen behind on payments.
- ATM — Automated Teller Machine
A cash machine for withdrawing money and basic banking with your card.
- Authorisation
The bank’s approval of a card payment, which reserves the money before it is fully taken.
- Authorised Push Payment Fraud — APP fraud
Being tricked into transferring money yourself — now often reimbursable.
- Auto-Enrolment
The rule that automatically puts eligible workers into a workplace pension.