Financial terms beginning with P
17 terms in our plain-English finance glossary starting with the letter P.
- Packaged Bank Account
A current account with a monthly fee that bundles in insurance and other perks.
- Payday Loan
A small, short-term, high-cost loan — quick to arrange but expensive.
- Payment Holiday
An agreed pause in payments on borrowing — interest usually still adds up.
- Payment Protection Insurance — PPI
Loan/card repayment insurance, notorious for being widely mis-sold.
- Pending Transaction
A payment that is approved and held but has not yet fully left your account.
- Pension Drawdown
Keeping your pension invested and withdrawing from it flexibly in retirement.
- Personal Contract Purchase — PCP
Car finance with low monthly payments and a choice at the end: hand back, buy, or part-exchange.
- Personal Pension
A pension you arrange yourself, boosted by tax relief and invested for retirement.
- Phishing
Fake messages impersonating trusted firms to steal details or money.
- Policyholder
The person who owns and is named on the insurance policy.
- Portfolio
The full collection of investments you hold, viewed as a whole.
- Porting a Mortgage
Transferring your current mortgage deal to a new property when you move home.
- Pound-Cost Averaging
Investing a fixed amount regularly rather than a lump sum all at once.
- Pre-Authorisation
A temporary hold on your card to check funds before the real charge.
- Premium
The amount you pay for insurance cover, monthly or as a yearly lump sum.
- Promotional Rate
A temporary low or 0% rate that reverts to a higher standard rate when it ends.
- Prudential Regulation Authority — PRA
The Bank of England regulator that keeps banks and insurers financially sound.