Savings Jargon Buster

  • Our handy savings jargon buster will help you make sense of all the savings acronyms you’ll see when you open a savings account.

AER

The Annual Equivalent Rate shows what the earnings on your savings would be if interest was paid and compounded once each year.

APRC

APRC (Annual Percentage Rate of Charge) is the total cost of the credit to the consumer, expressed as an annual percentage. You can use this to compare quotes from different leaders as they all have to calculate the APRC in exactly the same way.

Compounding

The process of adding together your savings balance and the interest it has already earned and calculating the interest on the total sum.

Deposit

An amount that you pay into a savings account.

Easy Access Accounts

These accounts allow you to withdraw all or part of your savings either immediately or at short notice (usually without incurring any loss of interest).

Gross Interest

Interest that is paid without any tax being deducted by the Society.

Interest

The income you receive on your savings.

ISA

An ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a savings account that pays interest free from UK income tax.

Minimum Balance (or minimum operating balance)

The minimum balance is the lowest amount you need to maintain in a particular savings account.

Monthly Interest

Where interest is paid on a monthly, rather than an annual basis. the gross p.a. figure will be less than the AER to allow for compounding.

Notice Period

The amount of notice you are required to give before making a withdrawal.

Tax Year

In the UK this runs from 6 April to 5 April every year.

Tiered Interest Rate

As your balance grows the interest rate applicable may increase to a higher rate.

Variable Rate

A rate of interest that can go up or down throughout the lifetime of the savings account.