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Glossary

ACH 
Stands for Automatic Clearing House. This is a method of transferring funds to or from bank accounts. For consumers this is usually synonymous with Direct Deposit and carries no or very little cost, as opposed to a Wire Transaction which typically carries a $25-$50 cost per transaction. ACH Funds are typically available the next day.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) 
The cost of borrowing funds, expressed as a yearly rate. APR is generally not the same as the contract interest rate.

Credit Bureau 
A company that compiles credit histories, balances, pay off schedules, on consumers that use Credit Cards or other Loan products. Lenders use these Credit Bureaus when making decisions on extending credit. The three major credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. For Personal Loans, Personal Loan lenders typically do not use Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, but instead typically use a service providers like DataX or Teletrac providers that do not show up in the consumer's credit histories.

Debt Collection 
When a consumer defaults on their loan, a lender may attempt to collect the debt using an outside law firm or other means. As a consumer you have rights, to review those rights you can do so here: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection

Debt Consolidation 
When a consumer is unable to meet all their debt repayment obligation, Debt Consolidation is a strategy where the consumer negotiates with the lenders to reduce the interest rate or extend the term of the loan so as to reduce the monthly payment requirements.

Default 
Failure to repay a loan or otherwise meet the terms of a loan agreement. Defaults may result in the lender initiating Debt Collection.

Direct Deposit 
Synonimous with ACH. This is an electronic transfer of funds to a bank account whereby there is no need for a paper check.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act 
A federal law prohibiting lenders from discriminating against applicants for credit.

E-Signature or Electronic Signature 
Electronic signature software binds your signature, or other mark, to a specific document. In June 2000, the U.S. government passed the E-sign bill, which gives electronic signatures the same legality as hand-written ones

Fair Credit Reporting Act 
A federal law giving consumers the right to learn what information credit reporting agencies have on file about them and to dispute any inaccurate data in the file.

Fair Debt Collections Practices Act 
A federal law to protect consumers from any harassing or abusive conduct, the use of false or misleading representations or unfair practices in the collection of debts.

Finance charge 
The cost of credit expressed as a dollar amount.

Fixed interest rate 
An interest rate that does not change over the term of the loan.

Installment loan 
A loan in which the amount of payment and the number of payments are predetermined.

Interest
The amount a lender charges a customer for borrowing money.

Interest Rate 
The rate that lenders charge their borrowers for borrowing money. Usually expressed in terms of percentage per year.

Right of rescission
A borrower's right to cancel a contract within three business days.

Simple interest
Interest computed on the principal balance outstanding as long as any portion remains unpaid.

Truth in Lending Act

A federal law that requires lenders to disclose to the borrower the true cost of a loan, including the actual interest rate and all terms and conditions of the loan, in a manner that is easily understood.

Unsecured loan 
A loan granted based only on the borrower's promise to repay.

Variable interest rate 
An interest rate that changes based on an index, such as the prime rate.