Credit Cards Glossary

Term

Description

A

Annual Fee

Some of our products include an annual fee, this is charged automatically on the date the account is opened and will appear on your first statement.  The annual fee will then be charged automatically each year on the anniversary of the account opening date.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

The APR is the amount of interest you'll be expected to pay if you borrow using your credit card.

Additional Card

A card we issue to an additional person nominated by you.

B

Balance Transfer

This is a payment you ask us to make from your Santander Credit Card account to repay or reduce an amount you owe to another credit or store card provider

Balance Transfer Fee

This is a charge for the balance transfer service.

C

Cashback

We will refund a small percentage of each transaction you make to your account whenever you shop in a supermarket, department store or petrol station.  This benefit is only available with the 123 Credit Card.

Credit Limit

Your credit limit is the most you are allowed to borrow on your account.

Credit Reference Agency

Credit reference agencies supply information about people to financial institutions to help them make lending decisions. They also confirm people's addresses and help guard against fraud.

I

Interest Free Period

If you don't have an outstanding balance on your credit card, the interest free period is the maximum time you have to pay new balances before interest charges apply.

M

Minimum Repayment

This is the minimum amount you need to repay each month by a certain date. It's usually based on a given percentage of the total balance.

O

Outstanding Balance

Your outstanding balance is what remains on your account at any time, unless you've cleared the balance and made no further transactions.

P

PIN

The Personal Identification Number is a private number you'll need in order to use your card in cash machines and shops

S

Statement

This is a monthly bill from Santander Cards Limited which summarises your account, including the outstanding balance, new purchases, payments, credits, interest charges, other finance charges and other transactions for the month.

Statement Date

The date your statement is produced.

V

Variable Rate

An interest rate which may change from time to time.