Domain names are used to identify one or more IP addresses.

For example, the domain

name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to
identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URLhttp://www.pcwebopedia.com/index.html, the
domain name ispcwebopedia.com.
Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top level domain (TLD) it belongs to. There are
only a limited number of such domains. For example:
 gov - Government agencies
 edu - Educational institutions
 org - Organizations (nonprofit)
 mil - Military
 com - commercial business
 net - Network organizations
 ca - Canada
 th - Thailand
Because the Internet is based on IP addresses, not domain names, every Web server requires
a Domain Name System (DNS) server to translate domain names into IP addresses.

Insurance Domain Knowledge

I) What is Insurance?

Insurance is a form of risk management in which the insured transfers the

cost of potential loss to another entity in exchange for monetary
compensation.

Insurance allows individuals, businesses and other entities to protect

themselves against significant potential losses and financial hardship at a
reasonably affordable rate.

II) Types of Insurance:

1) Life Insurance:

Life insurance protects an individual against death. If you have life

insurance, the insurer pays a certain amount of money to a beneficiary
upon your death. You pay a premium in exchange for the payment of
benefits to the beneficiary.

2) Health Insurance:

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of

an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses.
3) Vehicle Insurance:

a) Commercial Auto Insurance:

Commercial auto insurance protects a company’s vehicles. You can

protect vehicles that carry employees, products or equipment. With
commercial auto insurance you can insure your work vehicles.

b) Personal Automobile Insurance:

Another very important type of insurance is auto insurance. Automobile

insurance covers all road vehicles (trucks, cars, motorcycles, etc.). Auto
insurance has a dual function, protecting against both physical damage
and bodily injury resulting from a crash, and also any liability that might
rise from the collision

4) General Liability Insurance:

Every business, even if home-based, needs to have liability

insurance. The policy provides both defense and damages if you, your
employees or your products or services cause or are alleged to have
caused Bodily Injury or Property Damage to a third party.

5) Property Insurance:

If you own your building or have business personal property, including

office equipment, computers, inventory or tools you should consider
purchasing a policy that will protect you if you have a fire, vandalism,
theft, smoke damage etc…

6) Worker’s Compensation:

Worker’s compensation provides insurance to employees who are injured

on the job. This type of insurance provides wage replacement and medical
benefits to those who are injured while working.

7) Professional Liability Insurance:

This type of insurance is also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance.

The policy provides defense and damages for failure to or improperly
rendering professional services.

8) Directors and Officers Insurance:

This type of insurance protects the directors and officers of a company

against their actions that affect the profitability or operations of the
company.

Note: Some other types of insurance also there ex: Travel Insurance,
Education Insurance, Agricultural crop Insurance etc...

III) Insurance Software

End-to-end insurance management system that supports the entire

insurance policy lifecycle of any Insurance Company.

1) Insurance Certificate Issuance Software

Certificate Issuance Software Functionality

• Automatic rating eliminates errors and saves certificate preparation

and premium calculation time.

• Generates and tracks the issuance of all types of marine insurance

certificates with duplicate printing controls.

• Provides 3rd party certificate verification.

• View policy information and other documentation online.

• Ensures compliance to policy limits and conditions including

government regulatory bodies.

• Cross-references to the US OFAC list, FBI Most-Wanted and Interpol

ensuring certificates are not issued to restricted parties.

• Automated referral workflow and escalation process for out-of-

coverage shipments.

• Generates reports on premium and loss.

• Template functionality simplifies certificate generation for repetitive

shipments.

• Quote Request functionality streamlines the processing of quotes for

special case shipments.

• Multilingual issuance in multiple formats with built-in flexibility for

Letters of Credit.

• Print draft and read-only PDF format.

2) Insurance Claims Software

Insurance Claims Software Functionality

Capture First Notice of Loss

• Validates data against the policy

• Captures specific data elements to facilitate integration

• Automatic multi-level email notifications

• Escalating alerts for unacknowledged loss reports

Build the Claim File

• Capture all relevant shipment information

• Track reserves, expenses, indemnities, salvage and recoveries

• Record unlimited text notes from multiple users

• Upload and store related files of all types (e.g. survey reports, bills of
lading)

• Generate template-based correspondence (e.g. acknowledgement

letters, subrogation)

Integrate with External Systems

• Standardized XML message structures and custom adapters that

match specific workflows and external system requirements

• Imports Excel Spreadsheets Without Programming

• Multiple transport protocols (MQ Series, MSMQ, VPN, Web Services,

FTP, HTTP, SMTP)

• Link to in-house claims adjustment systems as well as to 3rd party

systems

Provide Status Updates to Claimants

• View claim status at any time

• Upload documents and messages

3) Declaration Management Functionality

• Customizable screens and workflow enable the recording of all data

elements and coverage specific risk information for all types of
declarations including turnover declarations, property declarations,
location or geographic declarations, bulk declarations, etc...

• Monitoring of periodical declarations with automated notifications

when reports are overdue based on frequency of reporting expected by
the policy

• Ability to validate declaration details and calculate premium per

declaration or schedule line item

o Calculate all premiums, taxes, commissions and any other

applicable fees based on a configurable rating engine
o Validate all data entered as user progresses through the workflow
to trigger warnings, referrals, compliance notifications and other workflow
events
o Triggering of applicable insuring conditions, warranties, exclusions
or other wordings from a clause library or form database

• Generation of all declaration documentation including inventory forms,

bordereaux, invoices or certificates

• Plug-in integration points with 3rd party data providers and rating
engines

• Built-in Business Intelligence for analysis of risk exposure and

aggregations based on actual exposures derived from reported values in
the declarations modules as compared to total exposure/policy limits

• Comprehensive out-of-the-box Marine Insurance functionality for

shipment and storage declarations

4) Insurance Agent Portal Software

Agent Portals Features

• Workflow management determines the business rules for Straight-

Through-Processing and the rules by which business is referred to specific
underwriters.

• Personalized portal welcome screen and co-branding for each agent

• Complete Quote-Bind-Issue workflow for multiple insurance products

• Process bordereaux declarations from Excel, ACORD XML, etc.

• Process endorsements from end to end with pro-rata premium

calculation

• Process renewals with notification & alerts

• Access invoices and commission statements instantly

• Receive first notice of loss and track claim status

• Control functionality and access rights for each agent with

decentralized user management

• Deliver multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-currency support to

your agents around the globe

• Manage decentralized users using role-based access security

Insurance Billing Functionality

• Automatically generates premium invoices in PDF format, Excel or

through an internal accounting system which is then delivered by email
based on specific client/policy rules and billing dates.

• Automatically calculates adjustments for storage and shipment

declarations.

• Records individual premium bookings and miscellaneous charges.

• Calculates charges and taxes based on specific countries associated

with the risk and the assured.

• Calculates TRIA premiums and numerous government and internal

charges against premiums.

• Provides billing period reports, including commissions and taxes

associated with each policy.

• Tracks accounts receivable; management system has the ability to

query into individual invoices, payments and shipments.

• Supports Direct Bill and Agency Bill Invoice methods.

• Produces monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually branded
invoices for brokers and underwriters for selected policies and present line
item details.

• Choose to record payments against these invoices per line item or on

complete invoices.

5) Policy Administration System

Policy Administration Software Functionality

• Customizable screens and workflow enable the recording of all data

elements and coverage specific risk information for all lines and all
transaction types... all without programming

• Transaction workflows for new business, renewals (including

automated renewals), endorsements (including out-of-sequence
endorsements), cancellations, and reinstatements.

• Rating and underwriting rules engine is easy to configure, allowing

you to:

o Calculate all premiums, taxes, commissions and any other

applicable fees based on a configurable rating engine
o Validate all data entered as user progresses through the workflow
to trigger warnings, referrals, compliance notifications and other workflow
events
o Trigger applicable insuring conditions, warranties, exclusions or
other wordings from a clause library or form database
o Generate all quote and policy documents based on intuitive MS-
Word templates

• Underwriters benefit from a standardized quoting process enhanced

through on-line collaboration and messaging. Working with broker portals,
our policy-administration system can deliver fully automated quote-bind-
issue functionality to brokers, agents and clients out in the field.

• A wide range of billing and invoicing methods, including a powerful

tax calculation engine to support centralized management of multinational
programs.

• Plug-in integration points with 3rd party data providers, rating

engines and integration with Business Intelligence for reporting. Native
support for ACORD standards.
6) Policy Issuance Software

Insurance Document Software Functionality

• Create and maintain insurance document templates using MS-Word.

• Quickly and easily build business rules within the insurance document
without any programing.

• Use business rules to determine which documents can be issued and

when.

• Generate documents in editable docx format or as a secure PDF,

combine multiple forms within a single PDF, or make each document
available for separate issuance.

• Maintain a library of industry clauses that can be pulled into issued

documents.

• Automatically generate and/or e-mail insurance documents based on

the transaction type or triggered by a workflow event.

• Preview generated insurance documents which, once accepted, are

automatically stored with the policy, for on-demand retrieval and review.

7) Underwriter Workstation Functionality

• Submission queues, task management, diaries and reminders help

underwriters stay on top of your business.

• Rating engine that calculates all premiums by coverage and tracks or

validates the variance from standard or guideline rates when overriding
rating or applying discretionary factors

• Generation of all quote and policy documents based on intuitive MS-

Word templates

• Built-in collaboration tools and e-mail correspondence to improve

communication with agents and other parties.

• The underwriter workstation records a history of all communications,

documents, activities and more, providing a full audit trail for internal and
reporting purposes.

• Validation and enforcement of underwriting authority with escalation

and collaboration to resolve blocks
• The underwriter workstation seamlessly pulls data from third-party
providers for inclusion in the underwriting process.

8) Insurance Reporting & Analysis

Insurance Reporting Functionality

• Real-time alerts of important events through dashboards and email

notification

• Access to vital metrics for decision making

• Review of workflow controls and exceptions for system maintenance

and audit

• User customized dashboards displaying KPI data for exception

management

• Ad hoc reporting flexibility and scheduling for up to the minute vital

data sharing across the organization, with minimal training or IT
requirements

• User-defined queries and business reports can be prompted to a

professional authoring environment for further formatting and distribution

• Multiple report outputs (Screen, Excel, PDF) can be stored, edited and
shared

• Profit & loss by broker, product, coverage & year

• Insurance analysis of submission-quote success ratio to help guide

underwriting

• Detailed and searchable audit trail of all changes

• Automatic filters allowing individual users to utilize reporting features

without accessing unauthorized data

IV) Important Terms in Insurance Domain:

Accidental Death Benefit - In a life insurance policy, benefit in addition

to the death benefit paid to the beneficiary, should death occur due to an
accident.
Agent -individual who sells and services insurance policies.

Annual Administrative Fee - Charge for expenses associated with

administering a group employee benefit plan.

Annuity - An agreement by an insurer to make periodic payments that

continue during the survival of the annuitant(s) or for a specified period.

Approved for Reinsurance - Indicates the company is approved (or

authorized) to write reinsurance on risks in this state.

Assets - Assets refer to "all the available properties of every kind or

possession of an insurance company that might be used to pay its
debts."

Automobile Liability Insurance - Coverage if an insured is legally liable

for bodily injury or property damage caused by an automobile.

Balance Sheet - An accounting term referring to a listing of a company's

assets, liabilities and surplus as of a specific date.

Benefit Period - In health insurance, the number of days for which

benefits are paid to the named insured and his or her dependents.

Broker - Insurance salesperson that searches the marketplace in the

interest of clients, not insurance companies.

Capital - Equity of shareholders of a stock insurance company. The

company's capital and surplus are measured by the difference between its
assets minus its liabilities.

Capitalization or Leverage - Measures the exposure of a company's

surplus to various operating and financial practices.

Case Management - A system of coordinating medical services to treat a

patient, improve care and reduce cost.

Casualty - Liability or loss resulting from an accident.

Claim - A demand made by the insured, or the insured's beneficiary, for

payment of the benefits as provided by the policy.

Collision Insurance - Covers physical damage to the insured's automobile

resulting from contact with another inanimate object.

Commercial Lines - Refers to insurance for businesses, professionals and

commercial establishments.

Commission - Fee paid to an agent or insurance salesperson as a

percentage of the policy premium.

Coverage - The scope of protection provided under an insurance policy.

Coverage Area - The geographic region covered by travel insurance.

Death Benefit - The limit of insurance or the amount of benefit that will be
paid in the event of the death of a covered person.

Dividend - The return of part of the policy's premium for a policy issued
on a participating basis by either a mutual or stock insurer.

Earned Premium - The amount of the premium that as been paid for in
advance that has been "earned" by virtue of the fact that time has passed
without claim.

Exclusions - Items or conditions that are not covered by the general

insurance contract.

General Account - All premiums are paid into an insurer's general

account.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement - Owners of high-deductible health

plans who are not qualified for a health savings account can use an HRA.

Health Savings Account - Plan that allows you to contribute pre-tax

money to be used for qualified medical expenses.

Income Taxes - Incurred income taxes (including income taxes on capital

gains) reported in each annual statement for that year.

Insurable Interest - Interest in property such that loss or destruction of

the property could cause a financial loss.

Investment Income - The return received by insurers from their

investment portfolios including interest, dividends and realized capital
gains on stocks.

Liability - Broadly, any legally enforceable obligation. The term is most

commonly used in a pecuniary sense.

Liquidity - Liquidity is the ability of an individual or business to quickly

convert assets into cash without incurring a considerable loss.
Loss Ratio - The ratio of incurred losses and loss-adjustment expenses to
net premiums earned.

Medical Loss Ratio - Total health benefits divided by total premium.

Member Month - Total number of health plan participants who are

members for each month.

Mortgage Insurance Policy - In life and health insurance, a policy covering

a mortgagor with benefits intended to pay off the balance due on a
mortgage upon the insured's death, or to meet the payments due on a
mortgage in case of the insured's death or disability.

Net Income - The total after-tax earnings generated from operations and
realized capital gains.

Net Premium - The amount of premium minus the agent's commission.

Also, the premium necessary to cover only anticipated losses, before
loading to cover other expenses.

Peril - The cause of a possible loss.

Personal Injury Protection - Pays basic expenses for an insured and his or
her family in states with no-fault auto insurance.

Personal Lines - Insurance for individuals and families, such as private-

passenger auto and homeowners insurance.

Policy - The written contract effecting insurance, or the certificate thereof,

by whatever name called, and including all clause, riders, endorsements,
and papers attached thereto and made a part thereof.

Premium - The price of insurance protection for a specified risk for a

specified period of time.

Renewal - The automatic re-establishment of in-force status effected by

the payment of another premium.

Risk Management - Management of the pure risks to which a company

might be subject.

Secondary Market - The secondary market is populated by buyers willing

to pay what they determine to be fair market value.

Separate Account - A separate account is an investment option that is

maintained separately from an insurer's general account.

Stop Loss - Any provision in a policy designed to cut off an insurer's

losses at a given point.

Surplus - The amount by which assets exceed liabilities.

Term Life Insurance - Life insurance that provides protection for a

specified period of time.

Total Annual Loan Cost - The projected annual average cost of a reverse
mortgage including all itemized costs.

Umbrella Policy - Coverage for losses above the limit of an underlying

policy or policies such as homeowners and auto insurance.

Underwriter - The individual trained in evaluating risks and determining

rates and coverages for them.

Underwriting - The process of selecting risks for insurance and

classifying them according to their degrees of insurability so that the
appropriate rates may be assigned.

Unearned Premiums - That part of the premium applicable to the

unexpired part of the policy period.

Utilization - How much a covered group uses a particular health plan or

program.

Variable Life Insurance - A form of life insurance whose face value

fluctuates depending upon the value of the dollar, securities or other
equity products supporting the policy at the time payment is due.

Whole Life Insurance - Life insurance which might be kept in force for a
person's whole life and which pays a benefit upon the person's death,
whenever that might be.
-------------------------------------------
Banking Domain
 Banking Domain Knowledge for Testers

Banking Domain Knowledge for Software Engineers

What is Domain?

It is an area, IT industry point view it is project's business area, example:

BFSI, ERP, ECommerce, Healthcare, Telecom and Retail Market etc…

Domain Knowledge
It is knowledge about a specific field of interest/subject. Considering a
software Development case, domain knowledge is knowledge about the
environment in which the target system operates.

Banking Domain:

A bank is a business; banks sell financial services such as Vehicle loans,

home mortgage loans, business loans, checking accounts, credit card
services, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts etc...

Some people go to banks in search of a safe place to keep their money.

Others are seeking to borrow money to buy a house or a car, start a
business, expand a farm, pay for college, or do other things that require
borrowing money.

Where do banks get the money to lend?

They get it from people who open accounts. Banks act as go-betweens for
people who save and people who want to borrow. If savers didn’t put
their money in banks, the banks would have little or no money to lend.

Types of Banks:

a) Saving Banks

Saving banks are established to create saving habit among the people.
These banks are helpful for salaried people and low income groups. The
deposits collected from customers are invested in bonds, securities, etc.
At present most of the commercial banks carry the functions of savings
banks. Postal department also performs the functions of saving bank.
b) Commercial Banks

Commercial banks are established with an objective to help businessmen.

These banks collect money from general public and give short-term loans
to businessmen by way of cash credits, overdrafts, etc. Commercial banks
provide various services like collecting cheques, bill of exchange,
remittance money from one place to another place.

c) Industrial Banks

Industrial or Development banks collect cash by issuing shares &

debentures and providing long-term loans to industries. The main
objective of these banks is to provide long-term loans for expansion and
modernization of industries.

d) Land Mortgage Banks

Land Mortgage or Land Development banks are also known as Agricultural

Banks because these are formed to finance agricultural sector. They also
help in land development.

e) Central / Federal / National Bank

Every country of the world has a central bank. In India, Reserve Bank of
India, in U.S.A, Federal Reserve and in U.K, Bank of England. These
central banks are the bankers of the other banks. They provide
specialized functions i.e. issue of paper currency, working as bankers of
government, supervising and controlling foreign exchange. A central bank
is a non-profit making institution. It does not deal with the public but it
deals with other banks. The principal responsibility of Central Bank is
thorough control on currency of a country.

f) Co-operative Banks

Co-operative banks generally give credit facilities to small farmers,

salaried employees, small-scale industries, etc. Co-operative Banks are
available in rural as well as in urban areas. The functions of these banks
are just similar to commercial banks.
g) Exchange Banks
These banks are mainly concerned with financing foreign trade.
Following are the various functions of Exchange Banks:-
1. Remitting money from one country to another country,
2. Discounting of foreign bills,
3. Buying and Selling Gold and Silver, and
4. Helping Import and Export Trade.
h) Consumers Banks

Consumers bank is a new addition to the existing type of banks. Such

banks are usually found only in advanced countries like U.S.A. and
Germany. The main objective of this bank is to give loans to consumers
for purchase of the durables like Motor car, television set, washing
machine, furniture, etc. The consumers have to repay the loans in easy
installments.

Types of Bank Accounts

Savings accounts:

They are for people who want to keep their money in a safe place and
earn interest at the same time. We don’t need a lot of money to open a
savings account.

Certificates of deposit:

They are savings deposits that require you to keep a certain amount of
money in the bank for a fixed period of time. Usually banks charge a
penalty if we withdraw our money early.

Individual retirement accounts: They are savings deposits that offer an

excellent way to save for our later years.

Checking accounts or Current accounts:

They offer safety and convenience. We keep our money in the account
and write a check when we want to pay a bill or transfer some of our
money to someone else. Banks sometimes charge a fee for checking
accounts, many banks also offer no-fee checking and checking accounts
that earn interest if you agree to keep a certain amount of money—a
minimum balance—in the account.

Money market deposit accounts:

They are similar to checking accounts that earn interest, except that they
usually pay a higher rate of interest and require a higher minimum
balance.
 Types of Loans

Personal Loans

Personal Bank Loans are the credits which a bank offers to its customer to
meet his instant personal requirements ranging from home renovation to
purchasing of new laptop, a getaway with family or for reimbursing the
credit card liabilities, for buying a new car or for child's education, etc.
Personal loan simplifies the cash flow of the customer besides handling its
immediate needs.

Home Loans

Almost everyone will require a home loan if they are looking to buy a
house of their own. In fact providing that we can afford it, getting a home
loan is one of the best investment decisions that we can make.

Tax Benefits on Home Loans:

Any person who opts for home loan is entitled for tax benefits under
Income Tax Act, 1961 on principal and the interest amount in the form of
deductions from the chargeable earnings.

Bank Loans against Property:

Property Loan or Loan against property is a kind of loan which is allowed

by the bank on the condition of keeping the customer's current assets as
a security with them. These loans are very useful when other resources of
financing get exhausted.

Business Loans:

Before starting a business, the entrepreneur should be mentally and

financially prepared to encounter the fiscal setbacks during the process.
To bail the companies out from the fiscal crunch, several banks in India
offers business Loans both for meeting urgent official growth and
expenses. Other details of Business Loans offered by Banks in India are:

Car Loans:

Every individual want to own a car. Hence, the need for car loans
emerges at some point or the other. While selecting a car loan it is always
wise to scrutinize the various options accessible in the market besides
analyzing its fiscal suitability.

Education Loans

Education Loans offered by various banks in India provide much required

assistance to fund your child's education when all other resources of
finance get exhausted. Education Loans are offered by almost every
Indian bank thus providing ample opportunity to students to undergo
higher education both in India and abroad.

Types of Deposits

a) Savings account -

These are the simplest of deposits. We deposit money into our account
and we can withdraw it anytime. There would be a small limitation on the
number of times we can withdraw money from our account.

b) Current account -

These are similar to Savings accounts with two small differences. One is,
the money in a current account does not earn interest and two is, you can
withdraw any number of times. This account is for business people who
would have high number of transactions in one single day.

c) Fixed Deposit -

This is a deposit product where we deposit a certain sum of money with

the bank for a specific duration of time. As per the deposit agreement we
are expected to let the money be with the bank based on the deposit
tenure. Hence the interest offered on such deposits is higher than normal
deposits. Also we will attract a penalty charge for pre-closing such
deposits

d) Recurring Deposits -

These are similar to fixed deposits with a difference being, you deposit a
small amount of money every month into this account for a specified
duration of time and the bank would compound the interest every month
and pay you in lump at the end of the tenure.
 Banking Terms:

Account Holder:

Any person designated and authorized to transact business on behalf of

an account. Each account holder's signature needs to be on file with the
bank. The signature authorizes that person to conduct business on behalf
of the account.

Affidavit:
A sworn statement in writing before a proper official, such as a notary
public.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR):

The cost of credit on a yearly basis, expressed as a percentage.

Application:
An oral or written request for an extension of credit that is made in
accordance with the procedures established by a creditor for the type of
credit requested.

Appraisal:
The act of evaluating and setting the value of a specific piece of personal
or real property.

Automated Teller Machine (ATM):

A machine, activated by a magnetically encoded card or other medium,
that can process a variety of banking transactions. These include
accepting deposits and loan payments, providing withdrawals, and
transferring funds between accounts.

Automatic Bill Payment:

A checkless system for paying recurring bills with one authorization
statement to a financial institution. For example, the customer would only
have to provide one authorization form/letter/document to pay the cable
bill each month. The necessary debits and credits are made through an
Automated Clearing House (ACH).

Available Balance:
The balance of an account less any hold, uncollected funds, and
restrictions against the account.

Balance Transfer:
The process of moving an outstanding balance from one credit card to
another. This is usually done to obtain a lower interest rate on the
outstanding balance. Transfers are sometimes subjected to a Balance
Transfer Fee.

Bank Statement:
Periodically the bank provides a statement of a customer's deposit
account. It shows all deposits made, all checks paid, and other debits
posted during the period (usually one month), as well as the current
balance.

Business Day:
Any day on which offices of a bank are open to the public for carrying on
substantially all of the bank's business.

Cashier's Check:
A check drawn on the funds of the bank, not against the funds in a
depositor's account. However, the depositor paid for the cashier's check
with funds from their account. The primary benefit of a cashier's check is
that the recipient of the check is assured that the funds are available.

Certificate of Deposit:
A negotiable instrument issued by a bank in exchange for funds, usually
bearing interest, deposited with the bank.

Check:

A written order instructing a financial institution to pay immediately on

demand a specified amount of money from the check writer's account to
the person named on the check or, if a specific person is not named, to
whoever bears the check to the institution for payment.

Check Truncation:
The conversion of data on a check into an electronic image after a check
enters the processing system. Check truncation eliminates the need to
return canceled checks to customers.

Checking Account:
A demand deposit account subject to withdrawal of funds by check.

Co-Maker:
A person who signs a note to guarantee a loan made to another person
and is jointly liable with the maker for repayment of the loan. (Also
known as a Co-signer.)

Credit Life Insurance:

A type of life insurance that helps repay a loan if you should die before
the loan is fully repaid. This is optional coverage.
Credit Limit:
The maximum amount of credit that is available on a credit card or other
line of credit account.

Debit:
A debit may be an account entry representing money you owe a lender or
money that has been taken from your deposit account.

Debit Card:
A debit card allows the account owner to access their funds electronically.
Debit cards may be used to obtain cash from automated teller machines
or purchase goods or services using point-of-sale systems. The use of a
debit card involves immediate debiting and crediting of consumers'
accounts.

Demand Deposit:
A deposit of funds that can be withdrawn without any advance notice.

Draft:
A signed, written order by which one party (the drawer) instructs another
party (the drawee) to pay a specified sum to a third party (the payee), at
sight or at a specific date. Typical bank drafts are negotiable instruments
and are similar in many ways to checks.

Drawee:
The person (or bank) who is expected to pay a check or draft when it is
presented for payment.

Drawee bank:
The bank upon which a check is drawn.

Drawer:
The person who writes a check or draft instructing the drawee to pay
someone else.

Electronic Banking:

A service that allows an account holder to obtain account information and

manage certain banking transactions through a personal computer via the
financial institution's Web site on the Internet. (This is also known as
Internet or online banking.)

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):

The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-

such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of
bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and
paper instruments do not fall into this category.)

First Mortgage:

A real estate loan which is in a first lien position, taking priority over all
other liens. In case of a foreclosure, the first mortgage will be repaid
before any other mortgages.

Fixed Rate Loan:

The interest rate and the payment remain the same over the life of the
loan. The consumer makes equal monthly payments of principal and
interest until the debt is paid in full.

Fixed Rate Mortgage:

A mortgage with payments that remain the same throughout the life of
the loan because the interest rate and other terms are fixed and do not
change.

Float:
The amount of uncollected funds represented by checks in the possession
of one bank but drawn on other banks

Foreign Transaction Fees:

A fee assessed by your bank for making a transaction at another bank's
ATM.

Forged Check:
A check on which the drawer's signature has been forged.

Forgery:
The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument
such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to
deceive or defraud.

Guarantor:
A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's
debts should that party default.

Home Equity Loan:

A home equity loan allows you to tap into your home's built-up equity,
which is the difference between the amount that your home could be sold
for and the amount that you still owe.
Inactive Account:
An account that has little or no activity; neither deposits nor withdrawals
having been posted to the account for a significant period of time.

Individual Account:
An account in the name of one individual.

Insufficient Funds:
When a depositor's checking account balance is inadequate to pay a check
presented for payment.

Interest:
The term interest is used to describe the cost of using money, a right,
share, or title in property.

Joint Account:
An account owned by two or more persons. Either party can conduct
transactions separately or together as set forth in the deposit account
contract.

Lender:
An individual or financial institution that lends money with the expectation
that the money will be returned with interest.

Line of Credit:
A pre-approved loan authorization with a specific borrowing limit based on
creditworthiness. A line of credit allows borrowers to obtain a number of
loans without re-applying each time as long as the total of borrowed
funds does not exceed the credit limit.

Loan Fee:
A fee charged by a lender to make a loan (in addition to the interest
charged to the borrower).

Local Check:
A check payable by, at, or through a bank in the same check processing
region as the location of the branch of the depository bank. The
depository bank is the bank into which the check was deposited.:

Maturity:
The date on which the principal balance of a loan, bond, or other financial
instrument becomes due and payable.

Minimum Balance:
The amount of money required to be on deposit in an account to qualify
the depositor for special services or to waive a service charge.
Minimum Payment:
The minimum dollar amount that must be paid each month on a loan, line
of credit, or other debt.

Missing Payment:

A payment that has been made but not credited to the appropriate
account.

Mortgage:
A debt instrument used in a real estate transaction where the property is
the collateral for the loan. A mortgage gives the lender a right to take
possession of the property if the borrower fails to pay off the loan.

Mortgage Loan:
A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property.

Mortgagee:
The lender in a mortgage loan relationship.

Mortgagor:
The borrower in a mortgage loan relationship. (Property is used as
collateral to make payment.)

Mutual Fund:

A fund operated by an investment company that raises money from

shareholders and invests it in stocks, bonds, options, commodities, or
money market securities. These funds offer investors the advantages of
diversification and professional management.

Official Check:
A check drawn on a bank and signed by an authorized bank official. (Also
known as a cashier's check.)

Online Banking:
A service that allows an account holder to obtain account information and
manage certain banking transactions through a personal computer via the
financial institution's web site on the Internet. (This is also known as
Internet or electronic banking.)
Outstanding Check:
A check written by a depositor that has not yet been presented for
payment to or paid by the depositor's bank.

Overdraft:
When the amount of money withdrawn from a bank account is greater
than the amount actually available in the account, the excess is known as
an overdraft, and the account is said to be overdrawn.

Overdraw:
To write a check for an amount that exceeds the amount on deposit in the
account.

Overlimit:
An open-end credit account in which the assigned dollar limit has been
exceeded.

Passbook:
A book in ledger form in which are recorded all deposits, withdrawals, and
earnings of a customer's savings account.

Payee:
The person or organization to whom a check, draft, or note is made
payable.

Paying (Payor) Bank :

A bank upon which a check is drawn and that pays a check or other draft.

Payment Due Date:

The date on which a loan or installment payment is due. It is set by a
financial institution. Any payment received after this date is considered
late; fees and penalties can be assessed.

Payoff:
The complete repayment of a loan, including principal, interest, and any
other amounts due. Payoff occurs either over the full term of the loan or
through prepayments.

Personal Identification Number (PIN):

Generally a four-character number or word, the PIN is the secret code
given to credit or debit cardholders enabling them to access their
accounts. The code is either randomly assigned by the bank or selected
by the customer. It is intended to prevent unauthorized use of the card
while accessing a financial service terminal.
Prepayment:
The payment of a debt before it actually becomes due.

Refund:
An amount paid back because of an overpayment or because of the return
of an item previously sold.

Renewal:
A form of extending an unpaid loan in which the borrower's remaining
unpaid loan balance is carried over (renewed) into a new loan at the
beginning of the next financing period.

Statement:
A summary of all transactions that occurred over the preceding month
and could be associated with a deposit account or a credit card account.

Stop Payment:
An order not to pay a check that has been issued but not yet cashed. If
requested soon enough, the check will not be debited from the payer's
account. Most banks charge a fee for this service.

Terms:
The period of time and the interest rate arranged between creditor and
debtor to repay a loan.

Time Certificate of Deposit:

A time deposit evidenced by a negotiable or nonnegotiable instrument
specifying an amount and maturity.

Uncollected Funds:
A portion of a deposit balance that has not yet been collected by the
depository bank.

Wire Transfer:
A transfer of funds from one point to another by wire or network such the
Federal Reserve Wire Network (also known as FedWire).