Glossary: B

BALANCE

Your balance is the amount of money you have in your account at any particular time or which you owe on your credit or store card. It will be shown on your statement.

BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD

The balance that was show on your last statement.

BANK

A commercial organisation that undertakes to provide a range of financial services, such as current and deposit accounts. Banks must be authorised to take your money.

BANK LOAN

You can borrow money from your bank for a pre-arranged interest rate.

BASIC BANK ACCOUNT

A service from a bank or building society which lets you pay in money, get cash out and pay bills. It doesn’t let you spend more than you have in your account, so there is no risk of going overdrawn and running up overdraft charges.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

All children born in the UK are registered on the Government’s National Register of Births and Deaths, and issued an official birth certificate. It’s an important record of your identity. If your birth certificate is lost or stolen, report it to the police, and go to your nearest Register Office to apply for a new one.

BLOCK CAPITALS

If you are asked to write in block capitals it means you must write each letter of every word as a simple, clear capital LIKE THIS.

BOUNCED CHEQUE

A cheque that the bank refuses payment on because there is not enough money in the account of the person who wrote the cheque. The bank usually sends the cheque back to the person it was written out to (the payee). The cheque is marked ‘return to drawer’. When this happens you have to ask the person who wrote the cheque to give you cash instead or to put some money in their account.

BORROWING

Getting money from someone else that you intend to pay back. You might borrow informally from friends and family or take out a formal loan with a written agreement.

BUDGET

A plan of your spending.

BUILDINGS INSURANCE

This type of insurance pays out if the structure of your home is damaged. For example, it may cover you if tiles fall off your roof during a storm, or if your house is damaged by fire.

BUILDING SOCIETY

An organisation that is owned by its members, who are some or all of the customers saving with or borrowing from the society. They often offer a range of financial services and are similar to banks. Building Societies must be authorised to take your money.