Financial services

Useful financial services acronyms and frequently used terms that you’ll come across when talking about credit and banking products.

• APR - Annual Percentage Rate, that determines the amount of interest a client must pay on their credit agreement.

• BACS - Bankers Automated Clearing Service - A form of electronic payment through Bacs Payment Schemes Limited.

• CCA - Consumer Credit Act - An important law that covers most commercial lending in the UK.

• CPA - Continuous Payment Authority - These are sometimes also called recurring payments. The company will ask for the long number across your debit or credit card rather than your bank details. They are often used for things like payday loans or gym memberships.

• DDM - Direct Debit Mandate - the form a client has to sign to set up a Direct Debit.

• GDPR - General Data Protection Regulations – European legislation that replaced the DPA (Data Protection Act) in 2018.

• IFA - Independent Financial Advisor who can provide clients with financial advice.

• PEP - Politically Exposed Person - this is used by the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) software to help us prevent fraudulent transactions.