Creditor
A bank, mortgage lender, credit company, retailer or other business that extends credit or issues loans to consumers.

Credit Counseling
Credit counselors will help you put together a debt repayment plan and may even be able to help you reduce repayments with creditors.

Credit Repair Agency
For a fee, a credit repair agency will help dispute inaccurate or outdated information in your credit history which may be damaging your credit rating.

Credit Report
Your credit report is a compilation of your personal and financial data, which a credit bureau gathers and maintains.

Credit Score
Utilizing information collected from your credit application and your credit report, creditors use statistical programs to compare your information to the profiles of similar consumers. These scoring systems award points for every factor that helps predict your creditworthiness, or how likely it is that you will repay the loan.

Credit limit
This is the amount of credit available to you. Credit card companies set your limit based on your credit history, and will usually raise your credit limit based on good financial behavior.

Cash advance fee
The fee charged by a credit card company whenever a cardholder borrows cash using the credit card. The cash advance fee is generally calculated as a percentage of the amount borrowed, with a minimum, and possibly a maximum, dollar amount specified. Most major cards currently charge around 3% with a $5 minimum.

Cash advance
Many credit cards allow the cardholder to borrow and withdraw cash against their line of credit - this is called a cash advance. Because this type of lending involves more risk for the credit card company, they may charge a higher interest rate on cash advances, along with a cash advance fee (usually calculated as a percentage of the amount borrowed).

Cash advance APR
The interest rate charged for cash advances is generally much higher than the interest rate for purchases and balance transfers. This is, in part, because the credit card company assumes a higher risk in this type of lending. Also, there is usually no grace period for cash advances so you'll start incurring interest charges immediately. Check the terms and conditions of your credit card agreement to find out the Cash advance APR on your credit card.

Card holder agreement
A written statement, required by Federal Reserve regulations, outlining the terms and conditions of the credit card account. The cardholder agreement must detail the annual percentage rate, monthly minimum payment formula, annual fee, and cardholder's rights in billing disputes. Changes can be made to the cardholder agreement, but the cardholder must be notified according to state imposed rules.

Credit Card
A credit card is any card, plate, or coupon book that may be used repeatedly to borrow money or buy goods and services on credit.

Credit
The promise to pay in the future in order to buy or borrow in the present. The right to defer payment of debt.

Credit Scoring System
A statistical system used to determine whether or not to grant credit by assigning numerical scores to various characteristics related to creditworthiness.

Charge Card
A specific kind of card that requires full payment of your balance with each billing cycle. Typically charge cards do not charge interest, but late fees can apply if full payment is not received by the due date.

Convenience Checks
Access to cash advance line by writing a check.

Cosigner
A cosigner agrees to the responsibilities of a credit application with you, which basically means that they take on liability for your debts. A family member or friend who has an established credit history may be eligible to be cosigners.

Current Balance
The current total dollar amount owed in order to pay off credit card balance.

Credit Bureau
A credit-reporting agency that checks credit information and keeps files on people who apply for and use credit. The Credit Bureau produces a Credit Report, which is a record of a consumer’s level of indebtedness and bill paying behavior. The agencies compile the report and release it to lenders and others as permitted by law.

Card Issuer
Any association member financial institution, bank, credit union, or company that issues, or causes to be issued, plastic cards to cardholders.

Card Reader
A device capable of reading the encoding on plastic cards. See Magnetic Stripe Reader.

Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP)
An information security standard sponsored and promoted by Visa USA that applies to any organization that stores or handles their credit card account numbers.

Cardholder
An individual to whom a card is issued, or who is authorized to use an issued card.

Chargeback
A transaction returned through interchange by an issuer to an acquirer. A transaction may be returned because of it was non-compliant with the association rules and regulations or because it was disputed by a cardholder.

Chargeback Period
The number of days from the processing date or endorsement date transaction during which the issuer may initiate a chargeback.

Credit Card Number
Unique number assigned to credit card

Credit Card Processor
A company that performs authorization and settlement of credit card payments, usually handling several types of credit and payment cards (such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express). If merchants wish to sell their products to cardholders, they retain the services of one or more processors who handle the credit cards that the merchant wishes to accept. When a merchant retains the services of a credit card processor, it is issued a merchant ID.

Custom Payment Service (CPS)
Visa's regulations for the information that must be submitted with each transaction. Transactions must meet CPS criteria in order to qualify for lowest transaction processing fees available. Similar to MasterCard's Merit system.

Cash Back
Cash back returns to you a percentage of the total amount spent on your credit card over a specific period of time, usually monthly or quarterly. This is particularly useful if you normally pay your credit card bills in full each month, as it means you get an effective discount on the products bought with your credit card.

Co-Branded Card
A co-branded credit card is sponsored by both the issuing bank and a retail organisation such as a department store or an airline.  Cardholders may get benefits such as discounts or free merchandise from the sponsoring merchant based on account usage and terms.

Credit History
A partial profile of your financial life given within a particular time frame (usually measured in years). It shows the extent to which you pay your bills on time and how much you may owe particular parties. Credit card issuers use this information to decide whether to provide customers with credit cards. If you have been turned down in the past due to a bad credit history you can sometimes still obtain a credit card - see Adverse Credit Cards.