Unsecured Cards >> For People With Bad Credit

The interest rate charged on a loan, credit card, or mortgage over a year's time

The fee charged annually by a credit card company to its cardholders. This amount is added to the cardholder's statement every year and must be paid by the cardholder by the statement's due date.

The transfer of an existing account balance (in part or in whole) to a different account, usually an account held with another creditor.

The number of days between the last bill or statement and the current bill or statement. Billing cycles are typically 20 to 31 days in length.

A type of card that can be used to make purchases like a credit card, but with the amount of each purchase deducted directly from the cardholder's bank account.

An application process that allows the applicant to know whether they are approved in a short amount of time, usually in less than one minute.

The smallest amount of money an accountholder must pay by the due date to keep the account in good standing.

A type of card that requires users to deposit money with the card issuer in order for the card to be used for purchases or other activities.

Indicates that a loan or credit card issuer will share an account holder's payment history with a credit bureau, an agency that collects such data to assess an individual's credit worthiness and ability to pay back a loan or credit line.

A type of credit card that is backed by a deposit account owned by the cardholder. The cardholder must typically deposit 100% or more of the credit line desired. The cardholder receives the full deposit amount back (plus interest in many cases) when the credit card is either upgraded to an unsecured card or canceled.