Industry WIKI

Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making secure payments. The embedded integrated circuit chip and antenna enable consumers to wave their card, fob, or handheld device over a reader at the

The contractus trinus, contractus triplex, or simply triple contract, is a set of contracts used by European bankers and merchants in the Middle Ages, notably by the Fugger family, as a method of circumventing the canon law prohibition of usury.

A corporate action is an event initiated by a public company that brings or could bring an actual change to the debt securities—equity or debt—issued by the company. Corporate actions are typically agreed upon by a company's board of directors and authorized by the shareholders. For some events, shareholders or bondholders are permitted to vote on the event. Examples of corporate actions

Country risk refers to the risk of investing or lending in a country, arising from possible changes in the business environment that may adversely affect operating profits or the value of assets in the country. For example, financial factors such as currency controls, devaluation or regulatory changes, or stability factors such as mass riots, civil war and other potential events contribu

Covered interest arbitrage is an arbitrage trading strategy whereby an investor capitalizes on the interest rate differential between two countries by using a forward contract to cover (eliminate exposure to) exchange rate risk. Using forward contracts enables arbitrageurs such as individual investors or banks to make use of the forward premium (or discount) to earn a riskless profit fro

CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia, originally founded as the "Incorporated Institute of Accountants" in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members in 150 countries and regions. CPA Australia currently has 19 staffed offices across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand and

A credit card (or charge card) is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing the card's users to purchase goods and services, or withdraw cash on credit. Card use thereby accrues debt that must be repaid later.

The credit channel mechanism of monetary policy describes the theory that a central bank's policy changes affect the amount of credit that banks issue to firms and consumers for purchases, which in turn affects the real economy.

A credit default swap index is a credit derivative used to hedge credit risk or to take a position on a basket of credit entities. Unlike a credit default swap, which is an over the counter credit derivative, a credit default swap index is a completely standardized credit security and may therefore be more liquid and trade at a smaller bid–offer spread. This means that it can be cheaper

The Credit Institute of Canada (CIC) (French: Institut de crédit du Canada) is a not-for-profit organization created by a special Act of Parliament on June 11, 1928. The CIC provides credit management resources, education and certification to its members and is the only organization that grants official designations to professionals in the Canadian credit management field.

A credit score is a numerical expression derived from an analysis of an individual's credit history and credit report, used to estimate the relative likelihood that the individual will repay debts and meet other financial obligations. As a standardized and comparatively low-cost method of evaluating borrowers, credit scoring serves as a primary alternative to traditional forms of loan un

In finance, a credit spread, or net credit spread is an options strategy that involves a purchase of one option and a sale of another option in the same class and expiration but different strike prices. It is designed to make a profit when the spreads between the two options narrows.

A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution. It may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (checking accounts), credit cards, credit, share term certificates (certificates of deposit), and online banking. Normally, only a member of a credit union may deposit or borr

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA, pronounced "Cue-Nuh"), was a national trade association for both state- and federally chartered credit unions located in the United States. CUNA provided member credit unions with trade association services, such as lobbying, regulatory advocacy, professional development, and professional services management. The organization operated out of i

Crypto-to-crypto trading generally refers to the buying and selling between different crypto assets. This article introduces positioning, mechanisms, usage verification, and common misconceptions.

CryptoKitties is a blockchain game developed by Canadian studio Dapper Labs. The game allows players to buy, sell, and create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) using Ethereum. These NFTs represent virtual cats. The game's popularity in December 2017 congested the Ethereum network, causing it to reach an all-time high in the number of transactions and slowing it down significantly.

A currency basket is a portfolio of selected currencies with different weightings. A currency basket is commonly used by investors to minimize the risk of currency fluctuations and also governments when setting the market value of a country's currency.

Currency packaging includes several forms of packing cash for easy handling and counting. Many systems use standard color-coding or are marked to indicate the amount in the package.

Finco Services, Inc., branded as Current, is an American financial services and software development company based in New York City. It provides mobile banking services through its partner banks, Choice Financial Group, and Cross River Bank.

A CUSIP () is a nine-character numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a North American financial security for the purposes of facilitating clearing and settlement of trades. All CUSIP identifiers are fungible, which means that a unique CUSIP identifier for each individual security stays the same, regardless of the exchange where the shares were purchased or venue on which

DAI is a US dollar-pegged stablecoin associated with the Maker system, later linked to the development of the Sky ecosystem. This article introduces its positioning, mechanism, usage verification, and common misconceptions.

In finance, a dark pool (also black pool) is a private forum (alternative trading system or ATS) for trading securities, derivatives, and other financial instruments. Liquidity on these markets is called dark pool liquidity. The bulk of dark pool trades represent large trades by financial institutions that are offered away from public exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and the NA

Datalogic S.p.A. is an Italian company working in the automatic data capture and process automation markets. The group specializes in the design and production of barcode readers, mobile computers, radio-frequency identification, sensors for detection, measurement and safety, vision and laser marking systems. Datalogic products are used in many supermarkets and points of sale, at airpor

Debanking (sometimes spelled de-banking, and also known within the banking industry as de-risking) is the closure of people's or organizations' bank accounts by banks that perceive the account holders to pose a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk to the bank.

A debt buyer is a company, sometimes a collection agency, a private debt collection law firm, or a private investor, that purchases delinquent or charged-off debts from a creditor or lender for a percentage of the face value of the debt based on the potential collectibility of the accounts. The debt buyer can then collect on its own, utilize the services of a third-party collection agenc

Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10.

A defined benefit (DB) pension plan is a type of pension plan in which an employer/sponsor promises a specified pension payment, lump-sum, or combination thereof on retirement that depends on an employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending directly on individual investment returns. Traditionally, many governmental and public entities, as well as a large n

A defined contribution (DC) plan is a type of retirement plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts (through employee contributions and, if applicable, employer contributions) plus any investment earnings on the money in the account. In

Delta one products are financial derivatives that have no optionality and as such have a delta of (or very close to) one – meaning that for a given instantaneous move in the price of the underlying asset there is expected to be an identical move in the price of the derivative. Delta one products can sometimes be synthetically assembled by combining options. For instance, you can be long

Demand deposits or checkbook money are funds held in demand accounts in commercial banks. These account balances are usually considered money and form the greater part of the narrowly defined money supply of a country. Simply put, these are deposits in the bank that can be withdrawn on demand, without any prior notice.

Demurrage currency, also known as depreciating money or stamp scrip in its paper money form, is a type of money that is designed to gradually lose purchasing power at a constant rate. Demurrage money is often confused with inflation, as they both cause money to lose value, but they have significantly different economic effects. Unlike normal money, demurrage is designed to be only a temp

A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.

The Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics honors renowned researchers who have made influential contributions to the fields of finance and money and macroeconomics, and whose work has led to practical and policy-relevant results. It was awarded biannually from 2005 to 2015 by the Center for Financial Studies (CFS), in partnership with Goethe University Frankfurt, and is sponsored by

The Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV, lit. 'German association of savings banks and money transfers') is the association of German savings banks (German: Sparkassen) and the apex entity of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, the European Union's second-largest financial services group (after BNP Paribas) with 2.5 trillion euros combined assets as of end-2023. Germany's savings banks,

Digital banking is part of the broader context for the move to online banking, where banking services are delivered over the internet. The shift from traditional to digital banking has been gradual, remains ongoing, and is constituted by differing degrees of banking service digitization. Digital banking involves high levels of process automation and web-based services and may include AP

A digital card is either a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, the digital content hosted

A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct bank has no branch network. It may offer access to an independent banking agent network and may also provide access via ATMs (often through in

The discount window is an instrument of monetary policy (usually controlled by central banks) that allows eligible institutions to borrow money from the central bank, usually on a short-term basis, to meet temporary shortages of liquidity caused by internal or external disruptions.

In corporate finance, distressed securities are securities over companies or government entities that are experiencing financial or operational distress, default, or are under bankruptcy. As far as debt securities, this is called distressed debt. Purchasing or holding such distressed-debt creates significant risk due to the possibility that bankruptcy may render such securities worthless

A distributed ledger (also called a shared ledger or distributed ledger technology or DLT) is a system whereby replicated, shared, and synchronized digital data is geographically spread (distributed) across many sites, countries, or institutions. In contrast to a centralized database, a distributed ledger does not require a central administrator, and consequently does not have a single (

Dogecoin ( DOHJ-koyn or DOHZH-koyn, Abbreviation: DOGE; sign: Ð) is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a joke, making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the time. It is considered both the first "meme coin", and more specifically the first "dog coin". Despite its satirical nature, some

The drawdown is the measure of the decline from a historical peak in some variable (typically the cumulative profit or total open equity of a financial trading strategy).

In economics, Dutch disease is the apparent causal relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example, natural resources) and a decline in other sectors (like the manufacturing sector or agriculture). The term was coined in 1977 by The Economist to describe the decline of the manufacturing sector in the Netherlands after the discovery of the l

Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) or cardholder preferred currency (CPC) is a process whereby the amount of a credit card transaction is converted at the point of sale, ATM or internet to the currency of the card's country of issue. DCC is generally provided by third party operators in association with the merchant, and not by a card issuer. Card issuers permit DCC operators to offer DCC

Dynamic financial analysis (DFA) is method for assessing the risks of an insurance company using a holistic model as opposed to traditional actuarial analysis, which analyzes risks individually. Specifically, DFA reveals the dependencies of hazards and their impacts on the insurance company's financial well being as a whole such as business mix, reinsurance, asset allocation, profitabili

E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), in

An e-commerce payment system (or an electronic payment system) facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for offline transfer, also known as a subcomponent of electronic data interchange (EDI). E-commerce payment systems have become increasingly popular due to the widespread use of internet-based shopping and banking.

e-TAG is a free-flow tolling electronic toll collection system used on all tollways throughout Australia. It was originally developed by Transurban for use on their CityLink tollway in the late 1990s, with the system since adopted by all toll roads, bridges and tunnels in Australia. The technology had different names depending on the issuer, such as Linkt (Transurban, includes former nam

Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. John Hull was authorized by the Massachusetts legislature to make the earliest coinage of the colony (the willow, the oak, and the pine tree shilling) in 1652.

Economic stagnation is a prolonged period of slow economic growth, typically measured in GDP per capita growth or median income growth, which is usually accompanied by high unemployment. Under some definitions, slow means significantly slower than potential growth as estimated by macroeconomists, even though the growth rate may be nominally higher than in other countries not experiencing

Guyana's record GDP growth positions it as one of the fastest-growing economies, due to the discovery of significant offshore-oil reserves. Such increases in government revenue have enabled opportunities for public investment. This has allowed for increased expenditure in education. The previous limitations of colonial legacies, and socio-economic inequality, inadequate infrastructure, a

The effective interest rate (EIR), effective annual interest rate (EAR), annual equivalent rate (AER) or simply effective rate is the percentage of interest on a loan or financial product if compound interest accumulates in periods different than a year. It is the compound interest payable annually in arrears, based on the nominal interest rate. It is used to compare the interest rates b

Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World is an 1896 United States five-dollar silver certificate. It is of the US large-size variety measuring 7.375 in (187.3 mm) by 3.125 in (79.4 mm). The note is one of three notes that are part of the "Educational Series". As a result of the nudity portrayed on the obverse and other controversies, the note was replaced in 1899.

Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) is an electronic system used in the United States that allows state welfare departments to issue benefits via a magnetically encoded payment card. It reached nationwide operations in 2004.

Electronic billing or electronic bill payment and presentment, is when a seller such as company, organization, or group sends its bills or invoices over the internet, and customers pay the bills electronically. This replaces the traditional method where invoices are sent in paper form and payments are done by manual means such as sending cheques.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems.

The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system. As of September 2026, only 33 ERP gantries are in operation, the currently operating and surviving gantries will be rebranded as "road cha

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll houses and tollbooths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most cases, vehicles using the system are equip

Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America is a retirement plan recordkeeping financial holding company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. It is the second-largest retirement plan provider in the United States.

An energy derivative is a derivative contract based on (derived from) an underlying energy asset, such as natural gas, crude oil, or electricity. Energy derivatives are exotic derivatives and include exchange-traded contracts such as futures and options, and over-the-counter (i.e., privately negotiated) derivatives such as forwards, swaps and options. Major players in the energy derivati

The environmental impact of bitcoin has been characterized in the literature as significant, particularly due to its energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and electronic waste. Bitcoin mining, the process by which bitcoins are created and transactions are finalized, is energy-consuming due to it requiring a large amount of compute and results in carbon emissions. According to the 2025 Ca

In finance, equity is an ownership interest in property that may be subject to debts or other liabilities. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such

In finance and investing, the Home bias puzzle is the term given to describe the fact that individuals and institutions in most countries hold only modest amounts of foreign equity, and tend to strongly favor company stock from their home nation. This finding is regarded as puzzling, since ample evidence shows equity portfolios obtain substantial benefits from diversification into global

The equity premium puzzle refers to the inability of an important class of economic models to explain the average equity risk premium (ERP) provided by a diversified portfolio of equities over that of government bonds, which has been observed for more than 100 years. There is a significant disparity between returns produced by stocks compared to returns produced by government treasury bi

Equity risk is "the financial risk involved in holding equity in a particular investment." Equity risk is a type of market risk that applies to investing in shares. The market price of stocks fluctuates all the time, depending on supply and demand. The risk of losing money due to a reduction in the market price of shares is known as equity risk.

Equity stripping, also known as equity skimming, is a type of foreclosure rescue scheme. Often considered a form of predatory lending, equity stripping became increasingly widespread in the early 2000s. In an equity stripping scheme an investor buys the property from a homeowner facing foreclosure and agrees to lease the home to the homeowner who may remain in the home as a tenant. Often

Ethereum is a public blockchain that runs smart contracts, and ETH (Ether) is its native asset. This article introduces its positioning, mechanisms, verification guidelines, and common misconceptions.

The international currency code for the Euro is EUR, with the symbol €. This article introduces its positioning, mechanism, usage verification, and common misconceptions.

Eurodollars is a financial term used to describe certain U.S. dollar-denominated deposit liabilities (primarily but not exclusively time deposits) held at banks or their branches outside the United States.

An exchange, bourse (), trading exchange or trading venue is an organized market where people can buy and sell financial instruments, such as tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange and derivative contracts.

An exchange is the process of acquiring one asset using another. This article introduces definition, mechanics, usage verification, and common misconceptions.

The expected return (or expected gain) on a financial investment is the expected value of its return (of the profit on the investment). It is a measure of the center of the distribution of the random variable that is the return. It is calculated by using the following formula:

An Extended Validation (EV) Certificate is a certificate conforming to X.509 that proves the legal entity of the owner and is signed by a certificate authority key that can issue EV certificates. EV certificates can be used in the same manner as any other X.509 certificates, including securing web communications with HTTPS and signing software and documents. Unlike domain-validated certi

Farm Credit Canada (FCC, French: Financement agricole Canada; known as Farm Credit Corporation until 2001) is a Canadian Crown corporation and agricultural term lender.

FASTag is an electronic toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it or directly toll owner. It is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables one to drive through toll plazas without stopp

An FHA insured loan is a government-backed loan designed to help a broader range of Americans—particularly first-time homebuyers—achieve homeownership with more flexible credit, income, and down payment requirements than conventional loans. Offered through FHA-approved lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration, these loans are widely used today as a practical and accessib

A prevailing trend from the medieval period, most Indians invest more than half of personal savings physical assets such as land, houses, gold, livestock, and other precious metals and ornaments. Since liberalisation in the 1990s, the Government of India has approved significant banking reforms. While some of these relate to nationalised banks (like encouraging mergers, reducing governme

A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory body in order to provide advice.

A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, or ratings analyst. The job title is a broad one:

A financial centre (financial center in American English) or financial hub is a location with a significant concentration of commerce in financial services.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) was established in 2010 in the United States to investigate the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. The commission, led by Phil Angelides, held public hearings, gathered testimony from hundreds, and released its report in January 2011.

Financial deepening is a term used by economists to refer to increasing provision of financial services. It can refer both a wider choice of services and better access for different socioeconomic groups. Financial deepening can have an effect on both individuals' and societies' economic situations.

Financial engineering is a multidisciplinary field involving financial theory, methods of engineering, tools of mathematics and the practice of programming. It has also been defined as the application of technical methods, especially from mathematical finance and computational finance, in the practice of finance.

Financial inclusion is the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to processes by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services—which include banking, loan, equity, and insurance products. It provides paths to enhance inclusiveness in economic growth by enabling the unbanked po

Financial innovation is the act of creating new financial instruments as well as new financial technologies, institutions, and markets. Recent financial innovations include hedge funds, private equity, weather derivatives, retail-structured products, exchange-traded funds, multi-family offices, and Islamic bonds (Sukuk). The shadow banking system has spawned an array of financial innovat

A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions.

A financial instrument is a monetary contract between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form of currency (forex); debt (bonds, loans); equity (shares); or derivatives (options, futures, forwards).

The Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) /ˈfɪ.gi/ (formerly Bloomberg Global Identifier (BBGID)) is an open standard, unique identifier of financial instruments that can be assigned to instruments including common stock, options, derivatives, futures, corporate and government bonds, municipals, currencies, and mortgage products.

There are several concepts of efficiency for a financial market. The most widely discussed is informational or price efficiency, which is a measure of how quickly and completely the price of a single asset reflects available information about the asset's value. Other concepts include functional/operational efficiency, which is inversely related to the costs that investors bear for maki

Financial modeling

A financial planner or personal financial planner is a qualified financial advisor. Practicing in full service personal finance, they advise clients on investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning.

Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financial loss and uncertainty about its extent.

Financial services are economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of service sector activities, especially as concerns financial management and consumer finance.

Financial services in China refers to the services provided in China by the finance industry: banks, investment banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, consumer finance companies, government sponsored enterprises, and stock brokerages.

Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of new technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological tools in financial services, including mobile banking, online lending platforms, digital payment systems, robo-advisors, and blockchain-based applications such as cryptocurrencies. Financi

Financialization (or financialisation in British English) is a term sometimes used to describe the development of financial capitalism during the period from 1980 to the present, in which debt-to-equity ratios increased and financial services accounted for an increasing share of national income relative to other sectors.

A fixed deposit (FD) is a tenured deposit account provided by banks or non-bank financial institutions which provides investors a higher rate of interest than a regular savings account, until the given maturity date. It may or may not require the creation of a separate account. The term fixed deposit is most commonly used in India and the United States. It is known as a term deposit or

Foreclosure rescue in the United States is where a mortgage that is in arrears and where the lender is at the stage of foreclosing on the loan agrees to stop the foreclosure in exchange for funds received through loan modification or from a government grant. It may also refer to funds that allow the homeowner to repurchase the property at or after foreclosure.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an ownership stake in a company, made by a foreign investor, company, or government from another country. More specifically, it describes a controlling ownership of an asset in one country by an entity based in another country. The magnitude and extent of control, therefore, distinguishes it from a foreign portfolio investment or foreign indirect invest

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It differs from a foreign portfolio investment, which remains limited to the secondary markets. Broadly, the term includes "mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations, and