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Your address on file is the address that you provided on your application to open this credit card account, unless (1) we have received and processed your written notice of a change of address provided in accordance with the terms disclosed on the back of your bill, in which case that new address is the address of record; or (2) in the event that your address changes before we have sent out your first bill, we have received and processed your written notice of a change of address sent to us at the address for mailing payments.
- Browse Related Terms: Address on file, Assign, Credit bureau, Credit History, Credit limit, Credit Report, Credit reporting agency, Credit score, Debt cancellation coverage, Debt suspension coverage, Default, Foreign currency transaction, Retail credit card, Treasury bill rate, Workout agreement
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(also known as variable-rate loans), usually offer a lower initial interest rate than fixed-rate loans. The interest rate fluctuates over the life of the loan based on market conditions, but the loan agreement generally sets maximum and minimum rates. When interest rates rise, generally so do your loan payments; when interest rates fall, your monthly payments may be lowered.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Adjustable Rate Loans, Buy Down, CAP, Commitment, Credit Life & Disability Insurance, fixed-rate mortgage, Hazard Insurance/Homeowners Insurance, index, Margin, Prepayment Penalty (Mortgages), Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance (PITI), Variable-Rate Loans
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A form of fraud in which consumers are asked to pay a fee up front and receive a quick loan of a large size with a very low APR. Consumers are lured to wire funds (oftentimes to Canada ) through newspaper and internet advertisements.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Advance Fee Loan Scam, Conforming Loan, construction loan, Credit Service Organization, Cure, Debit card, Default, Escrow Account, Jumbo, Loan/Mortgage Broker, processor, Third Party Fees
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A card that offers rewards that benefit groups and organizations.
- Browse Related Terms: Affinity card, Credit counseling service, Opt-in, Opt-out, Premium credit card, Prime rate, Purchases
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A yearly fee that may be charged for having a credit card. Some card issuers assess the fee in monthly installments.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual fee, application fee, Authorized charge, Credit-limit-increase fee, Late-payment fee, Over-the-limit fee, Penalty fees, Protected balances, Returned payment, Set-up fee, Workout arrangement
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The actual cost of credit to the borrower, including interest and certain other charges, expressed as a yearly rate. Determining the APR’s for two products permits consumers to comparison-shop for credit.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Annual Percentage Rate (APR), Closing Costs or Settlement Fees, Consummation, Credit Card, discount points, Finance Charge, interest, Loan origination fees, Origination fee, Points and Origination Fees, Principal
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- For credit cards, the APR is the cost of credit expressed as a yearly interest rate. Each billing period (usually about a month), the company charges a fraction of the annual rate, called the periodic rate.
APR or “annual percentage rate” is an annualized interest rate. Different APRs may apply to different balances on your account, such as your purchase balance or your cash advance balance. We use the APR that applies to each balance to calculate the interest that you owe us on the account.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual Percentage Rate (APR), Balance Transfer, Balance-transfer fee, Cash-advance fee, Interest rate, Membership fee, Participation fee
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- A fee charged when you apply for a credit card.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual fee, application fee, Authorized charge, Credit-limit-increase fee, Late-payment fee, Over-the-limit fee, Penalty fees, Protected balances, Returned payment, Set-up fee, Workout arrangement
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A written estimate, provided by a State licensed Appraiser, of the value of a home.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: Appraisal, Credit Bureaus, Credit Reports, Credit score, Divorce Decree, Fair Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Home Equity Loan, Liable, MCCC-1, Mortgage Company (Supervised Lender), Supervised Lender
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We assign your credit card contract if we sell or pass to a third party any or all of our rights or obligations under the contract, including any amount that you owe under the contract. Subject to the extent of the assignment, any party to whom we assign your contract will enjoy all our rights under the contract, including contractual rights to collect amounts that you owe on the account.
- Browse Related Terms: Address on file, Assign, Credit bureau, Credit History, Credit limit, Credit Report, Credit reporting agency, Credit score, Debt cancellation coverage, Debt suspension coverage, Default, Foreign currency transaction, Retail credit card, Treasury bill rate, Workout agreement
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An authorized charge is any charge that you or any authorized user makes on the account, and any fees and interest charges owing on the account.
Any charge made by an authorized user is an authorized charge. This is true even if you told the authorized user not to make that specific charge.
A charge will still be authorized even if it is an illegal transaction (like illegal gambling charges), or it puts you over your credit limit, or it is made after your account has closed.
An authorized charge can be made over the telephone, in person, on the Internet, or in any other way that your account can be used.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual fee, application fee, Authorized charge, Credit-limit-increase fee, Late-payment fee, Over-the-limit fee, Penalty fees, Protected balances, Returned payment, Set-up fee, Workout arrangement
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If you ask us to issue a credit card on this account to another person, he or she is an authorized user. In addition, if you give your card or card number to another person, he or she is an authorized user.
- Browse Related Terms: Authorized user, CARD, Cash advance, Credit Card, Credit card agreement, Everyday debit card transactions, Overdraft, Secured credit card, Standard payment instructions
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According to this method, we calculate the interest charges for each balance by applying the “daily periodic rate” for that balance to the “average daily balance” for that balance. We multiply the result by the number of days in the billing cycle. That gives us the total interest charges for that balance for that billing period.
The “daily periodic rate” is a daily interest rate. The daily periodic rate for a given balance is equal to the APR for that balance divided by 365.
We calculate the “average daily balance” for each balance. We do this by starting with the beginning amount of that balance for each day. We add any new charges for that day, add any interest on the previous daily balance if there is one in that billing cycle, and subtract any payments or credits. This gives us the “daily balance.” We calculate the “average daily balance” for each balance by adding all the daily balances for each day in the billing period and then dividing by the total number of days in the billing period. The addition of the prior day’s interest to the daily balance calculation causes interest to compound daily.
We add fees that are specific to a particular charge to the same daily balance as that particular charge. We add all other applicable fees to your purchase balance as of the first day of a billing period.
- Browse Related Terms: "Go-to" rate, Average daily balance method with compounding, Average daily balance method without compounding, balance, Daily balance method with compounding, Daily balance method without compounding, Daily periodic rate (DPR), Default APR, Interest-free period, Introductory APR, Penalty APR, Periodic rate, Purchase APR
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According to this method, we calculate the interest charges for each balance by applying the “daily periodic rate” for that balance to the “average daily balance” for that balance. We multiply the result by the number of days in the billing cycle. That gives us the total interest charges for that balance for that billing period.
The “daily periodic rate” is a daily interest rate. The daily periodic rate for a given balance is equal to the APR for that balance divided by 365.
We calculate the “average daily balance” for each balance. We do this by starting with the beginning amount of that balance for each day. We add any new charges for that day, excluding any unpaid finance charge, and subtract any payments or credits. This gives us the “daily balance.” We calculate the “average daily balance” for each balance by adding all the daily balances for each day in the billing period and then dividing by the total number of days in the billing period.
We add fees that are specific to a particular charge to the same daily balance as that particular charge. We add all other applicable fees to your purchase balance as of the first day of a billing period.
- Browse Related Terms: "Go-to" rate, Average daily balance method with compounding, Average daily balance method without compounding, balance, Daily balance method with compounding, Daily balance method without compounding, Daily periodic rate (DPR), Default APR, Interest-free period, Introductory APR, Penalty APR, Periodic rate, Purchase APR
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We put each charge on your account, including interest or fees, into a balance category. We use the different balances to calculate the correct interest charges on your account. If any type of charge has a separate interest rate, we will put it into a separate balance. This means that your account may have separate balances for purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. It also means that if any charges are subject to an introductory or other promotional interest rate for a period, we will place such charges into a separate balance for the time period that you qualify for the special rate.
We place interest charges into the balance that generated those charges. For example, we place interest charges on purchases into your purchase balance.
We place fees that result from a specific charge into the same balance as that specific charge. For example, we place a foreign transaction fee that we assess on a cash advance into your cash advance balance. We place fees that do not result from a specific charge, such as a returned payment fee, into your purchase balance.
- Browse Related Terms: "Go-to" rate, Average daily balance method with compounding, Average daily balance method without compounding, balance, Daily balance method with compounding, Daily balance method without compounding, Daily periodic rate (DPR), Default APR, Interest-free period, Introductory APR, Penalty APR, Periodic rate, Purchase APR
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You make a balance transfer when you use a balance transfer check that we send you or when you contact us to transfer a balance electronically or by phone.
The act of transferring debt from one credit card account to another. Balance-transfer fees may apply.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual Percentage Rate (APR), Balance Transfer, Balance-transfer fee, Cash-advance fee, Interest rate, Membership fee, Participation fee
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- A fee charged when you make a balance transfer. It may be a flat fee or a percentage of the transfer.
- Browse Related Terms: Annual Percentage Rate (APR), Balance Transfer, Balance-transfer fee, Cash-advance fee, Interest rate, Membership fee, Participation fee
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A mortgage with periodic installments of principal and interest that do not fully amortize the loan. The balance of the mortgage is due in a lump sum at a specified date prior to the end of the amortization period.
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition
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Your bill is the statement of your account. Your bill will tell you the total amount that you owe us as of the end of the last billing period. It will also tell you the minimum payment that you must make to us by the stated due date.
We will send you a bill at the end of each billing period if at that point you have a credit or debit on the account equal to or more than $1. We may not send you a bill, however, if we have decided your account is uncollectible or if we have sent the account for collection proceedings against you.
In our discretion, we may choose to send you a bill even if you do not have a credit or debit of $1 or more.
- Browse Related Terms: Bill, Billing period, Due date, Fixed-rate APR, Grace Period, index, Late payment, Minimum interest charge, Minimum Payment, Variable-rate APR
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The billing period is the fixed period of time covered by the bill we send you. The bill will show your new charges, including interest and fees, and any payments that posted to your account during that period. Each bill that we send will identify the billing period that it covers.
If you have a credit or debit on the account of $1 or more at the end of any billing period, we will send you a bill, showing what you owe us as of the end of that billing period.
- Browse Related Terms: Bill, Billing period, Due date, Fixed-rate APR, Grace Period, index, Late payment, Minimum interest charge, Minimum Payment, Variable-rate APR
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the price of a used car as measured by a quality index of many similar vehicles. Various publications (now available for free on the internet) disclose used vehicle values (retail, trade-in, wholesale).
State of Maine, Department of Professional and Financial Regulation - Cite This Source - This Definition- Browse Related Terms: "Blue Book" Price, Buy Here, Pay Here Financing, Combined Loan-to-Value (CLTV), Credit Pre-Approval, Debt-to-Income Ratio, Disclosures, equity, Home Inspector, Loan-to-Value Ratios (LTV), Open-ended credit, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)