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| Debit card | A payment card that is linked directly to a customer's bank account. Some cards require a personal identification number. Others require a customer's signature. A PIN-based or direct debit card removes a purchase price from a customer's checking account almost immediately. A signature-based or deferred debit card has a Visa or MasterCard logo and removes the purchase price from a customer's bank account in two or three days. |
| Debt | Money one person or firm owes to another person or firm. |
| Debt consolidation | The replacement of multiple loans with a single loan, often with a lower monthly payment and a longer repayment period. It's also called a consolidation loan. |
| Debt-to-income ratio | The percentage of before-tax earnings that are spent to pay off loans for obligations such as auto loans, student loans and credit card balances. Lenders look at two ratios. The front-end ratio is the percentage of monthly before-tax earnings that are spent on house payments (including principal, interest, taxes and insurance). In the back-end ratio, the borrower's other debts are factored in. |
| Debtor | Technically, a person who has filed a petition for relief under the bankruptcy laws. More generally, anyone who owes. |
| Default | The condition that occurs when a consumer fails to fulfill the obligations set out in a loan or lease |
| Discount rate | The interest rate at which financial institutions that are members of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) may borrow on a short-term basis directly to cover temporary deficiencies in the bank?s reserves. Banks borrow from the Fed as a last resort because frequent borrowing would raise concern by bank regulators. |
| Down payment | An initial, partial payment on a purchase. |
