| T (tiered) | If the letter T appears after the annual percentage rate (APR), the interest rate is based on tiered pricing, with different periodic rates applied to different levels of the outstanding balance. The rate shown applies to the lowest of the balance tiers. |
| Teaser rate | Often called the introductory rate, it is the below-market interest rate offered to entice customers to switch credit cards or lenders |
| Ten-Year Treasury Constant Maturity | An index published by the Federal Reserve Board based on the average yield of a range of Treasury securities, all adjusted to the equivalent of a 10-year maturity. Yields on Treasury securities at constant maturity are determined by the U.S. Treasury from the daily yield curve. That is based on the closing market-bid yields on actively traded Treasury securities in the over-the-counter market. |
| Term | The time to the maturity of a loan or deposit, expressed in months or years. |
| Total expense ratio | The percentage of monthly debt payments compared to total before-tax income. |
| Transaction date | The date that goods or services were purchased or the date the cash advance was made. |
| Treasury index | A table of yields being paid on government debt, used to determine interest-rate changes for adjustable-rate mortgages and other variable rate loans. |
| Truth in Lending Act | A federal law that requires lenders to provide certain information so borrowers can compare one loan to another. The most important facts lenders must provide are: finance charges in dollars and as an annual percentage rate (APR); the credit issuer or company providing the credit line and the size of the credit line; length of grace period, if any, before payment must be made; minimum payment required; any annual fees; and fees for credit insurance, if any. |
| Two-cycle billing | With the two-cycle method, the average daily balance is calculated from two billing cycles rather than one and finance charges are typically higher This method, in effect, wipes out the grace period for customers who carry a balance. If the bill is not paid in full at the first billing, interest becomes retroactive back to the purchase date. Most credit card issuers use the single-cycle average daily balance method to calculate finance charges. |