| Margin | Expressed as percentage points, the amount that a lender adds to an index to arrive at the final interest rate. For example, if the index is 9 percent and the margin 2.75 percent, the final interest rate is 11.75 percent. |
| Member bank | A commercial bank with membership in the Federal Reserve System, and which maintains reserve deposits in the Federal Reserve Bank in its district. |
| Merged credit report | A summary of one's credit history from the big three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. |
| Minimum payment | The minimum amount a cardholder can pay to keep the account from going into default. Some card issuers will set a high minimum if they are uncertain of the cardholder's ability to pay. Most card issuers require a minimum payment of 2 percent of the outstanding balance. |
| Modification | A change in terms of the loan agreement. |
| Monthly periodic rate | The interest rate factor used to calculate the interest charges on a monthly basis. The factor equals the yearly rate divided by 12. See periodic rate. |