Published by: Dominic Lee
Like most professional fields, banking has its own language that can be difficult for outsiders to understand. Part of this is due to those mysterious symbols like 'AMEX', 'DWP' or 'RTN', so-called banking abbreviations. These are actually just shortened forms of common banking terms.
For example, POS stands for Point of Sale, SWIFT is just a network for international money transfers, and SAL stands for Salary. While some are commony recognised (like ATM or POS), there are many, that most people have no idea what they stand for. EPOA, NDC or CAFE... to name just a few.
If you're not familiar with them, they cause a lot of confusion and make documents hard to read. That's not helpful when you're trying to analyze financial data, bank statements, or other documents. But if you know what they mean, they actually make documents cleaner. Here you'll find a comprehensive list (104 of them) of abbreviations used in banking documents.
| Abbreviation | Full worlds | Meaning: |
|---|---|---|
| ABCP | Asset-Backed Commercial Paper INSTRUMENT | Collateralized short-term investment instruments. |
| ABS | Asset-Backed Securities | Securities backed by loan portfolios, leases, or accounts receivable. |
| AC | Amortized Cost INTERNAL | Accounting approach using amortized cost for financial assets. |
| ACH | Automated Clearing House ACCOUNT | Electronic infrastructure facilitating financial transactions in the U.S commonly used for direct deposits and bill payments. |
| AFS | Available for Sale | Financial assets classified as available for sale by the owner. |
| AIRB | Advanced Internal Ratings Based INTERNAL | Methodology employed by banks to assess credit risk for regulatory capital purposes. |
| ALCo | Asset and Liability Management Committee INTERNAL | Committee coordinating the management of assets and liabilities. |
| AMEX | American Express SERVICE | Popular company specializing in payment card solutions. |
APR  popular | Annual Percentage Rate | Annual interest rate charged on a loan or credit card as opposed to a monthly rate. |
| APY | Annual Percentage Yield ACCOUNT | Annual interest rate paid by bank for money on savings account or certificate of deposit (CD). |
| ARA | Annual Report and Accounts | Annual overview detailing the company's activities from the prior year. |
| AT1 | Additional Tier 1 | Core tier of capital within a bank's capital architecture. |
| ATB | Adjusted Trial Balance ACCOUNT | Trial balance with adjustments applied. |
| ATM popular | Automated Teller Machine ACCOUNT | Self-service banking machine used for withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions. |
| ATM RFD | ATM refunds | ATM-issued refunds. |
| BACS | Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services ACCOUNT | UK financial transaction network. |
| BBK | Beneficiary Bank | Bank of the recipient. |
| BBP or BP | Bill Payment | Payment to clear a bill. |
| BGC | Bank Giro Credit SERVICE | Direct funds transfer instruction. |
| BIC | Bank Identifier Code ACCOUNT | Global bank identifier. |
| BNF | Beneficiary Name Field | Recipient name field. |
| BPOA | Beginning Period of Availability | Year one of statutory obligation availability. |
| BSP | Branch Single Payment | In-branch payment. |
| CAFE | Central Accounting Front End | Central accounting management system. |
| CAT | Charges, easy Access, fair Terms DOCUMENT | Characteristics ensuring fairness and accessibility in financial offerings. |
| CCC | Currency conversion charge CHARGE | Currency conversion fee deducted in financial transaction. |
| CD | Certificate of Deposit INSTRUMENT | savings account with a fixed interest rate and withdrawal term. |
| CDL | Career Development Loan | Career education loan. |
| CDM | Cash & Deposit Machine | Cash and check deposit machine. |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations | Codified federal statutes and regulations. |
| CHAPS or CHP | Clearing House Automated Payment System SERVICE | High-Value Same-Day Payment System (HVS-DPS) in the UK. |
| CHG | Charge CHARGE | Account service fee. |
| CHQ | Cheque DOCUMENT | Document with payment instruction for a bank. |
| CIR | Collections Information Repository DOCUMENT | Collection management database. |
| C‐Key | Classification Key | Transaction classification key. |
| CO | CO Certifying Officer | Financial transaction authorization officer. |
| COR | Correction | Account corrections. |
| CR popular | Credit | Incoming payment record, positive account balance or a deposit made to your account. |
| CRE | Credit payment | Payment received. |
| CSH | Cash | Physical cash, notes and coins used in transaction. |
| CUI | Centralised Unpaid In (Unpaid Cheque) | Unpaid check management system. |
| CWP | Cold Weather Payment | Winter weather financial support. |
| D/D or DDR | Direct Debit | Instruction to a bank to debit an account. |
| DAN | Deposit Account Number ACCOUNT | Deposit account identifier. |
| DIV | Dividend INSTRUMENT | Profit distribution to company’s shareholders. |
| DNP | Do Not Pay | Payment blockage instruction. |
| DR popular | Account Overdrawn or Debit Item / Debit Balance ACCOUNT | Indicates a negative account balance where you've spent more than what's available. |
| DUNS | Data Universal Numbering System | Business entity numeric identification scheme. |
| DWP | Department of Work and Pensions ORGANIZATION | UK government department responsible for welfare and pension policy. |
| ECP | Electronic Check Processing | Paper-to-electronic check conversion. |
| EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer SERVICE | Online money transfer. |
| EPOA | Ending Period of Availability | Final year of obligation availability under law. |
| ERTF | Exchange Rate Transaction Fee CHARGE | Currency conversion fee in a transaction. |
| ESF | Exchange Stabilization Fund ORGANIZATION | Exchange rate stabilization fund. |
| FPI or FP | Faster Payments Inwards SERVICE | Quick electronic incoming payments in the UK. |
| FPO | Faster Payments Outwards SERVICE | Fast outgoing payments in the UK. |
| FRB | Federal Reserve Bank ORGANIZATION | Central bank of the USA. |
| IAT | International ACH Transactions SERVICE | Cross-border automated clearing house transactions. |
| IBAN popular | International Bank Account Number ACCOUNT | Standardized global identifier for bank accounts used for international money transfers. |
| IBP | Inter-Branch Payment ACCOUNT | Transfer within the same bank. |
| IDD | International Direct Deposit | International direct deposit facility. |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund ORGANIZATION | Global institution promoting monetary cooperation. |
| IMO | International Money Order SERVICE | Cross-border money transfer request for a specified amount. |
| INT | Interest | Deposit interest payout from a bank or credit union to an account holder. |
| IPP | Internet Payment Platform | Digital payment management platform. |
| ISA | Individual Savings Account ACCOUNT | UK tax-exempt savings account. |
| ITL | International | International operations. |
| MAIN | Main Account Code ACCOUNT | Specifies the nature and objective of the fund. |
| MTS | Monthly Treasury Statement | Monthly financial report detailing federal government activities. |
| NDC | Non Dividend Counterfoil DOCUMENT | Stock ownership proof excluding dividend privileges. |
| NO WI BON | No Withdrawal Bonus | Bonus for refraining from withdrawing funds. |
| N-S TRN FEE | Non Sterling Transaction Fee CHARGE | Charge for non-Sterling currency transactions. |
| OD | Overdrawn Balance | Negative account balance indicating an overdraft. |
| OD/S | Overdrawn Sub Total ACCOUNT | Subtotal of account overdraft amount. |
| OTR | Online Banking Transaction | Internet banking transaction. |
| PII | Personally identifiable information | Personal data for identification. |
| PIR | Payment Information Repository | Payment record storage platform. |
| PIN | Personally Identification Number ACCOUNT | The secret code used for accessing your bank account through ATMs or online banking. |
| POC | Post Office Counters SERVICE | Banking and financial services at the post office. |
| POS popular | Point Of Sale / Debit Card Transaction | Transaction made using a debit card or credit card at a store or online retailer. |
| REV | Reversal | Reversal transaction (reverting previous one). |
| RTN | Routing Transit Number ACCOUNT | Financial institution identifier. |
| S | Sub-Total | Interim total of amounts. |
| S/line | Statement Line | Single entry in a bank statement document. |
| S/O, SO or STO | Standing Order | Recurring payment instruction. |
| SAL | Salary | Salary payment. |
| SAM | Shared Accounting Module | Collaborative accounting system. |
| SBT | Screen Based Transaction | Web-based digital transaction. |
| SOD | Statement Of Differences DOCUMENT | Discrepancy log report. |
| SPR | Standard Payment Request | Request for a standard payment. |
| SPS | Secure Payment System | Protected financial transaction infrastructure. |
| SSN | Social Security Number | Individual number for social security issues for U.S. citizens. |
| Sub | Sub Account Code | Treasury-defined account subdivision identifier. |
| SWIFT popular | Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SERVICE | International financial transactions system. |
| TEL | Telephone Banking SERVICE | Phone banking services. |
| TFR | Transfer | Account-to-account money transfer. |
| TIN | Taxpayer Identification Number | An unique number used by the IRS to identify taxpayers for tax purposes. |
| TLR | Teller Transaction | In-person banking transaction. |
| TRACS | Treasury Receivable, Accounting & Collection System | Treasury receivables management platform. |
| TRF | Transfer | Money transfer. |
| TSU | Telephone Banking SERVICE | Phone banking services. |
| UNP | Unpaid | Unpaid transaction. |
| VRATE | Visa Payment Scheme Exchange Rate | Visa's foreign exchange rate. |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language | Flexible text-based format used for structuring and encoding data, both human and machine-readable. |
I hope this list is useful, helps you decipher your bank statement, and saves you some time.
When analyzing your bank statement, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Reconciliation: do the math and make sure your expenses and deposits add up to the total you see on the statement.
- Understanding: highlight any abbreviations you don't understand. Check their meaning.
- Check fees: look for fees. Do you see any that you don't recognize or remember? Are there any forgotten subscription services? See if there is anything you can cancel or avoid next month.
- Contact bank: if you have any doubts (unrecognized transactions, abbreviations you don't understand), don't hesitate to contact your bank.
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