Look at the highlighted words in 19 and 20 and find synonyms or antonyms for the following words and expressions. Synonyms Antonyms outlet to deposit (money) securities to credit giro account interest-free to raise a loan to lend property in cash to establish a company by selling shares corporate or business customer Talk together. If you had some money to invest, would you take it to a bank? Or do you think there might be better ways? 21 Commercial Banking High street banks consist of branches and provide a number of services for which the customer pays bank charges. Among the services offered are various accounts like current accounts or savings accounts, which, in contrast to the former, are interest bearing. Once a bank customer has opened an account it can be used for paying in as well as for taking out money. The account holder can receive and make payments either in cash, by credit transfer or direct debit. The most convenient form of payment for regular sums that stay the same (e.g. rent) is to place a standing order; if the amount that needs to be paid varies (e.g. telephone bill) a direct debit arrangement is more practical. Bank statements, which can be sent by post or printed out by the account holders themselves, inform about daily transactions and the balance. They can also serve as proof of a payment. If an account is overdrawn (and most banks in Austria offer overdraft facilities) the account holder pays a comparatively high interest rate on the outstanding amount (in contrast to interest on savings and loans, which are usually somewhat lower). Should a bank customer need to borrow a larger sum of money, say for buying a car, a house or a flat (home loan or mortgage), they need to take out a loan, which has to be paid back in instalments within a certain time period plus interest. Interest rates are initiated by the ECB, the European Central Bank for the EU and the Fed (Federal Reserve) for the USA. They can rise or fall for economic reasons or also be increased or lowered for political reasons. Any bank account usually comes with a cash card (used for cashless payments or for withdrawing money from a cash machine). Credit cards are issued by credit card institutes (e.g. American Express, Visa, Diners) via banks. As the cardholder’s account is only debited a few weeks after purchases or payments have been made, credit card spending is a form of short-term interest-free credit. If the credit card invoice is not paid on time and in full, the outstanding sum can be paid back in monthly instalments together with a rather high interest. These days, cards usually are smart cards, which are equipped with a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe. They can be used for contactless payments and also uploaded with a certain sum to be used as electronic wallets to pay for parking meters and vending machines. Commercial Banks, finally, provide facilities for changing money (from one currency to another, based on the current exchange rate), a line of business that has dwindled in mainland Europe since the introduction of the euro (single currency). To make up for lost business, many banks diversified into advice-centred facilities, offering retirement and savings products, insurance (e.g. life insurance) and the services formerly provided by building societies, as well as real estate. Electronic or e-banking and e-enabled accounts coinciding with the reorganisation of branches along ‘assisted self-service’ lines – with account maintenance terminals in self-service foyers where bank customers do a lot of the work formerly done by bank clerks – allowed banks to limit costs by reducing the number of outlets and staff. 22 68 Language skills Extras Explore 5 It’s an online world Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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