← Money Words

Interest

Money a bank pays you for keeping your money there — or money you pay for borrowing.

Three ways to explain it

Hatchlings · Ages 5–6

Thank-you money. When a bank looks after your money, every so often it adds a tiny bit more.

Fledglings · Ages 7–8

A small payment for letting a bank look after your money. Borrow money instead, and interest is what you pay for it.

High Flyers · Ages 9–10

A percentage paid on an amount of money, usually once a year. You earn it on savings and pay it on borrowing — the same idea running in opposite directions.

Where to go next

Read the whole topic: Growing It.

All Money Words