Credit Card Glossary: Terms and Definitions

Guarantor

A guarantor on a credit card account is a person who signs an agreement to pay off a loan for someone else if that someone else defaults. It is similar to co-signing, in that it is a technique often used among family and friends to allow a person with good credit to vouch for a person with new credit or bad credit to get a loan. The presence of a guarantor or co-signer makes lenders more willing to approve loans for high-risk borrowers. And like a co-signer, the guarantor is on the hook for the entire amount borrowed. Guarantors are treated differently in the collections process when a loan defaults; the bank first must exhaust other means of collections before turning to the guarantor.

Terms from A-Z

Search the CreditCards.com glossary for every credit-related term from "account holder" to "zombie debt." Select a letter for alphabetized terms and definitions.

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