Accounts Vs Contracts

• An account is a financial account maintained between a customer and a financial institution. A bank account can be a deposit account, a credit card, or any other type of account offered by a financial institution. The financial transactions which have occurred within a given period of time on a bank account are reported to the customer on a bank statement and the balance of the account at any point in time is the financial position of the customer with the institution.

• Accounts may have a positive, or credit balance, where the bank owes money to the customer. For instance deposit accounts such as CASA and Term Deposit. Accounts may have a negative, or debit balance, where the customer owes money to the bank. For instance, Credit cards. Accounts can also switch between debit and credit balances, if so configured.

• A contract is an agreement having a lawful object entered into voluntarily by two or more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal obligations between them. For example: Foreign currency forward contracts are used as a foreign currency hedge when an investor has an obligation to either make or take a foreign currency payment at some point in the future.

• Aura offers both Accounts and Contracts functionality. CASA, TD, Loans and Credit cards are account level services as described while Treasury are typically Contracts / Agreement services. (Detailed explanation can be found under the User Manuals for respective modules).