Interest is the money you either owe when borrowing or are paid when lending money. When you owe interest, it's calculated as a percentage of the loan (or deposit) you've taken. You earn interest when you lend money or deposit funds into an interest-bearing bank account.

Where does interest on money come from?

When you borrow money, interest is the cost of doing so and is typically expressed as an annual percentage of the loan (or amount of credit card borrowing). When you save money it is the rate your bank or building society will pay you to borrow your money. The money you earn on your savings is also called interest.

Why do banks give interest?

Why Does a Savings Account Earn Interest? ... This is because the banks use the money in savings accounts to lend to other customers for things like car loans, and they need a fair amount of money available to be able to lend it out. When the bank lends out money, the folks getting the loan end up paying interest on it.