Meaning & use
giro account
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritishfinance
A basic bank account, common in Britain, into which regular payments such as wages or state benefits are paid directly.
Grammar: Countable: you can have a giro account, open one, or close one.
Patterns
- open a giro account
- pay something into a giro account
- have a giro account with a bank
She opened a giro account so her wages could be paid in automatically.
The money went straight into his giro account at the post office.
Without a giro account, getting your benefit paid can take longer.
nouncountableBritishfinance
A system used in some countries for sending money between post offices, especially for people without a regular bank account.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'by giro' when talking about how money is sent.
Patterns
- send money by giro
- a giro payment
- pay by giro
Some employers still pay seasonal workers by giro.
The refund arrived as a giro payment rather than a bank transfer.
Word forms
| plural | giro accounts |
|---|
Common combinations
- open a giro account
- You can open a giro account at most high-street banks.
- pay into a giro account
- Her employer pays her salary into a giro account every month.
- a giro account holder
- Giro account holders can use the counter service at the post office.
- close a giro account
- He decided to close his giro account and switch to an online bank.
- benefits paid into a giro account
- Benefits are usually paid straight into a giro account these days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- checking account
- The usual American term for the same everyday account; use it in US contexts, not in British ones.
- current account
- The standard British banking term for a normal account used for daily payments; more formal than 'giro account'.
Word family
- giro noun
- A payment made through the giro system, or the system itself.
Commonly confused: giro account or Giro?
giro account vs Giro
With a capital letter, 'Giro' often refers to a specific national payment system or a brand; the lower-case phrase 'giro account' is the general banking term.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'giro account' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Open a giro account' is the natural verb pattern, and the sentence describes a real banking action. Option A wrongly uses 'by giro account' instead of 'by giro' or 'from a giro account'; C and D are not grammatical uses of the noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “giro account”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.