Chartered Bank

Chartered banks are basically what you think of as...banks. It's the type of institution where you deposit money, and then the bank uses that money to make loans.

Behind the scenes, these banks have charters, which detail their basic operations and put them under the scrutiny of the proper authorities. Basically, the bank lets the government know it's a bank, and then the government issues it a charter so it can...do what banks do. The bank has to follow all the rules and, in return, it gets certain protections, like access to FDIC insurance.

These banks operate in a fairly narrow set of guidelines that sets them apart from other types of financial institutions. Like, say, that guy in the velour track suit and all the gold chains, who hangs out in the back of the casino and is willing to loan you money for your next round of blackjack, the funds for which get peeled off a giant wad of hundreds. That guy is definitely not the representative of a chartered bank. And you should probably pay him back immediately, and then go home and, if necessary, join Gamblers Anonymous.