Deposits are a loan from the customer to the banker. The terms of that loan are the terms of the ‘account’. We refer to ‘an account’ because the amount deposited is subject to change, and there is a continuous accounting of it as transactions occur so as to show the amount currently on deposit. The terms of the loan are theoretically subject to negotiation between the parties. In practice, they are imposed by the bank. Thus, the number of kinds – the ‘types’ – of accounts available to customers is generally limited, but terms do vary.