Only just over half of Britons know what ISA stands for, a survey on financial jargon has indicated, with women being more confused than men.

NS&I's researchers found that many common terms which savers come across were not understood.

Many surveyed admitted to being bemused by the language used at times.
The NS&I jargon buster survey showed lack of knowledge on the acronym ISA, with men (56%) slightly more in the know than their female counterparts (50%).
Only 67% of those polled knew what a BACS payment was and 38% knew what AER means.
Some 55% knew what the term Gross meant and 60% admitted they were likely to stop saving with a particular bank or building society if they could not understand the language used.

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As many as 37% said they were more likely to switch to a financial service provider that uses straightforward language.
Julian Hynd, director of retail at NS&I, said: "It's clear that customers are being bombarded with financial jargon, not only from their bank/building society but other financial service providers too.
"We want to make it easier for our customers to do business with us and provide them with an experience that won't leave them confused. We believe in using plain language."
The poll also found 41% were confused by call centre staff, 49% by terminology in application forms, 50% by jargon used on company websites and 51% by phrases used in letters.
A quarter that found company websites confusing admitted that this had stopped them from saving with a particular bank/building society.

Financial terms that caused most confusion:
FSCS (77%) – Financial Service Compensation Scheme
AER (62%) – Annual Equivalent Rate
ISA (47%) – Individual Savings Account
Gross (45%) - Interest that is paid to you without savings tax being taken off