Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• COUPON
  
  Originally, bonds were issued with detachable coupons, which you clipped and presented to the issuer or the issuer's agent typically a bank or brokerage firm to collect your interest payment. They're also known as bearer bonds because the bearer of the coupon is entitled to the interest. Although most new bonds are elctronically registered rather than issued in certificate form, the term coupon has stuck as a synonym for interest in phrases like the coupon rate. When interest accumulates rather than being paid during the bond's term, the bond is known as a zero coupon.
  
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