Secured Credit Card
A secured credit card is a type of credit card that is backed by a cash deposit from the cardholder. This deposit acts as collateral on the account, providing the card issuer with security in case the cardholder can't make payments. Secured credit cards are often issued to subprime borrowers or those with limited credit histories (so-called thin-file borrowers).
Most credit cards are unsecured: There is nothing guaranteeing or "securing" your ability to pay off your accrued balance, which is basically money you owe the credit card company. Its contract with you has you agreeing to pay your balance in whole or in part each month, but you're not putting up any of your assets or income to back that promise. (That's one reason credit card interest rates are so high—unsecured debt always is more costly than secured debt, such as mortgages or a car loans, to compensate for the lack of collateral).