What is APR

An annual percentage rate (APR) is the annual rate charged for borrowing or earned through an investment, and is expressed as a percentage that represents the actual yearly cost of funds over the term of a loan. This includes any fees or additional costs associated with the transaction but does not take compounding into account. As loans or credit agreements can vary in terms of interest-rate structure, transaction fees, late penalties and other factors, a standardized computation such as the APR provides borrowers with a bottom-line number they can easily compare to rates charged by other lenders.

The annual percentage rate (or APR) is the amount of interest on your total loan amount that you'll pay annually (averaged over the full term of the loan). A lower APR translates to lower monthly payments. (You'll see APRs alongside interest rates in today's mortgage rates.)

APR vs Interest Rate
An interest rate, or a nominal interest rate, refers only to the interest charged on a loan, and it does not take any other expenses into account. In contrast, APR is the combination of the nominal interest rate and any other costs or fees involved in procuring the loan. As a result, an APR tends to be higher than a loan's nominal interest rate.

For example, if you were considering a mortgage for $200,000 with a 6% interest rate, your annual interest expense would amount to $12,000, or a monthly payment of $1,000. But say your home purchase also requires closing costs, mortgage insurance and loan origination fees in the amount of $5,000. In order to determine your mortgage loan's APR, these fees are added to the original loan amount to create a new loan amount of $205,000. The 6% interest rate is then used to calculate a new annual payment of $12,300. Divide the annual payment of $12,300 by the original loan amount of $200,000 to get an APR of 6.15%.

Reference:
https://www.usbank.com/home-loans/mortgage/what-is-mortgage-apr.aspx
https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/credit/what-is-apr
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/apr.asp
https://www.comparehero.my/blog/malaysias-best-personal-loan-rates-2015
http://www.calculator.com.my/credit-card-repayment#.WQwAzWmGPX4
http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/best-credit-cards-for-2017-2017-1?IR=T&r=US&IR=T
https://loanstreet.com.my/calculator/flat-to-effective-interest-calculator
https://www.easycalculation.com/mortgage/mortgage-apr-calculator.php