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How to pay your credit card
You can make payments online, by phone, in branch or by post. The choice is yours.
Key points about credit card payments
- You can make payments to your credit card account at any time. You do need to pay at least the minimum amount shown on your statement each month.
- If you can't pay the whole statement balance, it's a good idea to pay as much as you can. It may help to keep any interest costs down.
- If you only make the minimum payment each month, it will take longer and cost you more to pay off your balance.
- If you miss a payment, you are likely to be charged a late fee and damage your credit rating. You could also lose any promotional rates on your credit card and have to pay the standard interest rate instead.
- Set up a regular Direct Debit payment and we’ll automatically claim your selected payment amount when it’s due.
- If a Direct Debit isn’t taken for 37 months, it will become inactive, and your bank or building society will remove the details from their systems. If this happens, you’ll need to set up a new one.
- You can also make payments in other ways. For example, from a bank account, with a debit card, by cheque or with cash at a branch. You can do this even if you have a Direct Debit set up.
- If you choose to make one-off payments, make sure the method you use will get your payment to us on time.
- You can ask to change your payment due date to better suit your needs. For example, if you usually receive your salary later than your due date falls. The fastest way to do this is through Online Banking on a computer. From your credit card account summary, select ‘More actions'. Then choose ‘Paying your credit card’ and finally select 'Request payment due date change'.
Frequently asked payment questions
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If you miss a payment you could lose any promotional rates which apply to your account. If that happens, your standard account interest rates and fees will apply. You could also receive late fees and charges. Missing a payment may also affect your credit score and your ability to borrow in the future. That means it’s important to keep track and manage your account well.
It’s important that you make at least the minimum payment shown on your statement each month. This payment need to reach your account by the due date.
If you’re experiencing difficulties making your credit card payments, please let us know so we can help. You’ll find information and support at our money worries page, or you can call us on 0345 944 4555. Speak to an adviser 8am – 8pm, seven days a week. Not all Telephone Banking services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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You can change your payment due date to better suit your needs. For example, if you usually receive your salary later than your due date falls.
To use Online Banking, sign in or register to get started. From your credit card account summary, select ‘More actions’, then ‘Paying your credit card’. Here, select ‘Request payment due date change’.
Just be aware, your change may apply to a future payment, rather than the next one, depending on when you make your request.
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You may be aware that different rates of interest apply to portions of your balance. They vary based on transaction type, and whether the standard or a promotional rate applies. To check the rates that apply to your account, refer to your latest credit card statement.
To help you to keep your interest costs to a minimum, we'll allocate payments you make to in this order:
- To balances with the highest interest rates first.
- To balances which appear on your monthly statement.
- To those which will feature on future statements.
If you have a balance at a promotional rate, it’s useful to remember that payments will apply to any standard rate balances first, even if the promotional period is nearly over.
If you have more than one balance with the same interest rate, we'll allocate payments in this order:
- Cash transactions.
- Card purchases.
- Balance and money transfers.
- Default fees, including interest and other charges added.
Transactions and related fees or charges will be repaid in date order, starting with the oldest first.
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When setting up a Direct Debit, you can choose to:
- make the minimum payment
- clear the full balance
- or set a fixed amount.
You can make extra payments at any time to reduce your balance and any interest costs. It’s important to understand how we charge interest and when it applies, especially if you’re planning to pay off your balance in full.
Because interest is calculated daily and charged to your credit card statement when it’s produced each month, you may need to pay an amount of ‘residual interest’. It’s a little complicated. To help, we’ve created a short guide to explain paying your credit card balance in full.