Calculate credit card interest charges on your balance. Find how long to pay off debt, total interest paid, and compare minimum payment vs fixed payment strategies.
Credit card interest in the UK is calculated daily on your outstanding balance. The APR is divided by 365 to get the daily rate, then applied to your balance each day. At the end of each statement period, the accumulated daily interest is added to your balance. For example, a £3,500 balance at 22.9% APR accrues approximately £2.20 per day in interest.
UK credit card APRs typically range from around 19% to 40%, with the average around 25-27% (2025/26). Premium travel cards may offer 0% for a promotional period before reverting to a standard rate. Store cards often carry higher rates of 30-40%. Always compare the representative APR when choosing a card.
Paying only the minimum payment (typically 1-2% of balance or £25 minimum) is very costly. A £3,500 balance at 22.9% APR with minimum payments only could take over 25 years to clear and cost £4,000+ in interest. Even increasing the payment to £100/month cuts this to about 4 years and saves thousands.
A 0% balance transfer card lets you move existing credit card debt to a new card with 0% interest for a promotional period (typically 12-30 months). A balance transfer fee (usually 1.5-3% of the amount) applies. If you can clear the balance within the 0% period, this is one of the most effective ways to reduce credit card debt costs.
Making minimum payments on time keeps your credit score positive — it shows you are meeting obligations. However, a high credit utilisation ratio (balance as a % of limit) can negatively impact your score. Using more than 30% of your credit limit is generally considered a negative signal. Paying more than the minimum reduces your balance faster and improves utilisation.