Credit Card Repayment Calculator

It depends on your balance, your APR and how much you repay each month — enter them above and the calculator shows the total interest until the card is cleared. Interest is roughly your APR ÷ 12 charged on the balance each month (many providers work it out daily and add it monthly). The minimum-payment trap is where it adds up: on the default £3,000 at 24.9% APR, paying only the minimum runs for about 28 years and costs far more interest than a fixed monthly amount.

Yes. Enter your card’s APR — the annual interest rate shown on your statement — and the calculator turns it into the monthly interest charge, then works out how long the balance takes to clear and the total interest you’ll pay. Most UK cards apply interest daily and add it monthly, so treat the result as a close estimate.

It is usually the greater of 1% of the outstanding balance plus that month’s interest, or a flat minimum (often around £5–£25) — this calculator uses 1% plus interest or £5, whichever is higher, unless you change the assumptions. Because it is a percentage of the balance, the minimum shrinks as you pay down, which is why it takes so long. Your provider may use a higher percentage or a different formula.

When you pay only the minimum, most of each payment goes on interest and barely touches the balance — and the payment itself shrinks as the balance falls. In the default £3,000 example at 24.9% APR, paying only the assumed minimum takes about 28 years and 9 months. Paying a fixed amount breaks the cycle.

It is an illustration. Interest is estimated monthly using APR ÷ 12, while many card providers calculate interest daily and add it to the statement monthly. Purchase, cash withdrawal and balance-transfer balances may also have different rates.

If your monthly payment doesn’t cover the interest charged, the balance grows rather than falls and the card never gets paid off. You need to pay more than the monthly interest to make any progress.

Pay a fixed amount each month rather than the shrinking minimum, pay more than the minimum whenever you can, and consider a 0% balance-transfer card to pause the interest while you clear the balance. Always tackle the highest-APR debt first if you have several.

Free, impartial debt help is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice. They can help with budgeting, talking to lenders and formal debt solutions — you never need to pay a company to help with debt.