Minimum payment calculator
Type what you owe, the APR and how your card works out its minimum payment. It shows how long minimum payments take and the interest, and what a fixed amount each month would save.
Estimate · guidance, not advice
- It assumes no new spending, no fees and the same rate throughout.
More than one card or loan?
The Debt Payoff App puts every card and loan in order, gives you a debt-free date and shows what paying a little more saves.
Debt Payoff App · £12.59 on Etsy
How minimum payments work
Most UK cards set the minimum as a share of what you owe plus that month's interest, with a lowest amount in pounds. Your statement says which rule your card uses.
Why it takes so long
The minimum falls as the balance falls, so each payment clears less than the one before. A fixed amount keeps clearing the same.
If you can't pay the minimum
Tell the card company before the payment is due.
Free, confidential debt help: MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline.
A worked example
£3,000 on a card at 22.9% APR, where the minimum is 1% of the balance plus the month's interest and at least £25. Paying only the minimum takes 14 years and 9 months, with £4,162.41 in interest; the first payment is £82, and it shrinks from there. Paying a fixed £100 a month instead clears it in 3 years and 7 months, with £1,271.08 in interest: £2,891.33 less, and 11 years and 2 months sooner.
Questions
How is interest worked out?
Each month, at the monthly rate that adds up to the APR over a year: 22.9% APR is about 1.73% a month.
Updated