Credit card minimum payments, provider by provider

How to check your own card’s rule

Your monthly statement shows the minimum payment and the date it’s due. How it’s worked out is in the statement’s summary box, usually under “Minimum repayment”, and in your credit agreement. That is the rule for your card, and it’s the one to go by if it differs from the table: a provider can set a different rule for a particular card, change its rule with notice, or raise the minimum for someone in persistent debt.

The rules below come from each provider’s own website: its summary box, credit agreement or help pages, as linked beside each one. We checked all 31 published rules on 21 October 2026, and check them again every three months.

Minimum payment rules, provider by provider

The last two columns are for £3,000 owed at 24.9% APR, with nothing new spent and no fees. Where a provider sets the percentage card by card, they show the range: none of those providers publishes which card gets which percentage, so your card terms or statement are the place to find yours.

Cards that are no longer offered, such as Metro Bank’s and Tymit’s, aren’t listed. Where a provider’s own website doesn’t say how its minimum is worked out, the table says so rather than guess.

Work out your own card’s minimum →

The four kinds of rule

Almost every rule is the highest of two or three of these, so the part that sets your minimum can change as the balance falls.

• The interest plus a percentage. The month’s interest and any fees, plus 1% to 2.5% of the balance. This always takes something off what you owe, but only the percentage: at 1%, a £3,000 balance falls by about £30 a month.
• A percentage of everything you owe. From 1% to 3%, with the interest already inside it. At 24.9% APR the interest is about 1.9% a month, so a 2% payment takes very little off the balance. It’s normally one option among others, so the interest-plus rule takes over when it’s higher.
• A set amount. £5 at most banks, £15 at Yonder and £25 at American Express, MBNA, Nationwide, Tesco Bank and Virgin Money, or the whole balance if less is owed. On a small balance this is what you pay, and a £25 minimum clears the last few hundred pounds far faster than £5.
• Twice the interest, plus a little. NatWest, Ulster Bank, Tesco Bank, Virgin Money, Asda Money and Jaja include one. It makes sure at least as much comes off the balance as goes on interest, which matters most at high rates.

That’s why Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, MBNA have the highest first minimum here, at £132.50: 2.5% of the balance plus the interest takes £76 a month off £3,000, against £30 on a rule of 1%.

If the minimum is all you can pay

Paying the minimum on time keeps the account in good standing, but on most rules it takes years to clear a card, and most of what you pay goes on interest. Even keeping this month’s minimum as a fixed payment, rather than letting it fall each month, clears a card many years sooner. Credit card minimum payments, explained covers why, the rules on persistent debt, and the quickest ways to clear a card.

If you can’t pay the minimum, contact your provider before the due date: it has to treat you fairly and consider what you can afford. Free, confidential debt advice is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.