Skip to content
Check my options
All debt solutionsIVADebt Management PlanDebt Relief OrderBankruptcyBreathing SpaceFull and final settlementProtected Trust DeedDebt Arrangement Scheme
All types of debtCredit card debtCouncil tax arrearsPersonal loansEnergy arrearsOverdraftsRent arrearsHMRC debtBuy Now Pay Later
All compareIVA vs DMPIVA vs DROIVA vs bankruptcyDMP vs DRODMP vs bankruptcyDRO vs bankruptcy
All toolsSolution comparisonMy Debt MapBudget calculatorCouncil finderDebt glossaryUK insolvency tracker
All urgent helpBailiff at the doorCouncil tax summonsCourt letter or claim formEviction threatEnergy disconnectionWages being deductedCan't afford foodCreditor threats
All local helpEnglandScotlandWalesNorthern IrelandWest MidlandsBirminghamWolverhamptonAll locations
Debt glossary How we make money
Check my options

Credit card minimum payments: the arithmetic nobody shows you

The minimum payment is calculated to keep the account alive, not to clear it. Seeing the actual numbers changes how people treat it.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamLast reviewed 25 August 2026Jurisdiction England & WalesEditorial policy
Card minimum payments are typically set around interest plus 1% of the balance, so paying only the minimum clears debt extraordinarily slowly — a £3,000 balance at a typical rate can take well over two decades. Under the FCA’s persistent debt rules, a lender must contact you when your interest and charges exceed your repayments over 18 months, and after 36 months must offer a faster, affordable repayment route.

The maths

Because the minimum recalculates as the balance falls, payments shrink alongside the debt and the tail stretches for years — most of what you pay in the early years is interest. Fixing your payment at today’s minimum amount, rather than letting it fall, cuts years off the term at no extra monthly cost. The budget calculator shows what a fixed figure does to your surplus.

The persistent-debt rules

Since 2018, lenders must monitor for “persistent debt” — paying more in interest, fees and charges than you repay of the balance over 18 months. At 18 and 27 months you get prompts to pay more; at 36 months the lender must propose a way to clear the balance in a reasonable period, usually 3–4 years, and must consider reducing or waiving interest if you cannot afford it. These letters are legal obligations working in your favour — answering them is how the leverage gets used.

When even the minimum strains

A minimum you cannot meet is the can’t-afford sequence, not a smaller version of this page. Say so to the lender before the payment fails, and the whole conversation happens on better terms.

Check my options — about 60 seconds