Understanding your credit card statement
Understanding your credit card statement
A credit card statement is a summary of your account activity for a set period of time, usually monthly. You should check your statements regularly to find out how much you need to pay, when you need to pay it by, what rates you’re being charged, any fees/charges , and to make sure you recognise all the transactions listed.
As long as there’s a balance on your account, we’ll issue a credit card statement to you every month, either online or by post (based on your preferences).
Your credit card statement explained
You’ll find your credit card balance clearly displayed on your statement. This includes all interest, fees and charges between your previous statement up until the date the statement was produced, as well as any transactions and payments you’ve made.
It’s important to check your transactions to make sure there’s no fraudulent activity on your account. You might not instantly recognise some of the transactions listed as businesses sometimes use or trade under a different name.
A quick check online might help you with this. If not, get in touch with us as soon as possible.
Things to look out for on your credit card statement include:
- Your new balance - this shows you how much you owe on the date your statement was produced.
- Minimum payment due - this is the minimum amount you need to pay, usually calculated as a percentage of your balance.
- To reach your account by - this is the date your minimum payment is due. If your payment is late, you’ll be charged a late fee and will lose any promotional offers.
- Breakdown of balance - this includes the interest rate for each type of transaction, e.g. card purchases, and when they expire.
- Summary box - grouping information about things like fees and charges, or the way payments are allocated.
Please note: your payments will be allocated to higher-rate transactions that are shown on your statement before those charged at lower rates. For full details, please check your credit card terms and conditions.
From your statement, it should be clear how much your monthly payment is and when it’s due by. There are many ways to make payments, so have a read of our guide and do what works for you.
Checking your statement online
If you get your statements online rather than by post, you can view transactions online dating back 12 months.
Simply log in or register for Online Services to get started.
If you get online statements, documents like notices of changes to your terms and conditions will also be sent to you electronically, but you’ll still get some information by post. It’s really easy to choose your statement preferences - just log in to Online Services and follow the on-screen instructions.