Minimum Payment Calculator UK: How Long Will Your Card Take to Clear? (2026)

Minimum Payment Calculator: How Long Will Your Credit Card Take to Clear?

Written by Hamid Ali, MSc Accounting & Finance, Founder of DebtShift · Updated 3 November 2026 · Rules checked against the FCA Handbook on that date

You pay £92.25 on a £3,000 card, month after month, and the balance looks almost the same. It is not your imagination. That payment is mostly interest, and the part that is left shrinks as the balance shrinks.

On our worked example (£3,000 at 24.9% APR, minimum payments only) the card takes 236 months, almost 20 years, and costs £5,545 in interest. That is our own illustration, not an average. The calculator below shows your numbers, then what changes if you pay a little more.

On this page: the calculator · the minimum payment rule · what a fixed payment changes · ways out · US cards · questions

The calculator

Enter your balance, APR and current minimum payment. The tool models a minimum that shrinks as your balance falls, the way a real statement does, and lets you test a higher payment with the slider.

\u2713 Free to use. No account, no sign-up and no bank link. You only give an email if you choose to have your result sent to you.

The minimum payment rule, in plain English

In the UK, a card firm must set your minimum at no less than the amount that repays the interest, fees and charges added to your account, plus 1% of the amount you owe (FCA Handbook CONC 6.7.5R). That applies to card agreements made on or after 1 April 2011, with an exception for cards that let you defer repayment. Plenty of issuers set it higher, and many add a floor of around £5 or more, so your own statement may differ.

Here is the trap. If the minimum is “interest plus 1%”, the 1% falls every month as the balance falls. The interest also falls, so the whole payment shrinks, and the slice that reduces the debt stays small. You are on a slope that gets gentler the further down you go.

The FCA also has rules on persistent debt: paying more in interest, fees and charges than you repay of what you borrowed over 18 months. Card firms must contact you at 18 months, and again at 27 and 36 months if you are still in it, and offer help, which can include a reduced or frozen interest rate if you cannot pay. The FCA estimated 2.8 million people were in persistent credit card debt (Financial Lives 2024); StepChange’s own December 2025 survey suggested about 2.5 million. The two figures are not directly comparable.

What a fixed payment changes

All figures below use the same card: £3,000 at 24.9% APR, with a first-month interest of £62.25, calculated in code.

Look at row two. You do not need to find extra money to save about £3,500 in interest. You only need to stop the payment from shrinking. If your card provider will not hold it for you, set a standing order for the first minimum and pay that every month.

Two more examples from the same model: £5,000 at 19.9% APR with a £150 minimum takes 220 months and £5,796 in interest. £10,000 at 22.9% APR with a £300 minimum takes 327 months and £16,909. A lower floor lengthens it: on the £3,000 example, a £5 floor instead of £15 stretches it to 345 months and £5,998.48 in interest. Your card may use a different formula, so treat the results as estimates.

Ways out of the trap, from cheapest to biggest

1. Fix your payment. Hold it at today’s minimum or more. Free, and it works.
2. Pay the highest APR first. If you have several cards, pay minimums on all and put every spare pound on the one with the highest APR. The payoff planner shows the order.
3. Use a 0% balance transfer, carefully. Check the transfer fee and the end date. Add the fee to the balance and divide by the number of 0% months: on £3,000 with a 3% fee over 18 months that is £3,090 ÷ 18 = £171.67 a month. If you cannot pay that, it will not clear in time.
4. Ask for help from the lender. If you are in persistent debt or struggling, ask for a lower or frozen interest rate or a payment plan. They are expected to treat you with forbearance.
5. Get a debt plan. A free adviser at StepChange or National Debtline can arrange a debt management plan and, for some people, a Debt Relief Order or a bankruptcy route. Check eligibility with the bankruptcy and DRO checker.

If your card is in the US

US card statements carry a minimum payment warning that shows how long it would take to clear the balance with minimum payments only, and the payment needed to clear it in 36 months. Issuers set their own formulas, commonly interest plus a percentage of the balance or a fixed dollar floor, so use the numbers on your statement. The calculator works the same way, but the legal minimum rule above applies only to UK regulated cards. For free US help contact an NFCC member agency at nfcc.org or 877-360-6322.

The method, so you can check our maths

Each month the model adds interest (APR ÷ 12) to the balance. The minimum payment is that interest plus a percentage of the balance (taken from the figures you enter, never below 1%), with a £15 floor so the payment cannot shrink to almost nothing. If your minimum does not even cover the interest, the balance never clears and the tool says so. Every example on this page was re-run in code on 3 November 2026 and matches the calculator.

Questions people ask at 2am

Why does my balance barely drop when I pay the minimum?

Most of a minimum payment on a high-interest card goes on that month’s interest. On a £3,000 card at 24.9% APR the first month’s interest is £62.25 and the first minimum is £92.25, so only £30 reduces the balance. As the balance falls the minimum falls too, so the pace never picks up.

Is the minimum payment the same on every card?

No. UK rules set a floor: the minimum must cover the interest, fees and charges plus 1% of the balance (FCA CONC 6.7.5R, for card agreements made on or after 1 April 2011). Many issuers choose more, such as 2.5% or 3% of the balance, or a fixed minimum of around £5 or more. Check your statement for the exact formula.

What is persistent debt?

The FCA’s term for paying more in interest, fees and charges than you repay of the amount you borrowed over 18 months. Card firms must contact you at 18 months, and again at 27 and 36 months if nothing changes, and offer help, which can include a lower or frozen interest rate. If you have had one of those letters, treat it as a prompt to act.

Is it better to pay a fixed amount instead of the minimum?

Almost always. Fixing your payment at the first month’s minimum stops it shrinking. On the £3,000 example, paying £92.25 every month instead of the falling minimum clears the card in 55 months instead of 236 and saves about £3,500 in interest. You can do this with a standing order or by asking your card provider to hold your payment at a fixed amount.

Will a balance transfer solve it?

It can, if you clear the balance before the 0% period ends and the fee does not wipe out the saving. Divide the balance plus the fee by the number of 0% months and check you can afford that payment. If you cannot, a balance transfer only moves the problem. See the payoff planner to compare options.

What if I cannot afford even the minimum?

Tell the lender early; FCA rules expect forbearance. Then get free help from StepChange or National Debtline. They can set up a plan, ask the lender to freeze interest and, if it comes to it, look at a Debt Relief Order. Read what happens if you stop paying before you miss a payment.

Sources and when we checked them

• FCA Handbook, CONC 6.7 Post contract: business practices (rule 6.7.5R, 1% minimum), viewed 3 November 2026.
• FCA PS18/4, persistent debt rules (effective 1 March 2018, compliance by 1 September 2018).
• StepChange policy briefing on credit cards and persistent debt, 2026.
• Example figures: DebtShift calculations, re-run 3 November 2026.

More help: UK debt help guide · how to pay off debt.