Santa Claus comes around just once a year. In the meantime, there are Credit Cards.
If you are using a Citibank credit card but have some doubts or concerns regarding the minimum monthly amount due that you see in your monthly credit card statement, here’s all that you need to know. If you have a clear idea about how the minimum amount due is charged and how to handle it ideally, you would have an easy time managing your Citibank credit card.
The minimum amount due is the least amount that you need to pay towards your Citibank credit card account to avoid late payment charges. The minimum amount due saves you from paying any late payment charges but you would still have to pay interest on the balance amount on your Citibank credit card.
Is there any difference between the total amount due and the minimum amount due on my Citibank credit card?
Yes, the minimum amount due is the least amount that you need to pay towards your credit card account to avoid the charges of late payment, whereas, the term ‘total amount due’ is the sum total of all the expenses on your credit card in a particular billing cycle. If you pay the total amount due on or before the due date, you wouldn’t have to pay any extra charge on the amount.
The minimum amount due on your Citibank credit card will be the higher of the following, subject to a minimum of Rs.100
If you pay only the minimum amount due on your Citibank credit card, the following are the consequences:
The late payment charges that you would have to pay if you fail to pay the minimum amount due on your card are as follows
| If the statement balance is | Late payment charges |
|---|---|
| Less than Rs.2,000 | Nil |
| More than Rs.2,000 up to Rs.7,500 | Rs.600 |
| More than Rs.7,500 up to Rs.15,000 | Rs.950 |
| More than Rs.15,000 | Rs.1,300 |
The non-payment of the minimum amount due is seriously harmful to your credit account and your credit score. Apart from the late payment charges, it also harms you in multiple other ways.
For instance, if you do not pay the minimum amount due as per the last credit statement by its due date, the rate of interest can grow up to 3.5% per month. This rate would apply till your credit account is regularized plus 3 months post that.
Also, if the minimum amount due is not paid by the due date plus 3 days, your card will be reported as delinquent to CIBIL. Thus, your credit score would drop drastically. The bank may even suspend the services on your card if you fail to pay the minimum amount due. The bank would also report this to the Reserve Bank of India or any other concerned authority but if the payment is done, the record will be updated to ‘current’ in the next monthly refresh to the Credit Information Companies.
The exact amount will vary depending on the total outstanding amount and the tenure for which you pay only the minimum amount due. For example, let the total spends on your Citibank credit card in a particular billing cycle Rs.1 lakh, at 35% p.a., you would take 31 months to pay it off and incur interest of Rs.52,276.35. Therefore, it is suggested that you pay an amount which is as close to the total outstanding as possible.
If you wish to pay only the minimum amount due on your Citibank credit card, the due date is same as the total outstanding payment. So, you need to pay the minimum amount due on or before the payment due date of your Citibank credit card.
The late payment charges shall be levied on your credit card account if the minimum amount due isn’t paid for over 3 days from the due date of the payment.
If you don’t pay the minimum amount due, the bank would contact you through visits, fax, posts, e-mail, phone, or SMS messaging. It may also engage a third party to remind you about the payment, follow up, and collect the dues. You may also be contacted by the customer assistance specialists of the bank.
If the bank is unable to contact you, it may leave a message with third parties like your spouse, parent, any other direct family member, or your secretary.
You can contact the customer care centre of the bank at 1860 210 2484.
You can use online modes of payment like NEFT, Citibank Mobile App, Citibank website, or Citibank Interactive Voice Response (IVR). For online payment through non-Citibank banking account, you may use the Epay option on Citibank website. Offline methods include a standing instruction to deduct the minimum amount due from your Citibank account, cash, cheque, demand draft, etc.
Yes, the process of calculating the minimum amount due is same for all Citibank credit cards.
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