Can you pay credit card bills before the due date?

Yes, you can pay a credit card bill before the due date. The only bad time to pay your credit card bill is when it's going to be received after the due date.

What happens if I pay my bill before the due date?

If you pay the minimum required or the balance in full:

• Positive repayment reported. Although a payment made before the due date will not be treated differently from one on the due date, your credit score may benefit from ongoing responsible behaviour, giving you options if you wanted to change credit card in future.
• Save on interest. Since credit card interest is typically compounded daily, paying early can help reduce the balance outstanding and interest payments.
• No late fee. You can avoid being charged a late fee.

What happens if I pay less than the minimum required before the due date?

If you make an early payment that is less than the minimum required amount, you will still need to pay the remaining amount owed on or before the due date.

If you do not, a late payment will be recorded on your credit report, and you will be charged a fee for the late payment. This will likely cause your credit score to drop and make it more challenging to get approved for credit.

Do you pay interest if you pay before the due date?

Credit card interest is typically calculated and compounded daily. If you pay more than the minimum requirement early, you can reduce the outstanding balance accruing interest. You can avoid credit card interest by repaying the balance owed in full by the due date.

How many times can you pay a credit card per month?

The easiest way to pay is once per month via direct debit. Whether you have a direct debit set up or not, you can make multiple manual repayments over the course of a month.

For example, you could set up a direct debit to ensure the minimum required payment is paid on time every month and then make additional weekly or fortnightly payments to bring down the balance owed.

Is it better to pay a credit card bill before the due date?

There are several benefits to paying your credit card early: possibly reduced interest, lower credit utilisation and its associated credit score benefits, plus avoiding late fees.

• Possibly lower interest. You'll avoid paying interest if you pay off the balance in full before or by the due date. Paying part of the balance early, ideally more than the minimum required amount, will help reduce the amount of interest accrued on the remaining balance.
• Lower credit utilisation. A lower credit utilisation ratio — the amount of credit used compared to the overall credit limit — may help improve your credit score.
• Avoid paying late fees. You won’t incur late payment fees, assuming you pay at least the minimum required amount — or more — over multiple repayments by the due date.

Can you pay a credit card bill on the due date?

While you can technically pay your credit card on the due date, it's quite possibly going to be received late due to payment processing times.

How long it takes for the payment to arrive varies based on the payment method and the institutions involved. For example, if you're transferring money from a different bank to pay off your credit card, it might take a day or two for the payment to be processed. If you decide to pay with BPAY, it will also take one or two business days to arrive.

Processing times by payment method