Minimum due on a credit card: what happens if you pay only the minimum

What is the minimum amount due?

It is the smallest part of your bill you must pay so the bill is not treated as overdue. That is the definition in the RBI's card directions, updated as on 1 October 2026. It keeps the account regular. It does not stop interest.

The minimum must also avoid negative amortisation: the balance cannot grow because the minimum failed to cover the cycle's interest, tax and charges. The RBI's illustration: Rs 10,000 outstanding at 2% a month gives Rs 200 of interest, plus an indicative Rs 50 of tax and charges, so the minimum cannot be below Rs 250. Banks also cannot charge interest on unpaid taxes or charges.

Every statement must warn that paying only the minimum stretches repayment over months or years with compounded interest. Banks must publish worked examples, and the MITC must say the interest-free period stops while last month's balance is unpaid.

An RBI amendment effective 1 April 2027 restates the three-day past due line and leaves these minimum due rules alone.

What happens on the next bill if I pay only the minimum?

You pay no late fee, but the next bill carries interest from the purchase date plus 18% GST on it. SBI Card puts both fully into the next minimum. In its own worked example, the second minimum is over three times the first.

An example. SBI Card's MITC works through this case: a Rs 50,000 purchase on 7 May 2025, with a statement on 12 May. The first minimum is 2% of the balance, Rs 1,000, paid on 1 June. SBI then shows Rs 2,267.26 of interest, which works out to 26 days on Rs 50,000 and 11 days on Rs 49,000 at 45% a year over 365 days. GST is Rs 408.11. Add 2% of Rs 49,000, Rs 980, and the second minimum is Rs 3,655.36.

We ran statements 3 to 6 by SBI's method: no new spends, no fees, and each minimum paid on the due date, 20 days after the statement. After six payments you have paid Rs 16,764. About Rs 11,057 went to interest and GST. The balance fell Rs 5,708, from Rs 50,000 to Rs 44,292. Had you paid the first bill in full, SBI's terms say no finance charge would apply.

Statements 1 and 2 are from SBI Card's MITC. Statements 3 to 6 are our arithmetic on SBI's method, not SBI's figures. Rounded to the rupee, so a row can differ by Re 1. Your rate and dates may differ.

How does each bank work out the minimum due?

The seven banks we read use three main rules: 5% at HDFC, ICICI, RBL and Canara, 2% at SBI Card and Axis, and 1% at Kotak. All add taxes, fees, EMIs and any amount over your limit. So the first minimum on the same Rs 50,000 purchase runs from Rs 500 to Rs 2,500.

All seven add any unpaid minimum to the new one.

Your payment does not go to the purchase first. SBI Card clears GST, EMI, fees and interest before balance transfers, purchases and cash. Kotak and RBL also take taxes, fees and interest ahead of purchases.

The last column is our arithmetic on each bank's rule, for a first bill with no fees, EMI or over-limit amount. SBI Card's Rs 1,000 is its own figure. If the total due is below the lowest minimum, the banks that address this set the minimum at the total due.

How long does repayment take if I keep paying the minimum?

Years. On Rs 50,000 at 3.75% a month with no new spends, our arithmetic gives about 10 years and 10 months on SBI Card's 2% rule. HDFC's 5% rule comes to about 18 years and 2 months, a less certain figure: we found no such example in HDFC's MITC, and the same method overshoots ICICI's published example, 107 months against 78.

The full figures: SBI Card's 2% rule, with Rs 200 as the least principal repaid each month, takes 130 months and about Rs 1.00 lakh in interest and GST. The 5% rule with a Rs 200 floor takes 218 months and about Rs 1.46 lakh. Kotak's 1% rule with a Rs 100 floor takes 368 months and about Rs 2.15 lakh.

A higher first minimum may not be faster. On our arithmetic at 3.75%, the 5% rule repays about 1.44% of the balance a month, against 2% under SBI's rule. The published examples lean the other way: on Rs 5,000, ICICI's 5% rule states up to 6 years and 6 months, and Axis's 2% rule up to about 7 years.

How far to trust this: our method treats each month as a flat 3.75% and matches Axis's Rs 5,000 at 85 months and Kotak's Rs 1,000 at 14. It gives 50 months on SBI's Rs 10,000 against SBI's 52. On the 5% rule it misses ICICI's figure, as above, and gives about 65 to 72 months on Canara's Rs 5,000 at 2.5% against Canara's 44. Those banks do not show their assumptions.

Each bank's own wording and assumptions. Rates and rules differ, so these do not compare like for like.

Is interest charged on the full bill or only the unpaid part?

Only on what is still outstanding, adjusted for payments and refunds as they are credited. That is the RBI's rule, and it means interest may run from each transaction date on that outstanding amount, not on the total amount due.

So anything above the minimum helps from the day it is credited.

New purchases lose the interest-free period too. SBI Card applies it only if last month's balance is paid in full, and HDFC and Kotak say the same in their own words.

What interest rate applies to the balance I carry?

At most large banks the headline rate is 3.75% a month, before 18% GST on the interest. With GST that costs 4.425% of the balance a month. Many cards differ, so find yours below.

Some exceptions from the documents, not a full list, so check your MITC: SBI Card charges 2.75% on Shaurya, Defence and secured cards. Axis charges 3% on Reserve, Magnus and Olympus. ICICI charges 1.67% on 1838 Reserve. HDFC charges 1.99% on Infinia and Diners Black. Kotak charges 3.5% on White Reserve, Solitaire, Privy League Signature, Air+ and some others. RBL goes up to 3.99%, set by bureau score, and 3.4% on Lumiere, Nova and Insignia. Canara charges 2.5%, or 2% on secured cards.

Annual figures differ: HDFC writes 3.75% a month as 45% a year, Axis as 55.55%.

522 of 562 open cards, from 38 banks. 40 open cards have no figure here because we did not find one. Rows marked Not confirmed are figures we could not check against the issuer document, so check with the bank.

What if I pay less than the minimum, or pay it late?

You can be charged a late fee, and the unpaid part of the minimum rolls into the next one. Axis and Kotak both say a payment below the minimum attracts the charge. Under RBI rules the fee applies only after the account is more than three days past due.

Cashback may not count. Axis says cashback and service reversals do not adjust the minimum. ICICI says promotional cashback and transactions converted to EMI are not treated as payment. Merchant refunds differ: Axis excludes them, and SBI Card's example charges no late fee when a refund exceeds the minimum.

Timing matters. HDFC's illustration has a Rs 1,250 minimum due 20 May, with a grace date of 23 May. Paid on 25 May, it still draws a Rs 900 late fee before GST. ICICI says paying the minimum by the due date plus 3 days avoids the late charge, while interest still runs from the transaction date.

The late fee and its GST also go into the next minimum in full. See late payment charges, bank by bank for the slabs, and statement date and due date for how the dates work.

Does paying only the minimum hurt my credit score?

Paying the minimum on time keeps the bill from being treated as overdue, so the account should not be reported as past due for that cycle. CRIF High Mark's FAQ says an increase in your card's current balance indicates a higher repayment burden and may negatively affect your score.

RBL says an account is reported as delinquent if the minimum is not received. See why a score can drop with no missed payment.

How soon is a blocked card reopened after I pay the minimum?

We found no number of days in any of the seven bank documents we read. Ask your bank.

HDFC places a temporary block if the minimum or total is unpaid, on any or all of your HDFC cards, and notifies you it intends to report you as a defaulter if you do not pay within 7 days. Axis says missing the minimum risks suspension or withdrawal. Canara permanently blocks a card that reaches 31 days past due for the fourth time in a financial year.

The RBI requires banks to follow an approved procedure for blocking and to tell you immediately, with reasons. Check your own cards in My Cards, or your bank's page: HDFC, SBI Card, ICICI, Axis, Kotak.