What Is a Minimum Payment?
Definition
Minimum Payment: The least a cardholder must pay on a credit card statement by the due date. It is a share of the statement balance, set by a regulator or the bank. The unpaid rest carries interest.
The minimum payment is the least a cardholder must pay on a credit card statement by the due date. It is a share of the statement balance, set by the bank or by a regulator, sometimes by card limit. The unpaid rest carries contractual interest. Paying only the minimum is the most expensive way to carry the debt.
Where it appears in the formulas
minimum payment = statement balance × minimum share and remaining balance = statement balance − minimum payment. The share is a rule; the amount is taken from the statement balance. A bank may set a higher minimum. The credit card minimum payment calculator also shows one month of contractual interest on the remaining balance.
In Türkiye
BDDK Board Decision 10970 of 26 September 2024 ties the minimum share to the card limit: 20% of the statement balance for a limit of 50,000 TRY or less, 40% above. The calculator picks the share from the limit.