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Credit card interest calculation

How interest is calculated on your credit card

In-line with Australian Government legislation, customers who don’t pay their full Closing Balance will generally only be charged interest on their purchases balance from the day after the Due Date shown on their statement.

The way interest is calculated on purchases balances will be different depending on how you use your credit card.

See the scenario most suited to you below, to learn how interest may be calculated for you.

How do you pay off your credit card balance?

I pay my credit card balance off in full every month.

If you keep paying off your balance in full every month by the Due Date, you’ll continue to enjoy the benefit of interest free days and pay no interest on your purchases balance.

I usually pay my credit card balance off in full every month, but sometimes I miss a full payment.

If you usually pay your credit card balance off in full every month, but don't pay the full Closing Balance of your next statement by the Due Date, you will generally only be charged interest on your purchases balance from the day after the Due Date shown on that statement.

Before 17 November 2018 I started paying interest on an existing purchases balance.

If you're paying interest on a purchases balance accrued before 17 Novemer 2018, interest will be calculated using the old method. This is until you pay the full Closing Balance (shown on a statement by the Due Date) and regain the benefit of interest-free days.

FAQ

This interest calculation will apply to ANZ consumer credit card accounts with interest-free days. The following credit cards can have interest-free days:

  • ANZ First
  • ANZ Platinum
  • ANZ Low Rate
  • ANZ Low Rate Platinum
  • ANZ Rewards
  • ANZ Rewards Platinum
  • ANZ Rewards Black
  • ANZ Frequent Flyer
  • ANZ Frequent Flyer Black
  • ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum
  • ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures
  • ANZ Free Days MasterCard

An interest-free period is the maximum possible length of time between the first day of a statement period and the payment Due Date for that period. For example, if your credit card account has up to 55 interest-free days on purchases, and your credit card statement is from 1-30 June your repayment will be due on 25 July, which is 55 days after the first day of that statement.

If your account has an interest-free period on purchases, you can avoid paying interest on the purchases balance by always paying the full Closing Balance shown on each statement by the Due Date. If you don’t pay the full Closing Balance shown on a statement by the Due Date, the purchases balance will attract interest.

From 17 November 2018, if you start being charged interest on your purchases balance, you may regain the benefit of interest-free days on purchases either by ensuring that the Closing Balance at the end of a statement cycle is zero, or by paying the full Closing Balance shown on a subsequent statement by the Due Date. If you do so, we won't charge interest on the purchases balance from the day after that occurring until the Due Date shown on the next statement.

It’s important to note the number of interest-free days (e.g, up to 55 interest-free days) refers to the maximum number of interest-free days available on a purchase – not 55 days from the date a purchase is made. So to receive the full 55 days interest-free, you would need to make your purchase on the first day of your statement period, such as 1 June in the case of the above example.

We offer credit card accounts with interest-free periods on purchases and some credit card accounts without. If you’re unsure whether your account has interest-free periods on purchases please refer to your Letter of Offer.

For further information on interest-free days, please refer to the ANZ Credit Cards Conditions of Use.

If your account has interest-free periods on purchases, you can avoid paying interest on the purchases balance by always paying the full Closing Balance shown on each statement by the Due Date. If you don’t pay the full Closing Balance shown on a statement by the Due Date, the purchases balance will attract interest.

From 17 November 2018, if you start being charged interest on your purchases balance, you can regain the benefit of interest-free days on purchases either by ensuring that the Closing Balance at the end of a statement cycle is zero, or by paying the full Closing Balance shown on a subsequent statement by the Due Date.

A purchases balance is the total amount outstanding on a credit card account relating to credit provided in respect of purchases, together with certain fees, interest charges and other charges. For a full definition, please refer to the ANZ Credit Cards Conditions of Use.

Prior to 17 November 2018, if you did not pay the full Closing Balance shown on a statement by the Due Date, interest would still be charged on your purchases balance. It would be charged on any amounts in the purchases balance that were debited to your account after the end of the last statement period in which you paid the Closing Balance in full by the Due Date, from the time that they were debited.

Example

Sam usually pays her credit card balance off in full every month. For her statement period of 1-30 June 2017, she paid her Closing Balance in full by the Due Date of 15 July 2017. During her next statement period of 1-30 July 2017, she only made one purchase on her credit card - a fridge on 2 July 2017. But she then only partly paid her next Closing Balance by the next Due Date of 15 August 2017.

So interest was then charged on the remaining purchases balance (which included the amount debited for the fridge, or at least part of that amount following her partial payment) every day from 2 July 2017, the date the fridge purchase was debited. This interest was charged until Sam next paid the full Closing Balance shown on a subsequent statement by the Due Date (provided she also paid the full Closing Balance shown on the next consecutive statement by the Due Date).

By contrast, if Sam usually paid her credit card balance off in full every month, but then after 17 November 2018 did not pay the full Closing Balance shown on a statement by the Due Date, interest on the purchases balance would be charged only from the day after the Due Date on the remaining purchases balance, until the full Closing Balance shown on a later statement was paid by the Due Date.

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