Credit Card Statement

Credit cards are among the most sought after financial products across the globe. They provide financial freedom to people. Whether you want to make purchases immediately or whether you have drained out your entire salary at the end of the month, credit cards take care of such problems. Credit cards are very popular nowadays and almost everyone has one. The popularity of credit cards is always on the rise because of the convenience and purchasing power they provide their cardholders with while making payments. Credit cards should be used judiciously and if used so, you will not get into financial hassles due to credit cards. You should always keep track of the expenditure that you make using your credit card. In this way, you will never exceed your credit card limit. This is where the credit card statement comes in handy and plays a vital role.

About Credit card statement

What Is A Credit Card Statement?
How to Read Credit Card Statements?
How To Understand Your Credit Card Statement Better?
How Is The Minimum Amount Due on Credit Calculated?
How To Get Your Credit Card Statement?
How to Download A Credit Card Statement Online?
Handling Errors in a Credit Card Statement
FAQS of Credit Card Statement

What Is A Credit Card Statement?

A credit card statement or CC statement is a billing document that contains information about your card such as interest charges, payment history, credit, etc. The credit card statement is generated periodically (monthly) to aid you in tracking your expenses. The credit card monthly statement has data about every single transaction. It is important to verify your credit card statement regularly to avoid affecting your finances negatively.

How to Read Credit Card Statements?

Every credit card issuer in India sends their cardholder regular monthly statements detailing the transactions made on their card. Most credit card holders do not allocate the time to read and understand these statements. If you have a credit card, you should know how to read your credit card statement. Your credit card statements contain essential details related to your card like the billing cycle, your total amount due, the due date, and the available credit limit. It also includes details of every transaction you made using your card. The information related to your transaction is usually the merchant name, date, time, and the amount spent. You can get your credit card monthly statement online or through the post. You need to check the finance charges levied on your card. The finance charges are the interest rate charged on your card for that particular billing cycle. Also, check if the right amount is debited if you have any EMIs on your card. The other important things you should check on your statement are the available credit limit, the total bill amount, the due date, the billing period, late fees if any, and refunds

How To Understand Your Credit Card Statement Better?

There are many terms that you will come across on your credit card bill statement. Here is a brief explanation of the terms for a better understanding.

1) Total Outstanding Bill:

The total bill amount due on your credit card billing statement is a sum of unpaid charges in the month. The total outstanding bill on your credit card monthly statement encompasses your purchases, payments, returns, EMIs, interest, old balance, and other charges.

2) Minimum Due Amount:

You can see a minimum due amount when you view the credit card statement. It is the minimum amount that you are liable to pay so as to avoid late payment charges. Usually, this minimum amount would be 5% of your total balance due.

3) Billing Cycle:

When you check a credit card statement online or offline, the billing cycle is the duration of time between two bills. Billing cycles can be in the range of 20 to 45 days.

4) Interest Free Period:

The interest free period mentioned in the statement refers to the duration in which any amount used does not accrue interest. When you get a credit card statement, the interest free period is generally the period between the first day of the billing cycle and the due date.

5) Transaction History:

The credit card statement shows all the credit and debit transactions made on the card during a specific billing period. It helps you see your transaction history and understand it. This in turn helps you comprehend your spending pattern.

6) Rewards and Rebates:

You can view the reward points summary mentioned at the end of the credit card statement. It includes details such as opening balance, rewards earned, rewards adjusted, rewards disbursed, and the closing balance. Make sure that you use your credit card reward points before they expire.

7) Past Dues:

Any past dues on the credit card will be mentioned on the credit card statement. The information about overlimit expenses, dues in the past one, two, and three months, the current due, etc. will also be listed.

How Is The Minimum Amount Due on Credit Calculated?

The minimum amount is the percentage of the amount outstanding that is used to compute the minimum credit card bill payment of the cardholder for the month. Generally, banks in India charge 5% of the outstanding balance as the minimum amount due. The same calculation will be added to the minimum amount due if the cardholder converts their expenditure to EMI or if they use the EMI balance transfer option. For example: let us say that the cardholder has made a purchase of Rs. 20,000 on July 15 and the due date is August 26th. Then the minimum amount due will be Rs. 1000 i.e. 5% of Rs. 20,000.

How To Get Your Credit Card Statement?

A customer can get the credit card statement both online and offline.

Online: Banks usually send the credit card statement to the registered email ID of the card holder monthly on the same date. This is known as the billing date. You can also access your credit card statement online by logging into your netbanking portal. Your current credit card statement will be present there. Banks also transmit an SMS informing the customers about the total amount due and the minimum amount due on their credit card.
Offline: The credit card statement is sent by the bank to the customer at his residence. You can request a physical copy of the statement from the bank by calling the customer care department or by going to the nearest branch.

How to Download A Credit Card Statement Online?

You would need to follow the steps mentioned below to download your credit card statement from the net banking portal of your credit card issuer.

Step 1: Log in with your credentials to your net banking account

Step 2: Go to ‘Credit Cards’

Step 3: You will see the latest credit card monthly statement under ‘Statement’.

Step 4: On your device, download the credit card statement as a PDF.

Step 5: Key in the password of the credit card statement to access the PDF file.

Handling Errors in a Credit Card Statement

If you notice errors, such as incorrect amounts or transactions you did not do, you should immediately notify the bank. Here are some of the ways you can use to fix issues in your credit card statement:

1) Contact the bank: Call the bank on the credit card customer care number. Send an email or go to the branch of the bank to notify the authorities about the error in your credit card statement.

2) Contact the merchant: If the billing is incorrect or the card has been swiped twice and debited twice, you can directly contact the merchant and request for the mistake to be corrected. If rectified, you need not involve the bank authorities.

3) Keep proofs ready: Your documentation should be ready and updated to support your claim. You are required to submit the receipts or documents as records to prove that the credit card statement has an error.

FAQS of Credit Card Statement

1. What is the billing statement of a credit card?

A billing statement is a monthly credit card bill that summarizes the activity on your account over the previous month. The bill enumerates all the purchases as well as the payments received. It displays the current balance on the account and the date by when the account must be paid to avoid finance charges.

2. How can I find my credit card statement date?

You can find your credit card billing cycle dates specified on your monthly statement. You will notice that the start and end dates for your billing period are usually located on the first page of your statement near the balance. Your card issuer may list the number of days in your billing cycle, or you will have to do some counting.

3. How often must you obtain the credit card statement?

A credit card issuer will send a new statement around once a month. It often consists of the important details about your transaction history, payment due dates, and more. Some credit card statements also include information about your credit score.